RE: release notes question

Subject: RE: release notes question
From: Darriel Dawne <ddawne -at- infowave -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 18:40:05 -0800


Joan Smith asks...

* Who writes them, the documention writers or the
>engineers/programmers/QA/whomever?

In my company I have QA write them up (they use a template I created). I
then edit the file and pass it on to the Product Manager for final approval.

* How does your company decide what type of information needs a note or how
>can you get your company to lighten up on the RN load? (we have had
releases where we
>honestly have over 150 release notes written for different parts of the
product). We tend to
>get very specific, yet we are not allowed to use certain words like "fixed"
or "bug", believe it or not, due
>to Marketing constrictions!

In the template I have QA classify "Know Problems and Workarounds". I put
the most common "problems" first and follow with "Rare Occurrences". These
are serious problems that QA has encountered infrequently.

I would never put the term "bug" in any customer facing document. "Fixed" is
a bit trickier, because I can see how you would want a customer to know of a
fix. I try to use, "improved" or "addressed". See the Microsoft Manual of
Style for basic guidelines.

To reduce the load I'd suggest having QA or Dev do the first write ups.
You'd be surprised at how your load lightens :-)

Cheers,
Darriel

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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 ForeFront, Inc., maker of ForeHelp Help authoring tools
for print, WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp, and cross-platform InterHelp
See www.forehelp.com for more information and free evaluation downloads

---
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.


Previous by Author: Removing outdated FrameMaker styles
Next by Author: RE: More on the ... Very serious RoboHelp HTML problems ...
Previous by Thread: RE: release notes question
Next by Thread: Software for Students, Take 2


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads