atw: Re: Writing a user manual for a web application - questions from newbie tech writer

Hi Nicole,
 
You might be lucky and find some documentation in the code.  The web developers 
I work with often put a comment at the start of each code block that describes 
what the code does and why.  If you don't read code one of the developers might 
be able to extract it for you.  
 
If you still have access to the team that built the app it can be useful to ask 
them "If you got hit by a bus tomorrow and someone had to take over from you, 
what stuff would they need to learn?".
 
If you talk to them about what documentation is needed their eyes glaze over.  
If you talk to them about what wonderful special things they did that others 
would never figure out on their own they get all excited. That's my experience 
anyway ;)
 
In general we produce:
- a user guide for end users on using the system
- a technical guide that explains how it was built and why
- a maintenance guide that explains all the stuff you need to know to keep it 
up and running and make minor changes
- all the other business documentation that Debbie already suggested.
 
Deb Cross

Other related posts: