Derive the Documentation Template's Application Record Section from the Applications Inventory

This chapter explains why the section of the Application Documentation Template that captures the Application Record should be derived directly from the Application Inventory’s attributes.

Why the Record Section Should Mirror the Inventory

The Application Record is a subset of the Application Documentation, and it is populated from that documentation. If the template’s Record section asks for information the Application Inventory does not expect, or uses names and value sets that differ from the inventory’s, the two will inevitably drift apart. Deriving the template’s Record section directly from the inventory’s attribute groups, such as Descriptive, Classification, Ownership and Stakeholder, and Lifecycle and Status, ensures that completing the template provides everything the inventory needs, in the form the inventory expects.

Establish the Record Section from the Inventory’s Attribute Groups

Have the template owner (Enterprise Architecture or Software Engineering) build the template’s Record section from the attribute groups the enterprise has adopted for its Application Inventory, using the same attribute names, definitions, and value sets. When the enterprise changes its inventory attributes, update the Record section accordingly.

Enterprises may also find it useful to maintain a simple mapping that shows, for each Application Inventory attribute group, which template section captures it and which practices in this document address it. Such a mapping makes it easy to confirm that every attribute group is covered and to trace where each kind of information comes from.

Document and Share the Derivation

Record, within the template or its accompanying guidance, that the Record section derives from the Application Inventory and which version of the inventory’s attribute set it reflects.

Best Practice: Derive the Template’s Record Section from the Application Inventory’s Attributes

It is a best practice to both establish and document the solution for how the Application Record is populated: build the template’s Record section directly from the Application Inventory’s attribute groups, using the same names, definitions, and value sets, and keep the two synchronized.

Benefits: When the template and the inventory share the same attributes, populating the Application Record becomes a matter of copying, or automatically transferring, information that already exists, rather than translating it. That eliminates a whole class of inconsistency between what Application teams document and what the enterprise’s inventory records.

Connections to Related IF4IT Practices and Inventories

The Applications Inventory and Attributes describes the attribute groups from which the Record section is derived, and advanced enterprises can use it to extend their documentation templates well beyond the Record section. The Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices addresses how enterprise inventories are designed and governed.