Re: Pages Per Day

[john -at- garisons -dot- com]

Jim sobbed:

> The project manager â?? and one upper-manager â?? gave us (are you ready
> for this?) four days to complete the end-user guide.  The amusing part was
> that they scheduled five days to decide on a table of contents, and two
> weeks for review.

I'd go with the narcotics line as a lead off ... then tell them that you
can do it in 20 seconds and hand them a sheet with the letters of the
alphabet, numerals 0-9, and punctuation marks with a note that says
"Duplicate and arrange as required."

Seriously, I recall a metric of a page a day for research, writing,
technical reviewing, and prepping for pubication. A lot depends on how
thorough the planning and specification process is. If it's done well and
the writers are active participants, it can speed up the writing quite a
bit. A lot depends on the discipline of the organization. If developers
are constantly squeezing in new things without warning, or making changes
without a change management system in place, it will add to the time
required.

How much do they care about good documentation and support? What will the
tech support people use to answer the questions that will undoubtedly
arise when such a poorly documented application hits the streets? Do they
care about astronomical support costs? How many do they expect to sell and
how many people will use it? All of these factor into the planning.

I don't suppose you could ask if they made a mistake and meant four months
  or perhaps quarters - to do the job instead of days?

My 2¢,

John G





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