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Documentation

Documentation . Letts Study Guide Information Systems - IT Chapter 19. Documentation and diagrams. Documentation is information to help people use or adapt a system. It consists of notes, manuals, diagrams and/or instructions.

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Documentation

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  1. Documentation Letts Study Guide Information Systems - IT Chapter 19

  2. Documentation and diagrams • Documentation is information to help people use or adapt a system. It consists of notes, manuals, diagrams and/or instructions. • Technical documentation explains how a system or program works. • User documentation explains how to install and use software.

  3. Diagrams are used a great deal in documenting information systems. A flowchart is a diagram showing the operation of a process. It consists of: • symbols (or boxes) to represent the operations with messages explaining the operation; • lines connecting the symbols. These lines may have arrows on them.

  4. System flowcharts • A system flowchart represents operations on data in an information processing system. • A program flowchart represents the sequence of operations in a program. The system flowchart and program flowchart are quite different from one another • the arrows in a system flowchart represent the flow of data; • the arrows in a program flowchart represent the order of instructions.

  5. System flow charts use standard symbols which you should know: - see sheet • separate symbols for operations involving documents, input from keyboards, manual tasks, computer processes, disc, magnetic tape, screen display communication; • general symbols for input/output and storage.

  6. Representing Algorithms -structure diagrams Program and other algorithms can be represented by: • program flowchart which show the order of instructions; • structure diagrams which show the structure of the algorithm. It shows how an algorithm is broken down into more and more detailed steps.

  7. Program flowcharts For program flowcharts: • standard symbols are used which you should know: start/stop, general operation, predefined process, off-page connector, input/output and decision • each box has at most one line in and one line out except decision boxes which have two or more lines out • There should be just one START and one STOP box • Extra notes can be written in the right-hand margin

  8. Structure diagrams In structure diagrams steps are shown in rectangles • more detail is shown by going down the page • order of steps is shown left to right across the page • selection is shown by a small circle at the top right of a box • repetition is shown by a small asterisk at the top right.

  9. User documentation User documentation with software may include: • an installation manual; • a user manual; • a tutorial; • help messages.

  10. User Manual A user manual usually contains: • Background information including identification, hardware and software requirements, a system description and limitations of the program; • An explanation of how to use the program, including data capture methods, menu options, sample outputs and possible errors.

  11. Technical documentation Technical documentation of a program usually includes: • flowcharts or structure diagrams • details of limitations, special features and different versions • a program listing notes • details of data structures used • a set of test data and expected results

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