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Subject:Re: anyone else in the same boat? From:Sandy Harris <sandy -at- storm -dot- ca> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 21 Dec 2000 16:18:28 -0500
Andrew Plato wrote:
Mostly, I agree with Andrew here, but there is one point where I think he's
gone overboard.
> DO NOT...
>
> 1. DO NOT Waste time with documentation plans, project plans, style guides, and
> other one-off work. This is a tremendous waste of time and energy. You need
> to prove your value to the rest of the team right away. Spending time writing
> documentation plans that NOBODY will read just makes you look like a
> work-shirking twit.
Yes, but do get something in writing -- your basic plan, a list of documents you
think are needed, perhaps some sort of rough schedule -- and send it to at least
your manager. Depending on the company, likely also to the lead developer and to
someone closer to the users, perhaps tech support or marketing.
You need comment and criticism on this before you commit too much time. If
possible, you also need them to sign off, agree that this is the right plan.
If this takes more than a couple of days of intermittent thought while doing
other things (e.g. realising as you look at the product info that end users
and system admins see it differently and docs must cover both) plus an hour
getting it on paper, then something is horribly wrong.
> Engineers do not care about your style guide. And your
> style guide does little to prove your writing capabilities. A lone writer at a
> company does not need style guides and project plans. Do it all in your head.
Yes, but try to be consistent in you use of styles and to develop a good template
for the type of docs you're doing as you go along.
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