BS ISO/IEC 26512:2011

Systems and software engineering. Requirements for acquirers and suppliers of user documentation. | Status: Superseded, Withdrawn

1 Scope This International Standard supports the interest of softwareusers in having consistent, complete, accurate, and usable documentation. It addresses both available approaches to standardization: a) process standards, which specify the way that documentationproducts are to be acquired and supplied; and b) documentationproduct standards, which specify the characteristics and functional requirements of the documentation. As defined in ISO/IEC 12207:2008 (IEEE Std 12207-2008) and ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (IEEE Std 15288-2008), the acquisition and supply activities comprise the agreement processes of the software life cycle. Acquisition and supply of userdocumentation and userdocumentation services are specializations of those processes. Userdocumentation services can be acquired and supplied for any part of the softwaredocumentation management or information management process, such as:

• • documentation or information management;
• • information design and development;
• • documentation editing and review coordination;
• • documentation testing, particularly usability testing;
• • documentation production and packaging;
• • documentation distribution and delivery;
• • advice on the selection and implementation of documentation tools and supporting systems;
• • documentationprocess improvement.

This International Standard provides an overview of the softwareuserdocumentation and information management processes which may require acquisition and supply of softwareuserdocumentationproducts and services. It applies the Agreement processes (acquisition and supply) to softwareuserdocumentation, and addresses the preparation of requirements for softwareuserdocumentation. These requirements are central to the userdocumentation specification and Statement of Work discussed in this International Standard. This International Standard also addresses requirements for primary document outputs of the acquisition and supply process: the Request for Proposal and the Proposal for userdocumentationproducts and services. This International Standard is intended for use in acquiring or supplying either printed or electronic (on-screen) documentation. It is independent of documentationdevelopment or management tools or methodologies. This International Standard might be helpful for acquiring and supplying the following types of documentation, although it does not cover all aspects of them:

• • documentation of products other than software;
• • multimedia systems using animation, video, and sound;
• • computer-based training (CBT) packages and specialized course materials intended primarily for use in formal training programs;
• • maintenance documentation describing the internal operation of systems software;
• • documentation incorporated into the user interface.

This International Standard is applicable to acquirers and suppliers of userdocumentation, including a variety of specialists:

• • business analysts who identify the tasks that the intended users will perform with the software;
• • managers of the softwaredevelopmentprocess or the documentationprocess;
• • managers of the acquisition process, and those who authorize and approve acquisitions;
• • managers and authors involved in proposal preparation.

It can also be consulted by those with other roles and interests in the documentationprocess:

• • information designers and architects who plan the structure, format, and content requirements of documentationproducts in a documentation set or web-accessible suite;
• • experienced authors and editors who develop the written content for userdocumentation;
• • graphic designers with expertise in electronic media;
• • user interface designers and ergonomics experts working together to design the presentation of the documentation on the screen;
• • usability testers, documentation reviewers, subject matter experts;
• • developers of tools for creating on-screen documentation.