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One small amendment to Geoff's excellent post:
....................
Goal: To track revisions to the documentation so you'll know which
developers are most likely to make last-minute changes.
Approach: Store the documents until after the product ships, then use the
final round of revisions to identify which programmers were revising things
right up to the last minute. When the next version of the software begins
development, start working with these developers early to minimize the
amount of last-minute rework must be done.
.........................
I generally keep the things until THREE WEEKS after the product ships... and
we have 3-4 month product cycles, so I can't keep them all forever. The
thing is, like the late-night TV commercial, someone always says, "...but
wait, there's more!" just after the release goes out, and I have to evaluate
whether it's a real change and whom to check with before making it. Those
[post] last-minute changes are killers! After three weeks, however,
everyone's focused on the next release, so it's relatively safe to recycle
all that paper.
On a comical note, one place I worked had an arrangement with a local
recycling firm. The recycler took our white paper trash and turned it into
toilet paper, which the company bought back for use in its restrooms. Put
your own spin on that one!
Marguerite
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