14. Documentation

Documentation. Paperwork. Records. Words that induce instant apathy in any design team. Such things appeal to bureaucrats, not creative designers. Maybe this is a slightly harsh judgment – apologies to dedicated bureaucrats – but it is true. Unfortunately, documentation is a key feature of all professional design and development activities. It can be regarded as the lifeblood of the design body. Once it stops flowing properly, functions quickly deteriorate, eventually ending in rigor mortis. We just can't do without it. For some people, paperwork is an end in itself – but for the software engineer, it is an essential component of the design process.

The approach adopted here is essentially a pragmatic one. It explains:

• Why documentation is necessary
• How documentation fits into and supports the various phases of the software life cycle
• The content, structure, and use of specific software documents
• The concepts...