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Natalie--I think you're in better shape than you think
you said:
>She asked me for a comprehensive list of everything I have ever
>written, a description of the project/product documented, what platform I
>authored for, and what development platform I authored from.
There's a big difference between showing an actual sample and describing a
project in general terms. There is a lot you can say about a project
without breaching confidentiality, and if you're really nervous, simply run
the verbiage by your old employer.
(Hope this interviewer gave you some time to put this together!!)
I'll use a personal example. The database my company develops is absolutely
unique--in fact they have several patents on the concept. In addition, they
have several military/government projects. There are obviously several
confidentiality issues.
So I couldn't write a description like: "Online help specifically designed
to assist intelligence officers in the field as they use our data
correlation system with its unique message parsing algorithm to isolate and
track transmissions and transfer coordinates to blankety-blank missile
system" (which is gobbledygook--and isn't really what the interviewer is
asking for anyway).
But I could write something like: "Online help system for DCS-SIGINT Data
Correlation System. Details of this project and client are confidential.
Primary documentation challenges in this project involved accessibility:
the software was to be used in mobile environments with no access to
traditional technical support and severe file size constraints....The online
help was developed on Windows NT using RoboHelp; the application and help
were designed for the Windows CE operating system." You could also mention
the audience in general terms (novice or expert), the size of the project,
time constraints, etc.
OK so this isn't the greatest example, but if you think about what the
interviewer wants to know, and about what precisely is confidential about a
project, it should be pretty easy to come up with some description that
clearly shows you're not talking through your hat while upholding your
ethics.
Good luck on this job!
Sella Rush mailto:sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com
Applied Technical Systems (ATS)
Bremerton, Washington
Developers of the CCM Database
