TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Shawn Connelly asked about Document versioning.
__________________________
I used a 32-character document numbering/versioning system used at one of my
prior employers.
The Company Name Internal Document Numbering System of the form shown below:
CED# Product R. 0.0/98-0/r.0.0 has the following objectives:
o Indicate the type of information contained in the document - CED#.
o Indicate the product or product family to which the document is
applicable - Product, such as SM 20/30.
o Indicate the product release to which the document is applicable - R.
0.0, e.g., R.4.7.
o Indicate the year in which the document originated - 09.
o Provide a unique ID to distinguish related or similar documents -(09) -1
[a simple sequence number appended to the current year, for each document
category].
o Indicate the revision level of the document - r.1.0.
This type of number will be used as the 32-character identifier for tracking
documents in Version Manager.
All Company Name documents will show both the date of the initial official
(signed-off) release (1.0), and the release number and date of the latest
revision. Before the document is ready for signoff and release, use the
Latest Draft Revision 0.X and the date.
Code Description
0.1 Draft; not yet approved or released
1.0 Initial Approved Release
1.0.a Minor wording or detail changes. Increment letter release updates.
1.1 Paragraph additions/deletions/changes to one or more sections.
increment decimal release updates.
2.0 Substantive additions/deletions/changes affecting whole features or
sections Increment whole number release updates.
New Number New System Releases must have new document numbers!
This type of code can be adapted to handle your scenarios, I think.
Margaret Cekis, Johns Creek GA
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1lRPd2l
