Re: Has anyone ever written the user guide before the product was developed (coded)?

[Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>]

On 11/12/2010 03:44 PM, John G wrote:
> I did this once many years ago and it worked out very well. It was a
> desperation move by the product manager to save an off-the-track project,
> but it worked. I wanted to do it again but they said it was too unorthodox a
> development methodology.
>
> If you can finagle your way into the spec-writing side of things, it's very
> similar and you end up with a darned good spec that lends itself nicely to
> creating a great set of docs.

Ditto.

The major problem is finding out about the project before they come to 
you six weeks before FCS and demand docs for something that was kept 
secret from you. Or if you're contracting, something they brought you in 
to write about after they found the customers don't like the cryptic 
notes from the developer, or the clunky interface with the 
incomprehensible buttons.

Why am I such a good cynic? Is it something I ate?
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