TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I've been a lurker on this list for a while. I've been a tech writer for
over 10 years now but my current position is the first where I'll be
doing SDLC-related documentation. I'm used to doing end-user docs,
online help, etc.
Anyway, I've been tasked with coming up with a process that makes sure
that changes made to the software design are reflected in the technical
documentation. Meaning, we'll be having a Requirements doc, a
Specifications doc, etc., but, as the software design process moves
along, change requests come through and the software is changed....but
the documentation rarely is.
What we're dealing with here is an application that is now 2 years old
and there are literally several thousand change requests that have been
implemented...but the documentation never reflected those changes. So
when you look at the original documentation, it's almost completely
different from the current version of the software. The original
documentation is pretty much useless.
Luckily for me, they don't want me to sort through all those change
requests - but we're starting to develop a new application so they want
me to put something in place so things don't get out of control again.
As background - I'm the lone tech writer here and they'll go with
whatever I recommend...but I need guidance.
Thanks for whatever help you can provide.
Laura Charles Johnson
Technical Writer, User Experience Team
Chase Education Finance
This electronic message transmission contains information from Collegiate Funding Services, LLC or its subsidiaries or affiliates that may be confidential or privileged. The information is intended to be for the use of only the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail @cfsloans.com immediately and delete this e-mail and any attachments from your system and any copies you may have made, electronic or otherwise.
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today!. http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
