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I think a lot of the confusion is created by the engineering tendency to
string together adjectives and modifiers. This is one of the tendencies
that gives engineer-speak its endearing (and, unfortunately, enduring)
qualities.
Let's try to parse the phrase: "System Development Life Cycle
documentation" .
First word: System. OK, System Documentation. Fine. There is a "system,"
it is to be documented. Tech Writer responds to recruiter: "Yes, I have
done system documentation."
Second word: Development. OK, so the system is being developed (or
planning to be developed); i.e. it doesn't exist yet. So the
documentation is to keep track of analysis and design decisions, changes
in architecture, etc. as the engineers changed their minds about how
they thought the thing would work, or the customers changed their minds
about what they wanted. Development often involves a formal methodology.
Tech Writer responds to recruiter: "Yes, I have done analysis and design
documentation for a Great Big System (GBS) under development following
the Nietzsche-Wagner method" or "I have documented a financial
transaction processing application during its implementation (i.e.,
end-user) phase, and produced user guides, reference material, and
online help."
Third word/words: Life Cycle (or is it becoming "Lifecycle"): this
buzzword refers not to an exercise bike but to applying a life cycle
approach to software development. I'm a bit fuzzy on this one but I
think it involves taking into account how future changes in customer
requirements, user needs, hardware evolution, etc. can affect the life
(future versions) of the system and planning for its maintenance, and
eventual death, I suppose. Tech Writer responds to recruiter: "I did a
life cycle analysis document for the GBS project manager" or "I read up
on lifecycle planning in _Managing Software Development Using the
Nietzche-Wagner Method_ but didn't have to produce any specific Life
Cycle documentation."
The reality of being a technical writer today is that we have to deal
with the daily proliferation of buzzwords. But the confusion is
definitely compounded by strung-together adjectives and modifiers that
often (but probably not always) represent types and sub-types or sets
and subsets of things (i.e. life cycle document is a subset of
development documentation, which is a subset of system documentation).
What a buzz, huh.
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