Systems Design & Documentation

I’m often left speechless by the way in which a multitude of commercial applications seem to be built today without any kind of documentation of their design. Okay, let’s say the most minimalistic documentation exists, but I always wonder how these systems are maintained after they are released into the wild.

For example, If a bug has to be fixed or some functionality changed, added or deleted how is an impact analysis across application modules done in the absence of or with inadequate application documentation.

Most of the clients I’ve encountered have been documentation averse.  The reaction I’ve always got initially is that documentation time is better spent in coding, testing and delivering the application. Somehow it appears that only when the client ‘Sees’ something happening on a computer screen, that is married to their application that the man hour rate they are paying is justifiable.

I have to patiently spend some of my time explaining to clients why application documentation is so important.  Often after I’ve done this, the client is still not convinced that the money paid out in man hours consumed in documenting a project is money well spent but most will grudgingly permit me to have my way.

Its only when a sudden, unplanned application change has to be carried out and this is executed almost painlessly because of a thorough impact analysis that the importance of proper application documentation dawns on them.

Regretfully, this is all to often opaque to a client.  Hence, after our tech team has carried out such a change, and the change have not given rise to associated bugs or other modules to stop working or work incorrectly, I do a presentation on how the change was done almost effortlessly and correctly.

Do you believe that documentation is really unnecessary ?

Do you document an application prior coding  and testing ?

Do you update application documentation prior (or in parallel with) coding changes ?

What documentation tool do you use ?

Please share this information (and anything else) in your comments to this post.

If you would like a simple, effective, M.S. Word template to use for your application do drop me an Email and I’d be happy to send you a M.S. Word template in reply.  You are free to use the template exactly as you wish.

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September 12, 2008 | Filed Under Application Development 

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