What Is Application Documentation?

This chapter defines Application Documentation, the governed body of knowledge this document is chiefly concerned with, and explains what it includes, where it lives, and who keeps it current.

Definition

Application Documentation is the complete, governed body of data and information that describes an Application. It includes everything required to populate the Application’s record in the Application Inventory, plus the more detailed design, build, test, deployment, operational, support, user, reference, and code-level information that goes beyond, and is not intended to be part of, that record. Application Documentation is published in a Digital Library (such as a wiki or Document Management System) or, at a minimum, another Document Repository, and, for code-level documentation, may also reside in the Application’s Code Repositories.

The Key Elements of the Definition

• Complete. Application Documentation covers the whole Application across its whole life, not only the parts that were convenient to write down.

• Governed. It has an accountable owner, defined expectations for what it must contain, and a process for keeping it current. It is not a loose collection of files.

• A body of data and information. It may take many forms: written documents, diagrams, structured forms, tables, and records. What matters is that the knowledge is captured and findable, not the format in which it is captured.

• Includes, and goes beyond, the Application Record. Everything needed to populate the Application’s record in the Application Inventory is part of Application Documentation, but the documentation goes far further, as the next chapter explains.

• Published where people can find it. Application Documentation belongs in a Digital Library or, at a minimum, another Document Repository, so that everyone with a stake in the Application can find it. Code-level documentation, such as code comments and developer notes, may also live in the Application’s Code Repositories.

Application Documentation Covers Every Instance

An Application has one body of Application Documentation covering all of its Application Instances. What is common to every Instance is documented once. What differs between Instances, such as configuration, infrastructure, Integrations, and the Release each one is running, is documented explicitly and is easy to find for anyone interested in a specific Instance in a specific IT Operating Environment Instance.

Who Keeps Application Documentation Current

Many people contribute to an Application’s documentation: architects, engineers, testers, operators, support staff, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), vendors, and users. Accountability for its completeness and currency, however, rests with the Application Manager, on behalf of the Business Application Owner. The chapter “Understand Application Management Roles and Responsibilities” introduces these roles.

Best Practice: Govern Each Application’s Documentation as One Complete, Published Body of Knowledge

Treat each Application’s documentation as a single, governed body of knowledge with an accountable owner, defined content expectations, and a published home in the enterprise’s Digital Library, rather than as files scattered across team folders, personal drives, emails, and chat threads.

Benefits: A single, governed body of documentation gives everyone one place to look and one owner to hold accountable. It replaces the slow and unreliable search across scattered sources with a known starting point, and it makes gaps visible, because a governed body of documentation can be checked against what it is expected to contain.

Connections to Related IF4IT Practices and Inventories

The Applications Inventory and Attributes describes the Application Record that Application Documentation populates. The Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices explains how enterprise inventories act as hubs that point to more detailed documentation.