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Hey all, I am back after a brief hiatus. New job, new outlook, and life is
grand! Anyway, my new job, at a relatively new company (five years old, but
doing well), is head of the newly formed documentation department (there
wasn't one before!). Right now, it is a one man shop. Which, as many of you
know, can be an exciting and and challenging experience. The great news, is
I am supported by upper management. Since the company, MicroMass
Communications, is in the business of communication, they see the need of
documentation and that without documentation, the company can't be a
success. If I need more people, which I suspect I will, I will be able to
get them. Cool, eh? Anyway, I digress.
Back to the point of this email. I get to put together all kinds of
policies, procedures, templates, and the like, as well as learning the
software, writing the documentation, learning management, and a host of
other things. Today, I was asked to put together a document that contains a
list of documents that will be needed for our software product. Each type of
document should be accompanied with a brief description, who will use it,
why it is important, etc. I scoured the archives, and could find little
useful information on this topic. Right now, I am doing the same with the
internet. However, I like to do things with a two pronged approach, hence
this email. I have had very little experience in this area, and really don't
know what types of documents should be included with a software product.
Most of the documents that I have written have been exhaustive user guides.
Therefore, I was wondering if anyone point me in the right direction on the
internet that might be a good resource. Book titles on this topic would be
good. Or if any of you has experience or knowledge about this type of thing,
I could definitely benefit from talking to you. Especially managers who have
had to go through this type of exercise. I have already identified a user's
guide (of course!) and a reference guide. Other than that, I am really in
the dark. There might be a need for an installation guide, but right now,
that is not the top priority. What types of end user documentation is there
for a "typical" software program? Or do I have them? My gut instinct tells
me that I am, so any help that can be provided will be appreciated.
Feel free to email me off the list, and I can post a summary of the types if
any are received.
Kevin Feeman
Technical Writer
MicroMass Communications Inc.
www.micromass.com <http://www.micromass.com/>
(919) 851-3182 Ext. 3105
kevin -dot- feeman -at- micromass -dot- com
