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Subject:RE: Access to software versions: a rant From:"Gordon McLean" <Gordon -dot- McLean -at- GrahamTechnology -dot- com> To:"'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 30 May 2007 10:20:45 +0100
How you USE software is only learnable if you have access to the software
itself.
You can read all the specs in the world but they will only ever give you how
the person who wrote it thinks the software should be used.
The best argument I can come up with is this:
If you give me access to the software I can learn it and take less time from
the developers when asking them "what if...". You need to cover 'non-happy
path' usage of the software in the docs and that only way you get to that is
by having the software.
I'd be tempted to say that it wasn't something that was really up for
discussion at all, you either get access or you can't do your job. Do they
expect testing to test the software based on screenshots or specs?
Ohh you've got me all ranty too!!
HTH
Gordon
P.S. If I don't get access to builds of the software, then I won't provide
any documentation. I was lucky to establish that fact within the first two
weeks, with buy-in from the CTO (it helps that he is my boss mind you..)
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+gordon -dot- mclean=grahamtechnology -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+gordon -dot- mclean=grahamtechnology -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of Carrie Baker
Sent: 30 May 2007 10:14
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Access to software versions: a rant
I am documenting software, a new version is compiled about every week and
goes into QA.
After lots of battles, I got authorization to access the drive the software
version is on so I can run the applications and document them!
A few years ago, my authorization disappeared and I got it back again, once
I talked to the head of R&D etc.
This week, I couldn't see that drive again.
It turned out that the relatively new head of QA had done some tidying up
and taken the Technical Writer's authorization for accessing new versions of
the application away.
I sent an email cc'ed to all the world about this, then went to talk to the
QA manager.
So she asked me: "But why do you need access to the software??????"
Well.....I need to document it, for example, once they forgot to tell me
that all the menus were changed, and I only knew by looking at the software
that the menus had been changed.
I hate working with screen captures, I like to run the applications
(whenever possible) and see what happens when I click the buttons, as well
as making my own captures.
What other impressive reasons do you think a TW can have for wanting to "run
the application"?
Do other writers documenting software generally have access to the
applications?
--
Carrie Baker
carriebak -at- gmail -dot- com
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