Re: Documentation cycle

[John Posada <john -at- TDANDW -dot- COM>]

> I'm new to the corporate world (graduated 1997) and have been working at my
> first "experience" job for the last year. I find myself working under
> incredible deadlines (for example, all the online help for a product in two
> weeks) and I'm wondering if this is typical for software? Should I
> specialize in another area (not software) if I expect a decent amount of
> time to complete my documentation?
>

Cassandra...

Ah, yes...the things they don't reach you in school.

Seriously...

Yes...deadlines are a way of life. This sounds easier than it is, but part of
the trick is to get yourself involved in the development cycle earlier so you
have a head start and can anticipate a reqiuirement before it's too late.

I've done a fairly wide range of types of work...the type I'm doing now has
been the most lesiurly...and it IS software documentation. The most severe was
for proposals, and that usualy involved 300-800 pages in about 2-3 weeks.

Now...deadlines shouldn't ALWAYS be that severe and they shouldn't be for every
project, but in reality, tight deadlines is more usual than not.

As far as decent amount of time, you will always have less than you would like.
The trick is to earn enough so that the deadlines have their reward. It's
amazing how you start looking at dealines as a challenge when you're earning
over $100k per year.


John Posada
posada -at- faxsav -dot- com