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Subject:Re: Help! New Job, No Docs, Big Company From:Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 2 Oct 1998 12:24:40 -0400
Hey Luke,
Sounds like a job for Use Case Man! (Woman)
Developing use cases would help you pin down all the tasks and processes
involved in using the software. It can encompass business processes as well
as functionality to make both the IT and Accounting people happy. A use case
is basically a simplistic description of the steps involved in performing a
task or using a thing. Written at about the same level as a 10 year old
writes, use cases can be put together by anyone. In a way, they are like a
written flow chart. You'd start by asking everyone who knows anything about
the software and how it works, or any other business area, to write a use
case for each idea.
From there you can organize them into whatever types of manuals or
documentation you need to produce, gradually fleshing them out and upgrading
them into real procedures.
If you want a sample and some more information, e-mail me. (And anyone else
who is interested, too.)
--Beth
Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100 Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1 Fax: (905) 513-1419 mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com