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Subject:Re: Do you log your changes? From:Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:34:50 -0500
Why are you logging your changes?
If you're tracking them for customers, use the product management list in the release notes; these will be major features (such as "the product now supports IPv6"), not every change (such as "on the BlahBlah page, the "Ok" button is now labeled "OK").
If you're tracking for reviewers, use change bars, and include in a cover memo a list of changes (such as "Chapter 4 is new; the information on Parking Meters in Chapter 5 is rewritten to include GPS support"), which will encourage and focus review.
If you're tracking for your own records, I suggest you print out and file a package for every release including all the planning documents (release plan, doc plan, test plans, etc.), any specs and review copies you got (you lucky devil--!), and all the quality records (doc plan, review cover letters, signoff forms) you may have. It makes for an impressive pile that you can still shred/recycle after a year or two. (Keep the quality records forever, though.) And it has saved my rear end in pathological cases when someone came by a year later demanding to know who told me to make some change. If you're as busy as I am, you've totally forgotten that release and what it contained, but if you can lay your hands on the name of the person who told you to change the default on the JibJab length to 21K, you're covered. (No, I didn't decide to make the change on my own. Sheesh...!)
-- Steve
Steven Jong ("Typo? What tpyo?")
SteveFJong -at- comcast -dot- net
978-413-2553 [C]
Home sweet home page: StevenJong.net
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