Tech writing question (specs)

Subject: Tech writing question (specs)
From: "Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 12:22:20 -0400


Richard Sanchez wondered: <<Is there often a step where the tech writer has
access to some type of spec type documentation or writers just start from
scratch?>>

Sometimes you do have a good functional specification that helps you
discover some of the technical points, but as I noted a few weeks back, an
awful lot of programmers fly by the seat of their pants, with no formal
specification and no plan other than a marketing-driven deadline for how to
get to the final product. In that case, the specification quickly becomes a
historical document that loses all resemblance to the actual product.

I`ve found that in my own situation, it`s simpler to just work from the
documentation. But we have a reasonably sane development process, our
programmers are great guys who are always willing to chat about how
something works, and our deadlines are never as nuts as those in the
commercial world.

--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada



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