Managing Documentation Projects

STC Carolina chapterJune 17, 2010

Larry Kunzlkunz@sdicorp.comwww.sdicorp.comTwitter: larry_kunz

Outline

• Overview of project management(and why it’s important to you)

• A look at the process

• Trends that are changing the process

• Challenges and solutions

Managing aDocumentation Project:

Overview

flickr: tpaddock

Managing a Documentation Project

• Make sure that requirements (expectations) are clear

• Assign people and resources

• Schedule the work

• Control the process:– Decide what to measure (earned value)– Measure and track– Respond to change– Analyze and report results

The Doc Plan

It is the star to every wandering bark… Shakespeare – Sonnet 116

A Typical Doc Plan

• Product description– What does it do? How do people use it?

• Audience analysis• Documentation deliverables

– Includes formats and page estimates

• Tasks– Who'll do the work

• Contingencies (what you’ll need from others) • Assumptions

– Tools, style guides

• Budget• Schedules

But I’m Not a Manager!

• Every writer should know what the Doc Plan says about:– Your own work assignment– The tools and processes you’ll use– Editorial and style guides– How much money you can spend

• It guides your day-to-day work

• It gives you a compass too

A Lot of People Are Managers

• Lone writers

• Independent contractors

The Documentation

Process

Tristan Savatier/Getty Images

The Traditional Process

• Long development cycles• Static “official” documentation

products• Gathering content• Writers sometimes isolated from

product developers• Write/Review/Edit/Repeat…

then Publish

The New Traditional Process

• Short long development cycles• Dynamic, community-sourced

Static “official” documentation products• Collaborative Gathering content• Writers must be in close touch with

sometimes isolated from product developers

• Write/Review/Publish/Edit/Repeat

Trends that AreChanging the Process

Two Trends for the Early 2010s

• Web 2.0 (and beyond):New, varied sources for contentHow can I keep track of—much less control—the flow of content?

• Agile methodology:“Just in time” developmentHey, what does that do to my doc plan?

Web 2.0

• Web 1.0: One-way information flow– Static publishing– No interaction

• Web 2.0: From publishing to participation– Information sharing and collaboration– User-generated content– The community

(Source: J. Leigh Brown and Peg Mulligan)

Web 2.0

Example: Adobe Community Help

Web 2.0

Building the Community:

• If you build it, they won’t just come

• You have to–Invite participation

–Make it easy

–Give prominence to UGC

An Agile Documentation Project

• Small, tightly knit teams–Scrums

–Writers have to be fully involved

• Modular writing–Focused on major needs of the user

–Topic based

An Agile Documentation Project

• User stories–They drive the product and the docs

–Basis for your audience analysis

• Short development cycles–Sprints

–Geared to being flexible

–How quickly can you publish?

Web 2.0 and Agile

The doc plan is subordinate tothe content strategy

The Content Strategy

• Covers the whole content lifecycle:–Analyze

–Collect

–Manage

–Publish

• Strategic, not tactical

The Content Strategist• “Curator” – not “gatekeeper”

• Keeps the big picture in mind

• Develops and enacts a strategy that’s repeatable

• Works throughout the content lifecycle

So Let’s Review….

• Make sure that requirements (expectations) are clear

• Assign people and resources

• Schedule the work

• Control the process:– Decide what to measure (earned value)– Measure and track– Respond to change– Analyze and report results

Challengesand

Solutions

flickr: júlía ∆

Web 2.0 and Agile: Challenges

• Reviews are often ad hoc and very limited in scope

• Legacy information can be overlooked

• How to edit – User-generated content

– Short development cycles (as in Agile)

• How to plan for localization/translation

Solutions: Reviews

• Make sure that Tech Pubs is a full member of the team

• Find a champion• Conduct targeted reviews• You might need a special “big

picture” review• Keep track

Solutions: Legacy Content

• Don’t skip the content inventory!

• Content is best reviewed by an experienced SME

• Review can be done at any time

• Help the SME by laying out the ground rules

Solutions: Editing

• Editing as an ongoing process• Topic-based editing• The editor is still part of the team –

working closely with PM and content strategist

• Style guides are vital

Solutions: Localization

• Break the translation into pieces

• Align the translation schedule with your iterations

• Take advantage of the processes your software developers are following

Evolving a Set of Best Practices

• We’re still learning

• Let’s share what we learn

• What new trends are coming?

Resources

• Sarah O’Keefe and Alan Pringle: Technical Writing 101 (Scriptorium)

• Richard Hamilton: Managing Writers:A Real World Guide to Managing Technical Documentation (XML Press)

• Anne Gentle: Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation(XML Press)

• Rahel Bailie: “Rahel Bailie Provides A Content Strategy Primer”(Content Wrangler, Sept. 2009)