Reducing the cost of software documentation

Guidelines for reducing your documentation costs without compromising on quality include:

Define which modules of the software are complete and which are still under development. Your technical writers can then work the finished modules (there is usually little point in documenting something that is guaranteed to change before the product reaches the market).
Don't repeatedly change the user interface or functionality of the software.
Don't ask for changes late in the documentation life cycle. At this stage, a small change may result in significant extra work.
Request all changes at the same time.
Involve documentation experts in the design of the user interface. They may spot simpler ways of doing things. (Our favourite example at TechScribe is where we showed how to reduce a software installation from fourteen screens to just one. The software had evolved over several years. As an outsider, TechScribe was able to see what the software developers could not.)
Ensure the software has been tested. Alternatively, include the technical writers in the testing process. Since writers don't work to test schedules, they may find things that your testers do not (no slur on testers, it's just that their remit is different).
If the software interface is simple and intuitive to use, there will not be any need to explain in any depth how to use it. So, involve usability experts in your design.