OT: techwriter/programmer ratio SUMMARY

[Bart Windrum <bart.windrum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Writers replying to my query about the ratio of writers to programmers
replied that good productivity/industry norms are 1 writer for every 7-10
programmers plus roughly half that number of testers.

Apparently some number of companies double the ratio, and the writers assert
that quality suffers.

One writer whose company closely mirrors ours in focus, founding
anniversary, and technology is the sole writer to 15 programmers and 10
testers. (java, dox tilted to programmers and highly technical in nature,
2-year-old startup)

One respondent contracts for a company w/15 perms and 100 long-term renewing
contractors, mostly grey or grey-ish like most of us. People become de-facto
employees.

Although obvious it should be mentioned explicitly that technical content
for programmers is more time-consuming to produce than off-the-shelf user
manuals.

Lastly, I will add that in my experience that efficiency is greatly improved
when:
- successive discovery meetings operate according to a high-to-low level
information hierarchy whereby during meeting #1 low level info is held in
abeyance
- the writer obtains, in the first discovery meeting, a comprehensive
topical overview and the group either deduces or constructs a topical
outline that serves as a TOC and hence a road map for ensuing writing
- aspects of the topic that will not be exposed to users is identified up
front and not subject to dox discovery discussion
- the developers provide well-planned, comprehensive and accurate procedures
and programming sequence source material for editing, cleanup, and insertion
- developers write using documentation-supplied templates that greatly
expedite data import
- developer management is proactive in support of the above

__________
Bart Windrum
 GUI Fit&Finish and Documentation
Diogenes Inc.
410 17th St. #1260
Denver CO 80202

720 904 2321 x125
fax 720 904 9032
Bart.Windrum@DiogenesInc.com



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