Beginning Project Documentation?

mirthe_v writes "Hi, I'm working for a small webcompany (about 20 people), with ColdFusion programmers and designing staff. We all work on a bunch of projects (Internet, intranet, cd-roms, etc.) on the same time, with different people and different or no methodologies. There is an ever growing need for documentation, but we have no idea where to start."

mirthe_v continues: "I was just wondering how other people/companies keep track of their current and older projects.
Do you put stuff in a database, if so, what about all those diagrams and handwritten notes.
If not, do you store things in a folder per project, and how do you then stop documentation from getting lost and making sure people store things where they should.

"As I said, I don't know where to start, especially since the staff varies greatly in the need for documentation, technical background, experience with writing documentation and even different languages (English and Dutch).

"Please share all your thoughts and experiences. Cheers, Mirthe""

Comments

I've got the answer...

[binner1]

Hire a new guy/girl...it's easier to saddle the new guy/girl with the crappy (but very important) jobs!

-Ben

Re:Start like writing started: Oral Tradition

[abe ferlman]

I say keep the oral tradition. Hire a master storyteller and have this person write lays and epics about the overwhelming odds and unimaginable challenges your programmers faced, and the way that these struggles between good and evil shaped the interface you see today.

Who wouldn't buy the support contract if it included a yearly visit from the master storyteller? By jove I believe I've just solved the "how to make money from GPL softare" problem...

:)

Like the old quote says

[Corporate Troll]

Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and when it is bad, it is better than nothing.

Multitple word processors is the key

[DuncanMurray]

Assign each person to use a different word processor - e.g. Word95, Word97, Word2000, WP5.1, StarOffice, OpenOffice, etc.etc.
This way you will know exactly who maintains the document - store all the files on the users hard drive , dont worry about backups - hard drives are very, very reliable these days and the damn server is usually always on the blink.

If someone needs to modify another document, they simply need to write notes on the old printed version and the document maintainer can update them later.

At least that's how it was in my last job :(

Re:SoureForge

[scotch]

Documentation does not live in a vaccuum.

My documentation lives in a vacuum. My tech manuals live in a Hoover, and my user manuals live in a Sears Craftsman Shop Vac. I guess you could say my documentation system sucks

Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Re:http://twiki.org/

[sharkey]

TWiki, a flexible, powerful, and easy to use Web-based collaboration platform...

Does it have an audible announcement for notifications? Maybe something along the lines of, "BeeDeeBeeDeeBeeDee. Hey, Buck!"

Re:http://twiki.org/

[p3d0]

it would lose its small-community feel that Slashdot has also lost

You mean back in the good old days when you first joined, when it was only you and the 264,599 other users?

Re:Start like writing started: Oral Tradition

[ajlb]

Hey can you imagine a Beowulf of these?

(He runneth for cover)