RE: Documentation Requirements/Standards

At my previous employer we had a pretty strict process for any application
being developed so that was a good starting point from our side. Then it was
expected from the users side that they developed an SOP for everything they
did so this feel into that. The SOP was a GREAT tool for the user side
training new users by the way. This was all a result of ISO "whatever"
certification too.

Chuck

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-nontech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-nontech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Crump, Mike
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 3:11 PM
To: Non-Technical Discussion about the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Documentation Requirements/Standards

Has anyone taking a step back and determined what their requirements are
for application/system documentation?



Our documentation is all over the map and I want to set a guideline for
documentation to be used with the end users and support staff. I have
some ideas but was hoping for someone to have put this need in writing
somewhere. Doing the google search or searching technical writing sites
has proven fruitless so far.



I'm thinking of things like:



Brief Description

Business function

How launched/where found

Common name, nicknames



How to Identify the Application

Screen

URL

Printout



Technical Architecture

Server

Application Server

Interdependencies



Workflow Description if applicable



Common problems



Problem Determination Checklist





The intent is to come up with something that will assist help desk
technicians and eventually end users in supporting an application. So
much of what we do is based upon OTJ training and assumed osmosis.









Michael