atw: Re: Release notes template questions.
- From: "Melanie Kendell" <melanie.kendell@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:23:18 +1100
Hi Warrren
The best solution I have ever found for this is to get a field
included in whatever bug tracking/feature/issues management software
your developers are using where the text for a release note can be
entered by either the writer or the developer and each can review the
other's text (ie the developer entered text can be reviewed for
understandability and the writer's text can be reviewed for technical
accuracy).
Then the release notes can be produced more or less automatically as
part of the release process.
Often the hardest part of release notes is getting a definitive list
of what is in or out of a release - if the release management process
earmarks the items for a release the release notes will automatically
be the right ones.
Of course, if your guys aren't using a robust release management
process based on some form of tracking system, you can't take this
approach - but when it works it's beautifully simple.
-Mel
On 12/02/07, Warren Lewington <warren.lewington@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have been asked to create a simple template to help the project managers
and developers produce release notes to clients, which is typically
happening every week or two. The general feeling I get from the people is
they just want to get the stuff out, QUICKLY. Seems like I could get
something that caters to that request pretty simply using MS Word.
I was wondering if anyone had specific ideas or opinions about style or look
and feel other than it should be simple to read and create, no complex
styles and formatting, or too much flash and bubble.
I was thinking not to deviate too much from the styles I have created for
the other templates I am creating, but rather to just simplify the choices.
I am considering using a custom toolbar with buttons linked to Styles for a
bulleted and a numbered list, note text, basic text, a heading or two, and
perhaps some AutoText buttons linked to some sentence structures to click
on.
Has anyone experimented with forms for entry of the information to assist
with uniformity of style? If so, what did you use if it isn't giving away to
many trade secrets? I was also musing about setting it up with the
Properties Dialog open at Custom settings, you know for software release
date, software version date and number, the client name, personnel contact
name etc and using fields for the rest. How hard would that be to achieve?
Anyone with other ideas that might be worth a look?
Hope you are enjoying the rain in Sydney, (wonderfully wet gardens here) and
your own weather elsewhere.
Warren.
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