| 8 Steps to Successfully Managing your Documentation Projects |
| Step 2: Estimate Realistically (continued) |
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| For example, if you think a task will take 1.75 hours, double it (3.5 hours), and then round it up (4 hours). This allows for “walk around” time at the beginning (when you don’t know exactly how to tackle things and aren’t quite sure where to start) and “snafu” time at the end (when it takes much longer than you expected to do all the final little tweaks, your printer breaks down, and you have to drive to O’Hare because you missed the 8 pm FedEx pickup). Here are some generally accepted numbers for estimating your hours: |
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6-8 hours per page for documentation |
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8-12 hours for 1 hour of simple training |
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20 hours per hour of training that includes a training manual & instructor guide |
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| In Managing Your Documentation Projects, JoAnn Hackos uses the following matrix: |
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| Size & Scope |
X |
Quality |
X |
Hours/Page |
= |
Estimate of Total Hours & Budget |
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| She also offers the following: |
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| User guide |
5 hrs per page |
| Software manual |
4 hrs per page |
| Hardware maint & troubleshooting manual |
8 hrs per page |
| Classroom training |
40 hrs per deliverable hour of training |
| Context-sensitive help |
4 hrs per help topic |
| Comprehensive help |
4 hrs per help topic, including hypertext links |
| Videotaped instruction |
30 hrs per finished min of production time |
| Computer-based training |
60 hrs per finished hour of training |
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