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--- "Sanderson, Leanne" <lsanderson -at- iccohio -dot- com>
wrote:
> I've been asked to create user documentation for a
> client's existing custom application . No problem.
> However, they want me to do this with the
> understanding that they will be moving from this
> stand-alone desktop application to a web application
> in the next 18 months. One of the reason's they
> want to document the app now, is to get down on
> paper everything the application does, to aid them
> in converting the application to a web app. - which
> my company will also be doing.
>
Leanne,
I can understand management thinking, having seen this
situation in the past, but I don't agree with the
method.
First off, FAT APPS and WEB APPS are very different
from the usability perspective. Second, the
functionality in a FAT APP will not always map 1:1
with a WEB APP.
While both APPS do need documentation and there will
be opportunities to reuse content, you will more than
likely find that the two manuals are very different in
structure.
I assume that your company is lacking engineering
documents on the FAT APP, or they would not be asking
you to document the FAT APP so that they will have a
list of its functionality. There probably is no time
to reverse engineer and create the required
engineering documents, so I would suggest that you
list the functionality of the FAT APP using Excel.
This will be a much faster method to define the FAT
APPs functionality. IMO, writing a book for the FAT
APP when you are about to move to the WEB APP is just
a waste of time and does not guarantee that the
content will be the same in the WEB APP.
Rather start from scratch with the WEB APP
documentation. Naturally if you do have FAT APP
documents, recycle the appropriate content when
possible.
As development progresses, your FAT APP outline will
be a very useful yard stick if you maintain the same
functionality outline for the WEB APP. In my
experience the WEB APP outline is not a 1:1 map of the
FAT APP outline and is often more extended in certain
functional areas.
Hope that helps.
Sean Wheller
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