Table of Contents Introduction Determine the Size of the Project Fudge Factors to Consider Apply the Metrics and Fudge Factors What are Your Hours per Page? Finalizing the Estimate

About the Author

Barb Philbrick is an Associate Fellow of STC. She has served the Northeast Ohio chapter as local CIC SIG manager, conference organizer, competition judge, and speaker at local meetings. She has also presented at national conferences and has written materials for the onine contracting book. She currently serves as newsletter editor and is a member of the international CIC SIG. Barb has run her technical writing business, Caslon Services Inc., for 15 years, providing clients with online and hard copy product documentation. She has also taught technical writing at local community colleges.

Barb also is active in the National Audubon Society and local schools.

Introduction

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If you have to present the hours, make sure you have identified the scope of the project. Give them the rough outline. Make it clear that substantial changes will change the time estimate. Give hours required, not specific done dates. There are usually too many outside factors (SMEs who don’t share, product changes, slow reviewers) to accurately predict dates.

Note: These notes are focused on estimating manuals that document installation, startup, operation, and troubleshooting of industrial hardware.