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Patty Ewy asked for a multiplier factor relating SW
development time to writing time.
Patty, I hope to get such a multiplier also.
Developers have ways to estimate the number of lines of
new code a project will require. They apply a multiplier
and get the number of work days for the project.
My company has good records of development time spent on
old projects. Alas, our writing time was lumped into a
general category and never linked to the project. This
is changing, and soon we will be able to see the total
days spent on writing for a project.
However, if I had the time :) I could find out the dates
people started and finished old manuals for old projects.
I could then get the development time for the same project
and find the multiplier.
Time card data would be best, but even going by writer-weeks
from old status reports would work well enough.
Maybe someone has done it already?
This would be a great paper to develop and present. Or has
it been done?
Dick Dimock Artfully Senior Tech Writer of
Artful, Senior Tech Manuals
AT&T Global Information Solutions
El Segundo, CA Watching a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks swoop
around this 20-story building. They nest
near our helipad. Probably live on balony
and cheese swooped from unsuspecting lunchers.
"There's one, Martha!"
"Right, John! You distract him. I'll swoop!"
