Re: Time estimate for writing manual

Subject: Re: Time estimate for writing manual
From: "Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 16:13:00 -0400


Scope? (Don't laugh.) What do you mean? I'm going to document the
application.

I take it you think that part of what I said was wise and part was not.

I said "seems reasonable" because I didn't want to say that it was just
impossible to give an hour figure at this stage. And another reason was
that when I looked at the total dollar figure of the entire job, it was
over $8,000, and I thought to myself that a manual (user and admin), a
Help file, and technical specifications -- three documents -- for
$8,000 -- sounded about right. I suppose it's obvious that I have never
done this before.

How does one word a statement of work if the time involved is unknown at
the outset?

Is there a way to figure out the time per feature or something?

B.


John Posada wrote:
>> Was there a better way to handle it? I thought of posting my
>> question
>> before I made the comment, but that was yesterday and I concluded
>> that
>> I'd just see what you all would say after the deed was done.
>
>
> Bonnie...experience from 18 years of sales:
>
> After this statement: "> These estimates seem reasonable to me..",
> all the customer sees or hears afterwards is
> "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."
>
> Go back to them later with a request for more money or time and
> they'll say "WHY!? You said our estimate was reasonable!"
>
> Besides...HOW could it seem reasonable to you? You know nothing about
> the application you are writing about....you haven't used it, right?
> No scope has been written, has it?
>
> =====
> John Posada
> Senior Technical Writer
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail



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Re: Time estimate for writing manual: From: John Posada

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