[dragonwriter]

> Serious question, if you're going to hire people who are great technical writers, why would you have software developers (who are by definition not going to be as good TWs as the "real" TWs) also do it?

Software engineers are the SMEs whose knowledge TWs are trying to crystallize into documentation; them being disengaged from the documentation effort is the same problem as business SMEs being disengaged from the software development process. And, for much technical documentation, developers of the software are also part of the target audience, as one function the documentation serves is knowledge preservation.

Docs need tech SME and target audience engagement for the same reason software needs business SME and user community engagement.

[Hackbraten]

Translation for people who are unfamiliar with the acronym: SME seems to stand for “subject matter expert.”