Using complexity theory to understand what's happening to technical communication

Abstract

As organizations expand the amount of information they expect us to publish on the World-Wide Web, the work-world of technical communicators grows more complicated. Because so many of us are caught up in transforming legacy documents for use on company intranets or extranets, I use the Web as an example of the complexity we face. I borrow some ideas from the work of several complexity theorists to give an intellectual model for grappling with the changes that are taking place around us.