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Subject:Re: Bugs in Documentation From:WandaJane Phillips <wandajp -at- ANDYNE -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 6 Jun 1996 14:16:55 -0400
1. Documenation bugs are
- incomplete information
- inaccurate information
- customer requests become *missing* information bugs
- changes in the software that occur after the doc is done (not
all are visible changes, but some affect the operation)
2. Yes, we assign a value to indicate the effect on performance, the
greater the performance degradation, the more important the *fix*,
determined by customer support and product management, assigned to tech
writer(s).
3. We let known bugs *slide* if their effect on performance allows. We
then document all known bugs in the release notes.
4. We're still trying to figure out what goes online and what is in
print. Online gives us some advantages over print, but some information
must be printed. Our books have grown, rather than shrunk, as we
separate out instructional from reference and conceptual. We provide one
book for each type of information. Originally, we wanted the reference
online, because of the bulk, but instructional seems to work best
online. Once we have the conceptual book in place, we may move the
reference to a standalone electronic book. Electronic books can be
updated and distributed via the company's web page and ftp sites.
Although there is still a great deal of debate about the wisdom of that.
WandaJane
--
WandaJane Phillips
Write Livelihood was one of the 8 virtues Buddha declared
Senior Technical Writer -- Pablo team
Andyne Computing
Usual disclaimers seen here, unusual disclaimers available by request.
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