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I've read this message several times looking for the
uniqueness of your situation. It's not there. We've all
worked in the mushroom farm (where they keep you in the
dark and feed you BS) at one time or another.
You didn't say what kind of application you're documenting.
If it's an API or SDK, then yes, you'll probably need to
rely on the devs for help. But if it's a GUI, you really
should be able to stand on your own.
You need to write an installation manual? Fine - go grab the
disks, stick 'em in a machine, watch what happens and write
it down. Need to document a specific function? Play with it
and figure out what it does. Then, when you've gone as far
as you can go on your own, ask questions of the devs to fill
in the blanks.
Be intrepid - ask testing where the system for you to break
is located. <g>
As far as not knowing the release schedule or the content --
well, some dev teams are like that. Who's in charge? Ask!
If that doesn't work, make friends... go to lunch with the
devs, play ping pong with 'em, whatever it takes.
But if you sit there waiting for information to come to you,
you'll almost certainly be disappointed.
My two cents.
-Sue Gallagher
>
> From: sonjam -at- dhsolutions -dot- co -dot- za
> Im not entirely new to technical writing but landed in a rather unique
> situation,
> Im supposed to write all the help files, user manuals, training docs for 5
> x custom developed software programs,
> but Im sitting in a office on the other side of the building. I don't get
> included in any of the project meetings,
> and have no idea when the latest releases takes place or what is in them.
> The developers think I have to write
> the manuals out of my own knowledge, on my own steam, but I don't know the
> products. Anyone else facing the
> same situation?
>
> So what I did ...
> was to gather ... and combine these. I know what a manual should look
> like... Then
> I went around gathering more info, and presented it... The tore the whole doc
> to pieces, and one of them then sat and documented the correct info.
> Well, all I can say, is I got a document out of them
> in the end.
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