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Answers to Readers' Questions on Technical Writing:
Managing Projects
The following 3 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.
List of first 10 items
What is an initial requirement specification
Question
July 23, 2004
Good morning,
I want to know what is initial requirement specification (IRS)and standers for writing an IRS document for a project.
Thank you.
munem - Pakistan
3829
Answer
An Initial Requirement Specification outlines the requirements for a given product. The actual specification will go in great detail of exactly what is wanted.
The standards vary, depending on the industry. Often they have their own standards.
An example of an IRS can be seen at:
http://alto.aber.ac.uk/pastprojects/evaluation/reqspecintro.asp.
Examine it and its links.
Best wishes in your project.
How important is FrameMaker?
Question
April 20, 2004
Dear Ron,
I really enjoyed reading your articles on Tech Writing subject, and the valuable links you provided throughout the artciles.
I am almost new to Tech Writing job and would like to know from you if I still need to learn Adobe FrameMaker software, while I am an expert in InDesign software and use it along with MS Word 2003?
What's really the real advantages to learning FrameMaker over InDesign for moderated writing/documentation projects?
Your advise is very important to me, and thank you in advance.
Mike - UAE
3067
Answer
It depends on what the company doing the hiring uses. FrameMaker is a standard for making large manuals, but not all companies use it. Look at local want ads to see typical software requirements.
Unless you truly see a need for learning FrameMaker, you can get by without it. But still, it is not a bad idea to get an idea of what features it has. At least you can say you are familiar with the program. It is not that difficult to learn.
Best wishes in your technical writing career.
Quality Manual
Question
October 9, 2003
I am engaged in writing a quality manual for my company, and would like some information on what courses to take, and where I might take them. Any information would be appreciated.
Billy - USA
784
Answer
Take a look at a sample Quality Manual at:
http://www.school-for-champions.com/iso9000/manual/rtoc.htm
In fact, the whole section on ISO 9000 might help you:
http://www.school-for-champions.com/iso9000/
Best wishes in your writing.
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