Different documentation manuals in Software Engineering

Documentation in Software Engineering is like an umbrella that comprise all written documents and materials that are required for software product’s development and use. There are four different types of documentation manuals. Each documentation manuals is prepared in different phases of the software development.
Classification of Documentation Manual : 1. Analytics/ Specification Manual : This manual is prepared during the analysis phase of the software development. In this manual, all the information that specifies the requirements of the software are described. Information in this manual are presented in the following :

• Formal specification - In this, all the requirements of the software are describe in detail.
• Context diagram - This diagram describes the context of the Software.
• Data flow diagram - Data flow diagram is a visual representation of the flow of information within the software.

2. Design Manual : In this manual, all the information regarding the design of the software and how a software should look. This manual is consist of the following :

• Flow charts - It is a visual representation for representing the working procedure of the software.
• Entity relationship diagrams - This is a type of flowchart that illustrates how “entities” such as people, objects, etc.

3. Implementation Manual : This manual is prepared during the development phase of the software development. In this manual, all the information regarding the program code, algorithms and data structures that are used in the software. This manual is consist of the following :

• Source code listing - It describes the code that is developed for that software.
• Cross reference listing - It describes the reference of the code module.

4. Testing Manual : This manual is prepared in the testing phase of the Software. The tester is used to checks the software for the best and worst cases of functioning and the result are stored. This manual is consist of the following :

• Test data - These are the data which are used as input for processing the task in the software.
• Test results - These data are the Output that is produced by the software for the provided Test Data.