Documentation project metrics
Many factors affect the project time (and the cost). Therefore, it is not possible to quote a fee until we know more about your problems. However, we can give you guidelines that are based on previous documentation projects.
Project time
For each unique screen, dialog box, and tab in which users enter data, we estimate that on average 5 hours will be needed for documentation. This estimate is calculated from the project data, which shows that for a range of software documentation projects, we produced user documentation for 543 screens in 389 project days. In most projects, the range is between 2 hours and 7 hours for each entry screen.
In this initial estimate, we do not consider the complexity of the screens. All software has some screens that are relatively simple and others that are relatively complex, and we find that a simple count is sufficient to start with. We do not count read-only screens or informational messages.
For projects that are longer than approximately 20 project weeks, consider employing a full-time in-house technical writer. Use a technical writing recruitment agency to find one.
Elapsed time
Producing high-quality software documentation requires a collaborative strategy. Your team will need to answer our questions. If they do this quickly, then the duration for a documentation project can be as short as 1.5 times the number of project days. For example, when we were waiting for answers for projects 3o and 2c, we worked on other parts of the projects.
Most projects last between 2 and 3 times the number of project days.
Sometimes delays occur, and small projects can take a long time to complete, for example, projects 1p and 1o. In both cases, the software was simple and the project was simple, but the duration was long compared to the number of project days. The delays were because:
- Software was being developed and there were delays with upgrades
- Client staff were not available to answer questions
Project data
The following tables show data for some of our software documentation projects.
| Ref. | Unique screens | Document type | Pages | Project days | Duration (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1p | 20 | User guide | 23 | 8 | 65 |
| 2p | 39 | User guide | 91 | 26 | 46 |
| 3p | 54 | User guide | 48 | 18 | 137 |
| 4p | 79 | User guide | 130 | 79 | 462 (66 weeks) |
| 5p | 110 | User guide + reference manual | 260 | 60 | 124 |
| Ref. | Unique screens | Document type | Topics | Project days | Duration (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1o | 14 | User guide + reference | 17 | 8 | 186 (27 weeks) |
| 2o | 37 | User guide + reference | 31 | 46 | 425 (61 weeks) |
| 3o | 59 | User guide + reference | 100 | 54 | 83 |
| Ref. | Unique screens | Document type | Pages or topics | Project days | Duration (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1c | 41 | User guide (printed) + reference (online) | 34 (printed) 63 (online) |
45 | 171 |
| 2c | 90 | User guide (printed) + reference (online) | 32 (printed) 118 (online) |
45 | 69 |
Other opinions
Paper documentation takes about 3 to 5 hours a page and online documentation takes about 4 to 6 hours a topic according to Fredrickson Communications (www.fredcomm.com/articles/detail/stop_guesstimating_start_estimating/).
For high-tech industries, 7 hours a page is a reasonable estimate according to Hackos. (JoAnn T Hackos, 'Managing your documentation projects'. John Wiley & Sons, 1994.)
Writing and editing tasks alone add up to 13 hours a page according to Jody Lorig's Estimating Worksheet (www.techwr-l.com/articles/estimatingworksheet).
For an excellent discussion, see Geoff Hart's article on estimating project times and costs (www.geoff-hart.com/resources/2006/estimating.htm).
RSS feed