Re: writers to programmers ratio

Subject: Re: writers to programmers ratio
From: Mitch Berg <mberg -at- IS -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 07:52:33 -0600

amram wrote:
>
> What is the optimal ratio of TWs to engineering staff?...They number about 20 all together.
> My guess is that 60% of them are programmers. The product
> (a rather complex tool for internet programming)
> is due to be released in six months. No real documentation
> exists.

> Is this a recipie for disaster or what?
>
>I would like to
> cite to the head honcho of this outfit, some official-type
> stats re writers to programmers. Any ideas? A search of
> Michael Krigman's database yielded nothing.

First, what kind of dox are they looking for?

If they're looking for end-user dox - guides, online help - one person
_could_ probably pull it off (I've done it). It's not ideal, but it
could work.

If they need system dox - class encyclopedias, sys requirements, etc -
especially for an OO system, you'll need more (esp. if the end-user
stuff is also slated). There was an article in the Nov. 1994 issue of
Technical Communication, written by a group of IBM techwriters, that
suggested a ration of 1 techwhirly to every 3 programmers, in order to
capture the evolution of the project's object structure and all of the
scenarios, business logic and other material behind it.

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