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I'd like your take on this from both ethical and practical perspectives.
I've been given a friendly heads-up from management that we may need to send
out a large documentation set for a relatively new, as-yet-undocumented
product without review. Also, if the documentation isn't finished for the
customers who want early product releases, I may be asked to "wrap up
whatever I have" and send out the documentation as is. This includes a help
system, user's guide, and setup guide. Because our other writer is facing a
similar situation, it appears to be a trend: it's okay to send out
unreviewed or even incomplete documents as long as we label them "early
release."
Because our developers often do all the testing of "early release" software
outside the formal QA cycle, it's possible that management sees no practical
difference in the writers doing their own cleanup and proofing of an "early
release" document. I haven't been able to persuasively articulate a
difference so far. (Our "early release" customers usually expect some
software features to be incomplete because they're getting the product
early.)
What are my options for appropriate responses? Am I wrong, or unrealistic,
to take a hard line on this? I've expressed my discomfort with unreviewed
documents going out the door. I also plan to review our standard licensing
agreement ASAP to make sure we disclaim the documentation as an express
warranty.
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