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Subject:RE: Designing a new help system -- Oh boy! ...ugh From:"Michelle Wolfe" <WOLFEM -at- bcbsil -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 02 Dec 1999 10:20:22 -0600
Rene Stephenson wrote in part:
<4. Project Schedule -- How can you possibly estimate the timeline for>
<creating a help system that works with software that's still being>
<developed???>
I have developed help systems for some software systems that were still in the development stage. While it is a challenge to estimate the timeline, it can be done. I have found that usually the developers have a test plan, maybe with cycles defined containing tests for specific functionality. I use those test plans as a starting point.
If Function A will be tested in Cycle 4, I plan to write and test the help for Function A during Cycle 5. That way, I am only one cycle behind the development. The later test cycles often test interoperability between systems and that gives me the time to complete writing and testing the help.
I'm sure there are other ways to create timelines for systems in development, but I have found that this works really well and keeps the help in snyc with system development.
