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Very true, Paul. That's one reason it is vital to be an active member of
the team. Still, one of the themes in agile development is that the UI
is one of the last things that are developed. If the team adopts that
approach, it leaves little time for the TW and the developer to work
together, since the deadline is looming.
I have found that structuring the documentation based on the Sprint
plan, then fleshing out the details as development is being done (not
necessarily completed), then finalizing it during testing, works well
for parallel development/documentation. Many teams, even agile teams,
likely still relegate the documentation as the last thing to be done. It
is up to the TW to insert herself into the team wherever and whenever
necessary.
--Darrell
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+dzuerche=tva -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+dzuerche=tva -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Paul Hanson
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 10:42 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Agile tech writing
If you are working on the doc at the same time as the developer, when
you find things that need to change - typos, unclear error messages,
renaming check boxes or other UI elements - my experience is that it's
easier to do so while they are still doing the coding or have the coding
done to a degree that they are doing their own testing. Once it is
"done" in their mind and they've moved on, you may have to refocus their
attention on what you are doing. If you have a good relationship with
the Developer, they'll learn quite quickly that when they have the
screens changed, if they give you a copy of the screens or a doc that
explains what they are doing, both of you will be happier.
Paul Hanson
Technical Writer
Quintrex Data Systems Corp.
505 33rd Avenue SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 363-5508
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+phanson=quintrex -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+phanson=quintrex -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Zuercher, Darrell
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 9:24 AM
To: Blount, Patricia A; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Agile tech writing
<snip>
Concerning your delivery schedule, one option might be to delay delivery
of the software by one Sprint, in order to complete the documentation.
Feature 1 is developed in Sprint 1. Feature 2 is developed in Sprint 2,
while Feature 1 is documented, and then released. Feature 3 is developed
in Sprint 3, while Feature 2 is documented, and then released. Just a
thought.
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and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com
Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at: http://www.ModernAnalyst.com
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