Re: The Documentation Being Put Through Qual Assistance Process

Subject: Re: The Documentation Being Put Through Qual Assistance Process
From: Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca>
Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2006 12:14:49 -0400

Agnes, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I have not seen this process work exactly the way you describe it, but there are many good reasons for QA and documentation being together. It will feel strange to you until you go through the cycle a few times. Sounds like you're having to undergo quite a paradigm shift.

Perhaps the easiest way to attack it is to remember that documentation always has been iterative. We do a draft, then we look at it to find errors (bugs), and then we fix those errors and issue another draft (build). The document development life cycle is the same as the software development life cycle. (Which is also the product development life cycle as well as the project life cycle.) The more you can see the parallels between QA for documentation and QA for product, the easier this transition will be for you.

I have worked in companies where we created bug tickets for documentation errors as well as product bugs. You can apply the same bug priorities and methodology to errors in documentation as you can with software. Ask yourself how it would be handled for software, and then how should I adapt this for documentation. You probably wouldn't have a bug ticket for each typo, but you'd have one that said "Needs a spell check and pass for typos". Since you have online documentation, it is quite reasonable to have QA test it all to make sure the links work, etc.

The QA people assigned to you, however, need to include your SME, a technical editor, and anyone else capable of proper documentation reviews. Just as one would review software specifications and design to make sure the right thing is being built, draft documentation has to be reviewed by the SMEs so you know that what is going online is correct. Good QA for software includes user testing, not just automated test cases.

I think you will find this process to be quite enjoyable when you see how strongly the documentation and software cycles mirror each other. Once you learn the nuances of the software development life cycle, you will be able to work the methodology to your advantage with the documentation. Many techwriters have managers who do not understand documentation, so you are not alone there. It will be your job to ask for what you want, justify it in terms they can understand, and then help them adapt the process so that you are fairly treated. Educate your "client" about your job, and work with whatever system they give you. You can indeed succeed at this, and it will open up future doors for you because of your increased experience.
--Beth

Agnes Starr wrote:

Can someone give me some idea or their thoughts about what I am being asked to do because it feels weird. T... It is like his whole orientation is from a Qa standpoint and my new hat just feels like it is very production and QA oriented.
--
Beth Agnew
Catch the Buzz: http://bethbuzz.blogspot.com
STC Presentation archived at:
http://www.301url.com/podcasting

Professor, Technical Communication
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133
http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u

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References:
The Documentation Being Put Through Qual Assistance Process: From: Agnes Starr

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