Developing a Documentation Plan

The documentation plan provides a way for Help authors to organize the Help project and to begin thinking about design issues. The document defines how the Help system will teach users about the product. Usually, one or more writers or instructional designers create the plan with input and suggestions from other team members, writing managers, developmental editors, product marketing managers, and program managers.

The documentation plan should describe:

nThe product definition

nThe target audience and market

nThe documentation objectives and instructional model

nThe components in the documentation package

nA content outline of each component

nTechnical considerations and assumptions

nResources and tools

nThe delivery schedule and intermediate milestones

nProject issues and concerns