Re: Temporary items in technical documentation

Subject: Re: Temporary items in technical documentation
From: Bethany Haara <Bethany_Haara -at- MW -dot- 3COM -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 10:09:47 -0500

In response to Jon Herrera <jonherrera -at- YAHOO -dot- COM> on 10/08/98 03:40:23
PM


>I am working on a document set for a software product. As I write
>documents, both the specs and the engineers identify certain features
>as temporary, that is, it would be great to have those features, but
>we're not sure if they're going to be in the final product.

Hi Jon!

My company will usually, send a Release note or Addendum with the
products if any features were added that didn't make into the manual. If
certain features will definitely be in the product, place those features in
the manual.
For the time being, leave the "temporary" items out of the manual.
Depending on how
much time you have before you MUST send the manual to print, you may be
able to include
some of the temporary items in the manual. However, if you've already sent
the manual to
print, and other temporary items make it into the product,
place them into a Release Note. You can change or revise the release note
up until the
last minute, since these are usually a little better than "photocopy"
quality. When the next release
is scheduled- you can include all features in the release note
into the manual.

I would shed some caution on Release Notes-- they can be cumbersome if
you have too many of them. Most of the time they are loose (stapled, or
folded) sheets of paper, so if you have more than one Release Note, it
can become confusing. If you will be doing frequent updates- it can be
a great way to include the last minute features!

Hope this helps!

Bethany


From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=



Previous by Author: Re: Twilight Zone during Word session???
Next by Author: Producing Books for an International Audience
Previous by Thread: Temporary items in technical documentation
Next by Thread: JOBS: On-site junior, mid, and senior-level tech writers (Bethesda, MD)


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads