Dealing With an IT Scourge: Process Documentation  

In this article, we outline how IT analysts can effectively make determinations about the value of process documentation, and in the process, transform a potential scourge into a possible blessing.

Schiesser, Rich. TechRepublic (2005). Articles>Documentation>Programming>Project Management

Developing a Project Life Cycle for Technical Publications  

Having a technical publications project life cycle (pLC) that parallels an organization's product life cycle (PLC) greatly facilitates its adoption by engineering or development organizations. A technical publications project life cycle relates major documentation project management strategies, tasks, and deliverables to the same model used by technical organizations to control product development in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Some technical organizations perceive the documentation development process as being “intrusive” into the product development process, particularly during the Implementation Phase of the PLC. Communicating a technical publications pLC to these organizations early in the PLC eliminates this misperception.

Le Vie, Donald S., Jr. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

A Documentation Database for Managing Time and Costs  

Keeping track of a technical writing team’s time can be a tedious task, especially when that time has to be charged to various internal departments. Using Lotus Notes™ (Lotus Development Corporation and Iris Associates, Inc.), we developed a relational database to track this information. This database uses a single form for all documentation status inputs. Then it summarizes the data in a variety of view. Separate forms track SEI statistics and simplify department employee time administration.

Lang, Darice and Debra Ricks. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Documents That No Project Cannot Be Without

Short deadlines force project teams to quickly design, test, and release the product with little or no design documentation. If these documents are written, they generally are not well-written and are not comprehensive. The fact of the matter is that most project teams do not have enough staff to design the product, let alone write and manage documentation. This situation creates an ideal opportunity for technical writers to assist the project team in more ways than writing a user guide.

Dick, David J. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Collaboration

Easy Tools for Documentation Management  

The use of three simple tools can assist the documentation manager, from start to finish, on any new project. A revamped pubs plan, a new concept with engineering worksheets, and a matrix of modularized information are all utilized with a slightly new twist. The Pubs Plan is redefined to help you launch your project with a team approach, identifying issues, and proposing solutions. The Engineering Worksheets list all the critical pieces of information your writers/illustrators need for each component of the product. These pieces of information are then tracked by completion date on an Information Matrix. These documents work together as complimentary management tools that can be easily developed and scaled to the complexity of any project.

Shumate, Chona E. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Estimating Scope and Schedule for a Help Project  

During this session, we will learn how to create a topic list to determine project scope, and then we will begin to calculate how long it will take produce all of these topics. When we’re done, you will have a methodology for doing this for your own project.

Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Help

Estimating Scope and Schedule for Help Projects  

Three steps to a more accurate Help schedule.

Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation

Estimating Time and Cost for Policies and Procedures Projects  

Estimating time and cost for a policies and procedures project can be an adventure in guessing and a ticket to grief. However, planning with a detailed checklist and list of assumptions can you help create a more realistic estimate, please your client, and protect your sanity and pocketbook.

Escoe, Adrienne. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Getting a Count: Recording Metrics in Documentation Plans  

Most large documentation departments are already using some kind of a formal documentation project planning strategy. Many are modeled after the work of Dr. JoAnn Hackos, with information plans, content specifications, and/or documentation plans (Hackos, 1994) 1 . By carefully adjusting the look and feel of the planning documents, adding room for recording actual numbers at the completion of the project, managers can implement a metrics strategy that takes advantage of existing templates and piggy-backs on existing archiving and checkout procedures.

Romaine, Garret H. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

A Guide for Software Project Managers - Planning User Documentation

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–2000 Edition is the main sourcebook in the project management field. Whilst it covers Project Communications Management, it doesn't extend to user documentation. This article seeks to provide guidance for project managers as to how the user documentation process fits in with the overall project planning. It examines: the traditional way documentation is approached and how it impinges on project planning the effects of making changes to this traditional approach.

Johnston, Carol. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Body of Knowledge

How to Plan On-line and Paper Versions of a Software Manual

On projects for which you must produce both on-line and paper documentation, there are many things you should consider before you start.

Kozuma, Bruce. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Planning

Improving Publication Quality Through Project Management  

A methodology for developing high-quality software developed by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University can also be applied to developing technical publications. This workshop addresses several aspects of this methodology using various project management techniques. By bringing your development process under better control, these techniques will ensure a more uniform quality in your publications.

Firman, Anthony H. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Project Management>Documentation

Information Metrics: Keeping Your Writing Projects On Track  

Keeping information metrics for documentation projects gives managers the ability to more accurately estimate future projects. Publications departments can develop their own tools or they can use existing tools to track such things as page size, hours-per-page spent writing, illustrating, editing, and producing manuals; and the dependencies of each manual. This kind of information can help to determine development schedules, show how late changes affect the documentation process, and accurately determine what it will take to complete quality documentation on time and within budget.

Gordon, Judy L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Methods

It's In the Numbers: Using Metrics to Plan Documentation Projects

It's in the numbers. Creating documentation is not an exact science, yet as communication leaders, we are expected to provide real estimates for how much time we need to document a project, or what we can produce given a predetermined timeline.

Yundt, Margie and Sherry McMenemy. Writing Assistance (2006). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Assessment

Juggling or Struggling: The Art of Managing Online and Hardcopy Documentation  

While company budgets are increasing little or none, the responsibilities of technical writers continue to multiply as they are expected to produce online help as well as hard-copy documentation in short time periods. This demonstration explains how technical writers at Computer Power, Inc. produce usable online and hard-copy documentation from one source file. Participants will learn how to plan the file, create appropriate graphics, and use macros to convert text and other information for use in online help.

Bates, Michael P. and Catherine Cooper. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Manage the Document Life Cycle for the Important Documents on Your Project  

Not all documents require a full lifecycle, but if you understand the nature of building documents, you will be better able to plan for the time required to complete them successfully.

Mochal, Tom. TechRepublic (2005). Articles>Project Management>Documentation

Managing a Company-Wide Policies and Procedures Project  

It takes skills in three different areas to manage a company-wide policy and procedures project. First, people must be organized and motivated to participate. Executive support is critical here. And the persons actually performing the tasks must be the ones to document it. Second, the project must be clearly defined and tracked. The document creation and review process must be structured simply, to take full advantage of the documentation team’s limited time. Finally, the information published must be accurate and controlled. Work processes should be analyzed before the procedures are documented, and published procedures must be distributed to specified manual holders.

Creps, William B. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Managing and Documenting Your Project, XML Style

Here are links to the listings described in Managing and Documenting Your Project XML Style.

Fisher, Timothy. XML Journal (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>XML

Managing Your Documentation Monster: Project Management for the 90's  

If you've ever had trouble figuring out what your boss wants or needs, and how to deliver the project in a timely manner, this is the demonstration for you! From a nuts and bolts approach to developing an iron clad project plan, to managing the process and marching the completed project in a timely and professional manner, this demonstration covers a lot of ground in a short time. Tips, tricks, and checklists will be available to each attendee.

Glick-Smith, Judith L. and Karen A. Steele. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Review: Managing your Documentation Projects    

Documentation projects require a significant amount of coordination and planning, and managers often find themselves faced with the challenge of successfully integrating a range of new elements including international legal requirements, new players, budgets and scheduling demands to make a product successful. Most often they look around for solutions to develop an effective strategy for their documentation projects that places control in their hands.

Kudesia, Saurabh. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Reviews>Documentation>Project Management

Meeting Crazy Deadlines

We are all against bonded labour and slavery. I ask you: are software professionals (including technical writers), better off than slaves and bonded labourers?

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

The Six Biggest Mistakes Project Managers Make with Documentation and How to Avoid Them

Professional business writers, such as technical authors, typically break a document down into small, discrete units of information, organised around a skeleton of topic headings. If you use this 'component' or 'modular' approach, you can plan and structure the document using the heading 'labels' that describe each section.

Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2007). Articles>Documentation>Planning>Project Management

Teamwork and the Product Documentation Process

Get to know your new teammates. Get to know your audience. Define the product's features. Create a mockup of the user interface. Begin to document the features and interface.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1997). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Collaboration