Re: Necessity of Doc Plans for a Single Chapter or Section

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

<SteveFJong -at- aol -dot- com> wrote in message news:130079 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
> 
> Andrew, if you have ever done work for a client without signing a
contract, 
> then I will happily accept your advice. Otherwise, I think you're
indulging 
> in preaching what is good for me but not for thee.

My work is much different than a full-time employee. Yes, we always do a
project assessment report before beginning a documentation project. It
includes such things as what the document will cover, timeline,
requirements, etc. But this is for a consulting arrangement, and it is a
discernable amount of work, and we are competing to win that work. 
Moreover, it isn't about planning the entire document, its planning the
project. Our projects often include a lot more than just writing a
document. While we may do a doc plan of sorts once the project us
underway, this usually consists of an email exchange between the lead
writer and our client contact. 

I surely wouldn't waste my client's time demanding a new project report
everytime a word changed. That is ludicrious.  Now, if a client wanted it
(and would pay) that's a different story. :-) 

As an employee, a doc plan should be written to help focus work, not to
CYA. If you were writing a brand new doc from day one, yes a plan would
help focus people. But it must be written as such. 

Writing a plan just so you can demand strict adhearance to that plan later
on when things change is a pretty pathetic reason to write a plan in the
first place. 

Andrew Plato 

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