People email me all the time asking questions about technical writing and other documentation related questions. I was recently asked how to start ‘documentating for a banking solution which is been developed in Java on Open-Source platform. What kind to documents should i write for this project?’ Now, there isn’t much to go on here, so…

It depends on what the client actually wants.

Here’s what I’d do:

1. Ask the person in charge which activities are most important, for example, installing the servers, updating the databases, teaching users and so on.

2. Once you have a list of the most essential activities, discuss with him/her what you believe are most necessary…

3. then you can write books that support these tasks,

Without knowing too much else about the project, I’d say that you need to produce:

•Admin Guides
•User Guides
•Release Notes
•Training Documents
•Installation Guides

If you let me know more about the project, I can give you more concrete answers.

Regards,

Ivan

and you can Twitter me @ivanwalsh

Related posts:

1. What kind to documents should i write for Java project? I was recently asked how to start documentating for a...
2. Future of Technical Documentation, problem with user-generated content in Open Source projects Elllis, over on the Cherryleaf Technical Authors Blog, points out...
3. Do Technical Writing projects need a Documentation Plan? Gordon McLean asks: do you plan to review your plan?...
4. XML has won! All major office suites now save their documents in zipped XML by default For Microsoft®, the nightmare of a younger, nimbler competitor overtaking...
5. XML Authoring Projects using Hierarchical Books This week, Adobe’s Technical Communication Blog shows how technical writers...