Re: Agile software development and effect on techwriting
So rather than taking a finished product, starting at the beginning, &
working through to the end, the idea is to start with the Big Picture, then
fill in the details as they are established.
And Mike O. responded:
Sounds great. I've tried it myself, and probably recommended it a few times.
But it just doesn't work, at least not for me, YMMV.
Actually, what John described is how I often work. At my current job, the developers work in a way that's pretty close to the Agile and XP philosophies. From the start, I've worked with what was available, understanding as much as I could about what was there and writing about what I could, then filling in the details along the way.
In fact, we're starting a new project that's going to follow XP principles pretty closely, and the VP of Engineering looked at me and said, "this is basically how you've been working all along, isn't it?" And he was basically right. The software has changed a lot in the year I've been at this job, but by creating a solid structure based on a user's work flow and the high-level things you can do with the software, it's been relatively straightforward to fold in the changes that happen in each iteration of development.
martha
--
Martha Jane {Kolman | Davidson}
Dances With Words
editrix -at- nemasys -dot- com
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."
--Albert Einstein
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Agile software development and effect on techwriting: From: Solveig Haugland
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