Writing system docs

[Margaret Gerard <margaret%mailhost -at- TOSHIBA -dot- TIC -dot- OZ -dot- AU>]

Hi Techwhirlers,

Currently, in the engineering group where I work,
the software engineers write the following classes
of system documents:  Functional Definition; User
Interface Definition; Subsystem Overview; and Detailed
Design Description.

My job is to write user documents including help, write
marketing documents, design and maintain document templates
and dictionaries,  write and maintain the quality system
procedures and work instructions, perform internal quality
audits, write system test documents, perform system testing,
write and present training courses, evaluate third-party
software, and edit everything written by the other members
of the group.

This division of labour is, of course, flexible.

Now we are considering hiring another technical writer for the
(almost) sole purpose of writing the Subsystem Overviews and
Detailed Design Descriptions, in order to free the engineers
for more/faster coding.  Is anybody out there writing this
kind of document?  Could you drop me a line to tell me how
your arrangement actually works?

For example.......

Are you an ex or part-time programmer and do you construct
these documents by reading the code?

Thanks,
= Margaret Gerard       email: margaret -at- toshiba -dot- tic -dot- oz -dot- au =
= Toshiba International Corp.        Phone:  61-2-428-2077=
= Sydney,  Australia                 Fax:    61-2-427-7405=