collaborative documentation for an evolving product presented by premila louis & arati crasta

Collaborative Documentation for an Evolving Product

Presented by Premila Louis & Arati Crasta

Agenda

What do we mean by ‘Collaborative Documentation for an Evolving Product’

Data Warehouse (DW) technology & Business Intelligence (BI) - concept and overview

Our Product - FLEXCUBE Information Center

Where We come in - SDLC and Documentation Development Life Cycle

Documentation for Traditional and Evolving Products - a comparison

Making ends meet - Deliverables

What do we mean by Collaborative Documentation for an Evolving Product...

According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, to ‘collaborate,’ means ‘to work jointly with others or together especially in a intellectual endeavor’ and ‘evolving’ means ‘a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state’.

In simple terms it means ‘working jointly with others (SME’s) to deliver documentation for a product undergoing continuous change’.

FLEXCUBE Information Center (FIC), the product that we at the Center for Business Intelligence (CBI) at i-flex have developed is based on the dynamic, emerging technology - Data Warehouse

Data Warehouse - an overview Evolution

DWH was introduced as a concept 25 years ago and emerged into technology only 5-6 years back.

Data stored in a consistent manner was mainly accessed for query and reporting.

From mere information management DWH evolved into Business Intelligence where information was used in a business understandable form for analytics and decision-making.

Business Intelligence has now given way to Knowledge Management.

Data Warehouse - an overviewDefinition

It is a collection of non-volatile, subject-oriented, time-variant, integrated data - stored and maintained for decision support within an organization.

Features

• Centralized analytical database• Data extraction from various sources• Data integrated, transformed and • cleansed • Designed for informational breadth

and query performance

What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

• Business Intelligence is the process of using data to discover knowledge that can be used in decision making and presenting this knowledge in a user comprehensible form. – Blends data into organizational knowledge– Facilitates seamless access to Information– Layered Business Analytical Solutions– Packaged with a proven methodology– A rule-based Intelligent framework

– Portal based Knowledge delivery

FLEXCUBE Information Center (FIC)

A complete end-to-end Information Management Solution from Data Extraction through to Information Delivery.

Business Intelligence through Business Solution Packs.

Powerful Metadata Framework & Architecture

Portal based delivery Intelligence Enabled through

IntelliFramework

FIC - Iterative Methodology

Continuous Integration Frequent executable releases Incorporation of changes in future

iterations without disrupting ongoing production

Results achieved in a short time span

Project’s support teams - testers, technical writers, QA etc., can plan work effectively

Where We come in - SDLC & DDLC

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The entire FIC product lifecycle is described in the illustration below.

Where We come in - SDLC & DDLC contd...

Documentation Development Life Cycle (DDLC)

Requirements Study Phase

– Understanding the Requirement Specifications

– Review the RS

– Prepare the skeletal structure

• TOC, Chapters, Appendices

Design Study Phase– Review the Design Specifications– Design the prototype – Based on the evaluation of the prototype GUI is prepared

– Design Review meetings– Decide Online Help/ User Manual precedence

Draft User Manual / Online Help– Documentation Team assigned task of drafting User

Manuals for separate components – Begins at the end of the Construction phase– Spans the Component Assembly and Integration phase


Self and Peer Reviews– Compliance with documentation standards– Review formatting, style and voice – Grammatical errors and spell check

– No redundant information

Technical Reviews– During Component Integration phase– Members of the technical team review the draft User Manual– Logical sequence of information– Detect gaps in the information provided– Reviews are baselined


Rework– Happens during the Component Integration

phase round 2 – Review comments received are incorporated

and sent for second review– Online Help is created or vice-versa

Reconciliation of the UM & OH – At this stage both the user manual and the

online help is completed – The UM and OH are checked for

discrepancies (if any)


Where We come in - SDLC & DDLC contd....

UM/OH Testing– With the completed UM – Manual vis-à-vis the software– SQA comments

• On content, logical sequence, documentation standards and quality

Final Rework and baseline– SQA comments are incorporated– SQA re-checks UM/OH and baselines it– Ready for shipping

Traditional Products Evolving Products

Requirements are frozen for entire release

Requirements happen on an on-going basis and are frozen for every iteration

Requirement Phase

Documentation for Traditional & Evolving Products - a comparison

Documentation for Traditional & Evolving Products - a comparison (contd.…)

Prototype designed on the basis of the RSDocumentation Team organizes the UM in terms of CHAPTERS, TOC etc. and prepare the draft based on the RS and DS

Design and Construction phase are combinedDocumentation (Doc) team constantly reviews the DSOnly a skeletal structure of content of the draft UM is prepared for the current iteration

Design Phase



Coding done as per the RS and DSDoc team progresses with the draft of the UMAt this stage a considerable amount of the draft is completed, except for the screens, error messages etc.

Coding is part of the Design and Construction phaseDoc team in constant collaboration with the technical team prepares the draft of the UMChanges in the Design occur in every iteration. Without collaboration it is difficult to keep track of the changes

Coding



Every module is tested individuallyEvery module in the UM is reviewed by the technical teamSelf and Peer review is completed for documentation standards, grammar and spellings etc

Components are equivalent to ModulesMany logical units constitute a component. Logical units need to be assembled which is referred to as Component Assembly.Doc team is part of the change control meetings and is constantly in sync with the technical team.

Module Test Plan



The tested modules are integrated. The doc team receives review comments from the technical team

Component Assembly and Component Integration are combined and work in an iterative modeDoc team completes draft for each component and UM reviewed during Component Integration by the technical team Doc team attends change control meetings. Changes in the components are incorporated in the draft.

Integrated Test Plan



The documentation team incorporates the review comments in the UMFocus is laid on the overall look and feel of the UM

Doc team incorporates review comments in the draftSelf and peer reviews are completed Doc team concentrates on the overall presentation of the documentRelevant changes are incorporated in the Online Help in tandem with the UM.Rework time frame also includes Online Help

Rework



The UM is tested vis-à-vis the software

User Manual and Online Help are tested vis-à-vis the softwareMany rounds of testing are done prior to system testingBoth UM and OH are completed prior to System testingSoftware Quality Assurance (SQA) group reviews the document and help for consistency, accuracy, presentation before base-lining

System Testing


Making ends meet - Deliverables

User Documentation (Installation, Implementation, User, Operations manual) / Online Manual

Online Help

Training Material

Computer Based Training

For further details…

Visit our Website: www.iflexsolutions.com

Mail us at [email protected] / [email protected]

Address: i-flex solutions limitedi-flex Center#146, Infantry RoadBangalore - 560 001

THANK YOU!

collaborative documentation for an evolving product presented by premila louis & arati crasta

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