Re: Organizing advice needed

[Katav <katav -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>]

First suggestion: map the application.

Know the window/screen hierarchy and identify the
branches.

There MAY - ok, ain't likely, but - be some
documentation extant on this; if not, the alternative
is slow, painful, and reminiscent of Alice following
the White Rabbit ... create your own map by following
one route after another. (Big there/done that;
sympathies.)

Once you have the "map," you probably will be able to
see logical (at least to the programmers who developed
this thing) relationships.

* SUDDEN LIGHT: Look at the code; maybe there are
programmer comments that will help with the mapping. *

If I was about to document this, my choice of outline
would be
  <h1>Intro
     <h2>Purpose (or manual)
     <h2>Scope (or manual)
     <h2>About the product (what it does, etc.)
  <h1>Functions  (note, functions are NOT screens)
     <h2>Function 1
        <h3>Overview (purpose of function, links to
            other [related] functions)
        <h3>Encapsulated operation ( maybe a table
            of do this --- this happens ) that
            basically is a "reminder" for those who
            are proficient
        <h3>Detailed operation (for the trainee)

There is a SUMMARY regarding a MONSTER MANUAL that is
worth your attention for this project - seems a lot of
similarity. Should be in the TW archives ... the
summary appeared within the last day or two.


--- Jane Bergen <jbergen1 -at- YM_M4I5S3S_2 -dot- NET> wrote:
> Hi, folks,
>
> I recently took on a mammoth project. I'm writing a
> user guide for a
> 3-year old in-house program for which NO
> documentation (except some

  <snip>

> Most of the software I've documented has a
> single
> purpose....usually easily traced from start to
> finish. This one,
> however, twists and turns and doubles back...not to
> mention the
> functions that people have forgotten about because
> there was no
> documentation.
>
> The users range from the YM_M4I5S3S_3 graduate
> to the whiz kids in development.

> Jane Bergen



===
Katav ( katav -at- yahoo -dot- com )
''Despise not any person and do not deem anything unworthy
of consideration, for there is no person without his hour,
and no thing without its place'' {Ben Azzai [Avot 4:2]}

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