need help selecting doc tools

[Art Campbell]

Documentation is usually a two-phase effort -- authoring and then
delivering. So you actually need two shopping lists, one for each
stage.

For authoring, FM is a safe environment that's open-ended for final
deliverables.
What I'd be more concerned about than delivery at this point is the
graphic side of authoring. So Adobe's Creative Suite Pro would be on
my "early" shopping list.

For delivery, I think that until you know your audience and output
formats, and what your competition does, picking tools to form the
deliverable may be premature, so I'd be tempted to hold off on the
WebWorks until I had more answers.

Same thing on structure. Whether or not you'd need/use the structured
environment is also something I'd research more in depth before
committing to at the beginning.

You're going to get more points for finding out the needs and
requirements of the job before putting together your final shopping
list than you are for possibly buying the wrong tools quickly.



Art

On 4/14/07, Aaron Bennett <docwriter15 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all:
>
> I am starting a new venture on Monday at a startup company that has never
> had a tech writer and needs me to write all the doc from scratch.  I've been
> using FrameMaker 6.0 for several years now with WebWorks Professional 2003.
> My new boss (VP of Engineering) has asked me to put together a doc tools
> strategy plan for design and delivery for the technical documentation.
>
> Being a startup, my budget will be fairly low so content management systems
> are not an option at this point.  I've been doing research over the past
> week and it's been a daunting process.  What I'm thinking of purchasing is
> FrameMaker 7.2 and using it's structured capabilities.  For HTML generation,
> I'm considering WebWorks ePublisher Pro.  Is anyone using these two products
> together (and if so, could you share your thoughts).  I'd also appreciate
> advise on other options.
>
> I'm thinking that I'll need training to get up and running, so if anyone can
> recommend trainers in the Massachusetts/NH/RI areas that would also be
> helpful.
>
> Thanks for your assistance,
>
> Aaron


-- 
Art Campbell                                             art.campbell at gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent
               and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
                             No disclaimers apply.
                                     DoD 358