Time estimate for writing manual?

Subject: Time estimate for writing manual?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 21:25:26 -0400


Bonnie Granat wrote: <<A prospective client (the same one I wrote about some weeks ago) and I are in the process creating a Statement of Work for the first part of the project. This first part consists of a User Guide that contains both end-user and administrator information. While I have seen the application, I have not seen it yet in actual use.>>

Cue scary background music... <g>

<<The client will be coming to my home office to train me for 8 hours and after that I will begin work. My problem is this: the client has estimated the time for writing to be 120 hours, and I cannot tell at this point how many hours will be required.>>

You informed the client that the estimates seemed reasonable but that you can't tell for sure without actually seeing the program. That's reasonable, and it seems like they've accepted your suggestion, which is a good sign. If you can get the client to provide you with a functional specifications document of some sort (i.e., a list of features and the number of interface widgets such as menu choices, fields, utilities, etc. used to implement them), you can come up with a better estimate.

If they don't have any such planning document, add in a ton of padding to account for "feature creep": people who work without a plan are a nightmare to work with. I fired a client recently because they were largely "making it up as they went along", and I have too much other work to put up with that kind of amateurish crap. Life's too short, and all that. (Before anyone asks, "too late: I already passed the client on to a colleague with more patience than I have, and everyone loves each other. Sorry!")

I recommend adding a clause to the contract that states something like the following: "During the training session, we will develop a complete list of all menus and dialogs etc. etc. etc. that must be documented, and the client will sign the list to indicate that this constitutes the ***full scope of the work***. Within a couple days after creating this list, I will come up with a revised estimate of time requirements. Anything added to the interface after this list has been approved will be billed at the following rate... [details]."

Also make sure to find out how much access you'll have to the developers and to get this in writing; the less access you have, the more you will need to pad your time estimates to account for research and chasing down "people who know".

--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)


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Time estimate for writing manual: From: Bonnie Granat

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