| Home | About | Project Status |

Documentation Review Process

The review process outlined in this document applies to on-line documentation, information included in the FreshStart orientation guides, etc. Announcements and news are not included in this review process;the process to submit and review these requests can be found on the announcement form page.

• Who should review
• Assuring a timely review process
• Do's and don'ts of editing a document

Note: Click here to visit the document review tracking page.

Who should review

The following people should review documentation:

• at least one other member of Information Services group should review the document BEFORE it is circulated to anyone outside the group
members of the project team
• appropriate subject matter experts (Macintosh, Windows, UNIX, e-mail, networking, etc.)
• others defined by the project team

Note: Reviewers who do not feel responsible or adept at the subject should notify us of who should take their place.

Assuring a Timely Review Process

The following steps will be taken to assure a timely turn around on edits:

• send e-mail reminders at least one day before edit due date (two days for larger documents). Point to web page for reference.
• multiple offenders - notify their supervisors that we never receive edits or that the edits are always received late. Ask for someone else in the group who is knowledgeable and willing to work with us.

Note: Project leads / managers must understand that late edits often create conflicts with other scheduled work; results in the need to renegotiate schedules or delay projects.

Do's and Don'ts of Document Review

• Do offer technical input on the document.
• Don't provide only simple grammar or typographical error corrections. Although these edits will be incorporated, the input we really need from you is of a more technical nature.
• Do point us to the correct person or group for additional help
• Don't state comments as questions. Noting, "Is this true?" beside a section doesn't help us. Obviously, we think it's true if we wrote it. If you don't know the answer, point us to who does. You might write, "I'm not sure if this statement is true. Check with Joe."
• Do reply with edits by the review deadline date.
• Don't reply late. Failure to reply on time can result in a delay of the project.
• Do let us know if you can't meet a document review deadline. We will try to work with you to make other arrangements.
• Don't ignore the request for edits if you can't meet the deadline. Work with us. 
• Do remember that our group will consider formatting suggestions.
• Don't expect us to embrace every suggestion regarding format, style or organization of the document. We're open-minded to suggestions, but for consistency sake, we follow standards that might overrule your personal preference. The final decision on formatting belongs to Information Services.
• Do consider the "audience" when reviewing a document. Is the information clear to the reader? Are we assuming too much knowledge? Too little?
• Don't fall into the trap of thinking that if you understand it anyone will. Put yourself in the end user's place. Sometimes we must write to a wide audience.

Last updated 5/27/03