RE: Principles for proceedure writing

[Lyn Worthen <Lyn -dot- Worthen -at- caselle -dot- com>]

I regularly use a similar method, documenting the steps I'm taking through
the process, including warnings, tips, notes for getting out of mistakes,
etc., as appropriate to the document.

When I -know- that the UI is undergoing constant change, I'll go ahead and
document (as per Robert's method), but will hold off from taking the screen
captures until later in the development.  Instead, I insert two lines of
caption:
 line 1: describing the picture I want to insert (with any note about
callouts, highlights, etc.)
 line 2: the caption that will remain in the text

This has proven useful for reviewers, who know what the UI is supposed to
look at/have it available to them, as well as minimized my re-work efforts -
while I may still have to rework the -text- seventeen times over the course
of the project, but only have to take screen shots twice/three times.

L 

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert E. Simanski 
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 1:57 PM

...<snip>...
The book consisted of step-by-step procedures for performing specific 
tasks. I would perform a step on the server, take a screen shot in many 
cases, then describe the step on my workstation. This included telling the 
reader what they should be seeing on their screen. Some procedures had a 
dozen or more steps, so it was time-consuming, but I believe that the 
reader was well served by this approach, which left nothing to chance.

I wrote the book while Windows 2000 was still in beta testing. There were 
major changes in the interface from one beta release to another, as well as 
from the betas to the release candidates, so I was constantly rewriting and 
revising right until the end.

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