Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!dell!mikeh
From: mikeh@dell.dell.com (Mike Hammel)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Product Documentation (Was: Are users stupid?)
Message-ID: <3230@dell.dell.com>
Date: 12 Sep 89 22:40:50 GMT
References: <1596@mks.UUCP>
Reply-To: mikeh@dell.UUCP (Mike Hammel, )
Organization: Dell Computer Corp., Austin, Tx.
Lines: 24

In article <1596@mks.UUCP> jim@mks.UUCP (Jim Gardner) writes:
[...]
-     the door.  This means that the documentation must be prepared
-     before the software has been finished (before the testing is
                                             ---------------------
-     finished at any rate).  There have been many times that I have
      --------           
Don't I know it.  In previous work I developed test plans and testcase
suites from internal documentation, ie the stuff the designers wrote     
themselves.  Lately I work more with external documentation, manuals and
such that come from outside vendors.  In both cases I've had to work with
incomplete and incorrect information.  Try determining how to test         
compatibility or functionality when the folks who designed the thing don't
know what its supposed to do!  The "dream" scenario for me would be to have
design documents finished before the product gets to the test group, or in
the case of outside vendor materials, have user documents that are up to date
with the version/release that is received for testing.  Unfortunately this 
seldom happens (at least for me).  

No wonder it seems like the test group is always holding up the product. :-)
(We test engineers know better, though.)

Michael J. Hammel
Dell Computer Corp.