A software program's accompanying textual, visual, or video instructions are referred to as documentation. Its objective is to give the recipient details on various facets of the program. It could specify how the software works or go into detail about the license and legal issues.
Software documentation often provides instructions on how to use a service or an application. Reliable documentation is always required for programmers. The existence of documentation enhances the quality of a software product and makes it easier to keep track of all parts of an application. Development, maintenance, and the dissemination of knowledge to other developers are its primary objectives. Whatever its intended use, documentation needs to be organized, simple, and clear.
The two main categories of software documentation are as follows:
- Product Documentation
- Process Documentation
PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION: Explains the product that is being created and offers guidance on how to use it to carry out different activities. Requirements, technical specifications, business logic, and manuals are all common components of product documentation.
The two primary categories of product documentation are:
- System Documentation
- User Documentation
System documentation refers to documents that describe the system and its components. It contains requirements documents, design decisions, architecture descriptions, program source code, and frequently asked questions.
User documentation includes manuals written primarily for product end users and system administrators. Tutorials, user guides, troubleshooting manuals, installation manuals, and reference manuals are examples of user documentation. User documentation is created for product users, as the name implies. It is also known as user assistance. However, their classifications may differ. As a result, you should structure user documentation based on the various user tasks and levels of experience. In general, user documentation is divided into two broad categories:
- End Users
- System Administrators
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION: Encompasses all activities associated with product development. Process documentation encompasses all documents created during development and maintenance that describe the development processes. Standards and project documentation, such as project plans, test schedules, reports, meeting notes, or even business correspondence, are common examples of process-related documents. The importance of maintaining process documentation is that it helps to organize and plan development. This type of documentation necessitates some planning and paperwork both before and during the project's development. Process documentation also helps to make the entire development process more transparent and manageable.
The primary distinction between process and product documentation is that the former records the development process while the latter describes the finished product.