RE: Resources on estimating documentation projects

["Johnson, Tom" <TJohnson -at- starcutter -dot- com>]

Tony,

Yes, estimating requires analysis. Is that the word you're hoping someone will use?

You have to look at the thing you're documenting and find out what it is that you have to describe, teach, or convey to the reader/learner. You have to ask your SME what they want covered, to what depth, and how much do they think they want to pay (or come up with that figure on your own).

There are different ways to compile your estimate. I've even heard some people have used DFD's to get a handle on the project.

You might also find out the scope is closely related to the estimate.

Tom Johnson
Technical Writer
tjohnson -at- starcutter -dot- com 

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+tjohnson=starcutter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+tjohnson=starcutter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]On
Behalf Of Tony Markos
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 12:22 PM
To: Sharon Burton; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Resources on estimating documentation projects


Sharon:

So what is the essence of her approach to time
estimating: history (maybe Ok if your doing a
knock-off, but many - maybe most of us - don't do too
many of those)? anticipated page count? number of
developers?

Thanks,

Tony

P.S. You know Sharon, Hackos credits Yourdon as a
source of inspiration.

"It is only by dying (i.e., following the flow of
data) that we are born again (i.e., come to understand
the underlying logic of a software system)" - AJ
Markos

--- Sharon Burton <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com> wrote:

> Nor does it cover the inportance of red licorice
> whips and pizza in a project.
> But it does the most accepted quality standards in
> the industry, such as CCM,
> and how those apply to tech pubs projects.
> 
> It's not about analyzing your project, it's about
> managing it as tho it were a
> project in an organization that is striving for
> quality, Tony. You might want
> to get the book and then read it. It is the accepted
> bible in our 
> field. It has
> a lot of important information you should know.
> 

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