RE: Striving To Increase The Page Count Was: Estimation of the number of pages...

Subject: RE: Striving To Increase The Page Count Was: Estimation of the number of pages...
From: "Sharon Burton" <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2005 07:06:17 -0800


I think you are confusing planning the document or help with page numbers as
productivity.

To figure out how long it's going to take to generate the manual or help for
a product, you MUST estimate how many (and which) topics you are writing
about. You multiply that count by the number of pages per topic, on average.
Then you figure out how long it takes to write a topic of that length, and
multiply that by the number of topics. Now you have an estimate of what you
are delivering to your boss or client and how long it will take.

Using this metric, high page counts are not actually possible because you
have to deliver the help or manual in the time available - in other words,
when the product ships. If the number you come up with above is 6 weeks
longer than the product will be in development, obviously, you need to
figure out which topics - i.e., pages - you need to cut so you can deliver
the manual when the product is ready. So in effect, you are reducing page
count.

And no schedule I've ever seen in almost 15 years of doing this for many
many clients has ever had room to ADD to the content before you deliver.
Almost always, you wind up cutting content - pages - because there wasn't
time after all.

So Tony, I have no idea where you've been working but nothing I have seen or
heard of in this business would substantiate your claim. Not saying you
haven't seen it, but it's an aberration. If you are talking about yourself,
I urge you to take my documentation project planning class online through
UCR starting this month. Contact me off-line for more details.

Now I need more coffee.

sharon

Sharon Burton
CEO, Anthrobytes Consulting
951-369-8590
www.anthrobytes.com
President of IESTC

-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Markos

Purposefully high page counts happen often in TW
projects. As I stated in a recent post, at a very
well attended local STC "discussion" meeting on
estimating, the almost universal consensus was that
estimating is to be based upon page count. My (sole)
attempt to challenge the sacred cow of estimating
based on page count was promptely cut off.

Gene, when the "norm" in TW estimating is estimates
based upon page count, your going to get alot of TWs
striving for high page count (in an effort to appear
productive). In such situations, if you take the time
to make it clear, concise, and user-freindly - that is
short - you are only hurting yourself.

Striving for high page counts is not a "may happen"
thing; from the TWs that I know - and I personally
know many - it very well might be a "usually happens"
thing.

Tony Markos
Show Me Your DFDs



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