Content Moratorium

[Colin Green <CGreen -at- illuminet -dot- com>]

Hello Writers,

Problem: The products around here are in development most all the way to the
release date (sound familiar?). In the very least, I need to establish a
content moratorium for my final document release. Right now, I'm being asked
to release "final" drafts of user guides while the product is still in flux
- sometimes a full month before the release date. The fall-out is: 1) I end
up wasting time re-writing things as the product morphs; 2)  I end up
"fixing" the docs long after their scheduled release date  - and I 'm
harassed for being late on the schedule. Thus far education has not worked.
I need a dumb-down rule that all those clever managers and engineers can
wrap their heads around. One part of the answer is: content moratorium.

Question: Given the flux of software applications in development, and my
inability to affect that schedule, what is a reasonable demand for a tech
writer on content moratorium? That is, what can I reasonably demand for
number of days/weeks that the product be stable in order to compose a final
draft?


Thanks!

Colin

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