[R_Edward]

I found doing tech support for my software to be a very valuable experience. It wasn't nearly as disruptive to my coding process as some of my brethren seem to find it; perhaps because when I'm puzzling out a thorny issue, I tend to take copious notes--and let the phone go to voice mail if I think I'm on the verge of a breakthrough. And being the first person to speak to the users who have issues, you can very quickly sort out the user-education issues from the UI/UX problems.

It was also always good for a smile when a caller would ask if I was familiar with the system. I was, I would say, reasonably familiar with it. Then they'd start explaining to me how it was supposed to work. I let them, because hearing their interpretation of the system narrative gave me valuable insight into how my users' minds approached the problems that my software was intended to solve.

I also wrote my own User Guides, reference manuals, and training material. Who had better understanding of the system than I did?