Is your documentation project about to cook your goose? The analogy of a documentation project with a stuffed bird is not the turkey it appears to be. Good documentation is stuffed with the proper information properly arranged so that it neither starves its readers nor kills their interest.

The problem is, when your project becomes more like a…

Avoid the Holiday Blahs

All cookbooks give the right steps to follow so that roasted fowl doesn't become foul roast. For one thing, you know a good project plan is essential to your product development. Similarly, a good documentation plan is the key to your communication products.

You documentation plan must meld with your development plan so that the writer can be involved at each critical step and be able to interact with your subject matter experts—including representatives from your user group—to obtain the information needed.

This information is both technical and non-technical in nature, of course. In the world of software usability, most users don't know or care about the formal structure of an underlying database and its calls and routines. They want to know what the product does, how to use it effectively, and how their use of it will enhance their ability to do their jobs.

Software developers have different needs. To them, the technical details are critical. They use these to either maintain or add to the product to increase its functionality and ease of use and, therefore, contribute to its continued marketability.

Santa Reminds You…

Now is not the time to forget your documentation. If you do, your documentation will remember your and your project long after the office parties and holiday revelry have passed.

Take the time—now—to bring in a technical communicator who has the experience and professional acumen to work with you. Together, we can bring in your project on time and at or under budget.