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> 1. The Inquisition: What is it? What does it do? What is its purpose?
How
> does it work (or how does it do what it is supposed to do)? Why is it
> relevant? How do you use it? And more...
> 2. Who is my audience?
> 3. How much does my audience already know?
> 4. What more do they need to know?
> 5. How long have I got to write this?
>
> Ah, yes. Now these are truly the golden questions.
But they're working at different levels..
Jane's "Who is my audience", "How much do they already know" , "What more
do they need to know" and "How long have I got to write this?" are all
questions you would ask once at the beginning of a project. Once answered
you move along. I could see the "what more do they need to know" coming up
every now and then, but for the most part you should already know that
before you start writing.
My "what, why, how" questions are something you should be asking yourself
time and time again throughout the project. In fact - all relevant
information should clear these questions. Therefore, I think they're a
little more useful (hence golden) on a day to day basis.
Therefore, I don't think you can really combine the two sets of questions.
There are many questions to ask when you begin work on a document that
once answered don't change much. My intention was to describe a set of
questions that can repeatedly aid a writer in properly documenting
something.
Andrew Plato
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