TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: New TECHWR-L Poll Question From:"Le Vie, DonaldX S" <donaldx -dot- s -dot- le -dot- vie -at- intel -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 15 Jan 2001 07:03:08 -0800
TECHWR_L Question of the Day:
>>Given your current projects, how valuable are product
design documents or specifications?<<
EXTREMELY important. I've used specs for hardware and software projects in
almost every industry I've worked in (microprocessor design, eCommerce,
software development, industrial automation/process control, and the
earth/space sciences).
I've had training and experience with NASA's specification development
methodology (from the Software Assurance Technology Center), and their
methods/templates can be extremely rigorous for obvious reasons.
Specs can be developed in formal language, but very few people who must be
able to read and understand the spec will be able to do so as formal
language is strongly mathematical in nature. Instead, specs are developed
using natural language to facilitate the understanding by all parties of the
requirements and contractual obligations. The problem with natural language
is one we deal with every day: it introduces ambiguity, inaccuracy, and
inconsistency.
Donn Le Vie
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17) http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.
Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001
Conference East, June 4-5, Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. http://www.pdfconference.com or toll-free 877/278-2131.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
