Any advice for certificate training?

[Ned Bedinger]

Jeff Scattini wrote:
> My manager's manager wants to create a comprehensive training system for one
> of our software products that will culminate in a certificate of competence
> ...The program is
> large and complicated and incredibly interdependent on different lines of
> parallel functions that eventually intersect to generate forms and reports.
> 
> There are only two of us tech writers in the office, and my manager (the
> other tech writer) has created an outline for one module and has told me to
> "flesh it out." (She subsequently went on holiday


It sounds like you'd maybe need expert knowledge to do this task? Fer 
crying out loud, I would not (were I you) take the kind of advice that 
encourages you to try and do this task by yourself, especially not 
simply by stealing outlines from other certification courses!

What I would do is take the outline (the one you got from your lead) to 
a lead developer or product manager who can TELL you what, of all the 
complicated stuff, ought to be considered the requirements for 
certification.

If they say "Pull the procedures out of the manuals and stick 'em in the 
outline your lead gave you," then you do that, and you haven't wasted 
much of anyone's time getting that confirmed.

If the outline needs thoughtful input to complete, you'll be on the 
right track when you enlist someone with expertise in the software.

Good Luck.

Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com