Managing Your Documentation Projects

Practical, authoritative, and the first comprehensive guide to managing every phase of your publication project… The only book devoted exclusively to technical publication project management, Managing Your Documentation Projects arms you with proven strategies and techniques for producing high–quality, extremely usable documentation, while cutting cost and time–to–market. Dr. JoAnn T. Hackos, a top documentation design and project management consultant to major corporations, including IBM and Hewlett–Packard, shares with you the fruit of her more than 15 years of experience in the field. She gives you: Clear–cut, rational guidelines to managing every phase of the project from planning and development, through production, distribution, and project evaluation Scores of usable templates, checklists, summaries, and forms Dozens of real–life case studies and scenarios taken from the author’s extensive experience at top corporations Techniques applicable to virtually all fields of documentation Managing Your Documentation Projects was designed to function as a comprehensive guide for new managers and a daily tool of survival for veterans. It is also an invaluable resource for technical writers, editors, graphic designers, consultants, and anyone called upon to produce high–quality technical documentation on time and within budget. JOANN T. HACKOS, PhD, is President of Comtech Services, Inc., an information/design firm in Denver, Colorado and San Jose, California. She is also president of JoAnn Hackos & Associates, Inc., a strategic planning and management consulting firm. In 1993, she served as president of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and is a frequent conference keynote speaker on such topics as quality and usability of products and services, the importance of meeting the needs of the customer, and project management.

Partial table of contents: MANAGING FOR QUALITY––AN INTRODUCTION TO PUBLICATIONS PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Managing for Quality––A Process Model. A Model of the Publications–Development Life Cycle. STARTING THE PROJECT––THE INFORMATION–PLANNING PHASE. Starting Projects on Time. Defining the Need for Information. Creating the Project Plan. ESTABLISHING THE SPECIFICS––THE CONTENT–SPECIFICATION PHASE. Creating the Content Specifications. Revising the Project Plan. Creating a Tracking System. KEEPING THE PROJECT RUNNING––THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE. Keeping the Project Operating Smoothly. Tracking Progress. Managing Change. Developing Prototypes. Anticipating Changes in the Development Life Cycle. MANAGING THE PRODUCTION PHASE. Managing Production Activities. Managing Indexing. Scheduling Copyediting. ENDING THE PROJECT–– THE EVALUATION PHASE. Evaluating the Publications Project. Evaluating the Publications Process. Preparing for the Project′s Future. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.