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Subject:RE: Calculating rewrite of document From:LDurway -at- pav -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 8 Nov 2002 11:27:34 -0600
My immediate reaction to your question is twofold (or is it two-fold??). 1)
After 17 years, I still think pacing/estimating a project is voodoo. 2) My
typical response is, it'll take as long as you give me to do it, maybe less.
You give me a week? It'll take a week. You give me 6 months? It'll take 6
months. After all, no one ever withholds product ship until the docs are
ready, right? So you tell me when you want to ship your product, and I'll
have the docs done by then. The quality may not be impressive, but let's
face it, most folks would rather have it on time than well done. I contend
that I can do any amount of work in any amount of time; the only gotcha is
the quality.
But let's get specific. You need to ask the following questions:
-How much of the product, as documented in the existing manual(s), has
CHANGED?
-How much NEW material will be (or has been) added to the product?
-Is it a matter of inserting screen captures and writing rather
straightforward blurbs for the text fields/options/etc.? or do the screens
implement complex operations that require more involved comprehension &
explanation?
-Who is my technical expert, and have The Powers that Be made it clear to
him/her that they MUST make time for me when I have questions?
Take your answers to these questions, write them down on a piece of paper,
and burn the piece of paper. Then tell your clients/bosses that the project
will take three months. By the time you've conducted a couple review
cycles, etc., etc., everything takes 3 months, even if you're only writing a
handful of fortunes for fortune cookies. There are tasks that take more
than three months (writing 200 pages or more of new material), but no one
wants to hear you beg for 6 months for a revision. They'll probably slip
the schedule out a month or two anyway. Make weekly "mini-milestones" for
yourself and stick to them come hell or high water.
Worth what you paid for it,
Lindsey
> I have been tasked with rewriting existing
> documentation/on-line help for a
> modular application. Does anyone know how I estimate how long
> this is going
> to take me?
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