Documentation for software maintenance

Abstract

Documentation as an effective method of transferring information between individuals in order to reduce software maintenance costs is examined. Various categories of documentation are identified and evaluated as to their effectiveness toward easing the maintenance effort. The concept of minimal documentation is introduced as the solution to the problem of determining the correct amount of information required for a specific maintenance task. The idea of utilizing an explicit documentation hierarchy as the ideal method for storing explicit documentation is proposed. With the proper implementation of the documentation hierarchy, the minimal documentation concept can be realized, and the maintenance effort reduced.