Re: Documenting a Moving Target--Update

[Karen Gwynn/Datatel <Karen_Gwynn -at- DATATEL -dot- COM>]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my plea yesterday. I'm kinda embarrassed
though, because I wrote note in the heat of the moment: bad choice.

After I sent my posting, I was able to speak with my supervisor (of course when
I was frantic, she wasn't at her desk). Anyway, one thing that I did not know
is that there is a programming cutoff, scheduled for NEXT MONTH,which should
freeze work on the current functionality, except for tweaking and such (we are
in beta/QA now). Although there are some global system areas that will be
developed, the basic documentation that I've been working on shouldn't change
too drastically after that point.

Also, for those of you who responded and mentioned this: I _am_ on the
development team; documentation _is_ part of our process; and developers (at
least management and senior folk) _do_ have a certain level of vested interest
in doc. Actually, for my company, I am working on an ideal project as far as
the interaction of doc and developement. My cube (I hate 'em) is across from
the lead developer of the module I am documenting!! However, none of this seems
to help the fact that programmers make so many "minor" changes that affect
interface and therefore doc that they don't (1) always remember to notify the
tech writers and (2) don't even document it for themselves. I guess that will
just have to come with time... (we call it continous process improvement!)

Anyway, thanks again to everyone. There was some good advise that I plan on
keeping and sharing with my colleagues here.
--
Karen Gwynn, Senior Documentation Specialist
Datatel, Inc.
703/968-4556
e-mail kwg -at- datatel -dot- com