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Subject:Re: Why docs aren't tested From:Martes <tfrase -at- ORIGIN -dot- EA -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 15 Aug 1994 12:58:43 UNDEFINED
>[Documentation] can't be tested until the software is done. So,
>it can't be frozen before the software is frozen'
>The reason this is a hard sell is that most software managers don't
>really see the documentation as part and parcel of the product
>** Another reason in some places is that by the time the software
> is frozen the development process has eaten up not only its own
> slack time but the hoped-for documentation time as well,
> and the product has got to get out the door PDQ or else.
I work as a Publications Writer for an entertainment software company
(ORIGIN). I've had countless headaches with trying to get docs finished.
Basically, we set up a schedule arranged around a software signoff date (QA
people have to test it and approve it).
If the signoff date changes, so do our documentation dates. We have
approximately 6 - 8 pieces that ship with each game. Each one must be approved
separately by key team members who sign off "yes" or "no."
So far, we've never held up the shipping process. But we <do> have to perform
the final leg of the product. They can't ship the software until the docs are
approved! (The buck stops here!)
It seems that no one cares about good docs except for the writers!
