5 Steps tp Documentation Plan Success
Let's look at how a documentation plan, also known
as an information development plan, can help you manage writing projects,
especially those that span several months and require input from different writers,
editors, and reviewers. [5 Steps to Documentation Plan Success]
Get the latest Standard
Operating Procedure templates and the Documentation
Plan template.
Value of Adding Images to Technical Documentation
A document that makes judicious use of images and diagrams will be much easier to
understand than one that is composed entirely of text descriptions. [Read More]
10 Things Your Documentation Plan Should Know
Requirements gathering is a key part of every documentation plan. As well as
covering the schedules, costs, deliverables and roles, you need to list each and every
requirement that your project will encounter. Here are our top 10 requirements for
successful documentation plans [Read More]
Documentation Plan Template
The Documentation Plan sets the guidelines for writers to follow when documenting
their respective parts of a project. It describes how content will be prepared, delivered
and distributed, captures format, page count, tools; identifies human, software, hardware
and writer's requirements; clarifies roles and responsibilities; prepares schedules and
resource allocation. [Read
More]
5 Ways to Make Your Writing Project Succeed
Inexperienced writers make the mistake of starting their writing without any
planning. Very soon they loose their bearings and miss deadlines. Let's look at how a
documentation plan, also known as an information development plan, can help you manage
writing projects, especially those that span several months and require input from
different writers, editors, reviewers and so forth. [Read More]
Choosing the Right Style Guide?
Im setting up a Publications Dept. for a Financial Services company. What is the best
style guide to encourage the staff to use? [Read More]
Software User Assistance Project Management
Tamara Ferris takes a look at a methodology for developing and managing a
Software User Assistance (UA) System, a way of doing things in a structured manner. It
provides a complete walkthrough for managers responsible for designing, developing, and
managing a software products user assistance system. [Read More]
Beginner's Guide to Freelance Writing
Okay. So you've figured out that you would like to write for magazines,
newspapers, and e-zines. Unfortunately, so have about eight gazillion other people on this
planet. Therefore, you have to stand out from the crowd. You have to sparkle. How do you
do this? [Read
More]
Successful Documentation Projects Part 1, 2 and 3
The creation of user documentation is a big component of any software project.
Unfortunately, its often undervalued and left to the last minute. But that
doesn't mean it
should be without a good management plan. This is the first in a series of three articles
outlining the key elements of a good user documentation process. [Read More]
Technical Writing for the Terrified
Sometimes it may be beyond a companies or individuals budget to hire a
professional writer to address their technical documentation. Although in an ideal world
all technical documentation should be produced by a highly trained expert, unfortunately
we do not live in an ideal. [Read
More]
UML Training - Avoid Analysis Paralysis!
I've been in several situations in which students would stop me in a UML training class
and ask with stern faces: "How do you avoid analysis paralysis?" First time I
heard that I sincerely replied: "How do you get to be paralyzed?" Indeed, there
are many ways to avoid analysis paralysis-at least 5. [Read More]
SCORM and DITA for Reusable Content
Unstructured content in the repository can be used in conjunction with
structured content also available in the repository. New topics that are
created can be incorporated back into the database, so that they are
available for reuse and for transformation with XSLT and/or
transformation scripts. SCORM and DITA are not mutually exclusive. Used
together, they can significantly improve opportunities for reusability
and repurposing of e-learning and other content deliverables. [Read More]
Use DITA XML to develop reusable learning
content
In
a nutshell, DITA provides an extensible structure for organizing content
into reusable blocks. At the lowest level, a "DITA topic forms
the most basic information unit -- short enough to be easily readable,
but long enough to make sense on its own." At the top level, a
map applies context to topics
and organizes them into a deliverable information product. DITA is
totally generic with respect to the content it can organize, but what
John's information architecture team did is to extend DITA to represent
an academic learning curriculum. [Read More]
Freely available structures: XML Document Type Definitions you can
use today
Organizations of all sizes are beginning to realize how content
and its reuse across the enterprise can improve productivity ¨C and the
bottom line. The need for change is driven by the desire to better
manage information assets (documents, creative ideas, illustrations,
charts, graphics, multimedia, etc.) and eliminate costly processes that
fail to facilitate the effective and consistent re-use of content. At
the heart of managing content for re-use however lies the job of
exposing the underlying structure of that information. [Read More]
Software Development Project
Most materials discussing the phases of a software development project are intended for
the developers community. I decided to take a different look at the issue and help those
novices who are going to outsource a software development project to an outsource service
provider (OSP). [Read
More]
Free videos on getting the most from MS Word, Visio and Acrobat.
11. Release Notes
What are Release
Notes?
Release notes are documents which are distributed along with
software products, often when the product is still in the development or
test state (e.g., a beta release). [Read More]
Release Notes
Template
This Release Notes package
includes 2
pre-formatted templates in
MS Word™ format,
which can be easily modified to meet your next release. Each
template includes 17
pages of material including sections on
Changes to release
notes, Scope, System Requirements, New Features, Dropped Features, Fixed
Issues, Hotfixes, Known Issues, Limitations & Restrictions, Caveats, and
Deployment Instructions. [Read More]
How to Write
Release Notes
Release Notes cover what's new, download and installation
instructions, known issues and frequently asked questions. Creating
Release Notes is fairly straightforward. Create a Release Notes template
and re-use it on each release. [Read More]
What are Preview
Release Notes
Preview Release is a Technology Preview. While this software
works well enough to be functional, the company may highlight that it
makes no guarantees of its performance or stability. It is a pre-release
product and should not be relied upon for mission-critical tasks. [Read More]
Your Thoughts?
What are your thoughts on this? Drop me a line at ivan
at klariti dot com