scope:

This clause presents the scope, purpose, organization, and candidate uses of this International Standard. This International Standard supports the interest of software users in having consistent, complete, accurate, and usable documentation. It addresses both available approaches to standardization: a) process standards, which specify the way that documentation products are to be acquired and supplied; and b) documentation product standards, which specify the characteristics and functional requirements of the documentation. Clause 5 of this International Standard provides an overview of the software user documentation and information management processes which may require acquisition and supply of software user documentation products and services. Clause 6 applies the Agreement processes (acquisition and supply) to software user documentation. Clause 7 addresses the preparation of requirements for software user documentation. These requirements are central to the user documentation specification and Statement of Work discussed in clauses 8 and 9. Clauses 10 and 11 address requirements for primary document outputs of the acquisition and supply process: the Request for Proposal and the Proposal for user documentation products and services. NOTE: Software systems documentation prepared by software developers is rarely suitable for end user documentation, as it describes how the software functions rather than providing instructions for user tasks. This International Standard is intended neither to encourage nor discourage the use of either printed or electronic (on-screen) media for documentation, or of particular documentation development or management tools or methodologies. This International Standard may be helpful for acquiring/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; - documentation produced for installers, computer operators, or system administrators who are not end users; - maintenance documentation describing the internal operation of systems software; - documentation incorporated into the user interface. This International Standard is applicable to acquirers/suppliers of user documentation, including a variety of specialists: - information designers and architects who plan the structure, format, and content requirements of documentation products in a documentation set; business analysts who identify the tasks that the intended users will perform with the software; - experienced authors and editors who develop the written content for user documentation; - 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. The standard may also be consulted by those with other roles and interests in the documentation process: - managers of the software development process or the documentation process; - acquirers of documentation prepared by suppliers; - usability testers, documentation reviewers, subject-matter experts; - developers of tools for creating on-screen documentation; - human-factors experts who identify principles for making documentation more accessible and easily used. This International Standard is intended for use in all types of organizations, whether they have a dedicated documentation department or not. This Standard may be used as a basis for local standards and procedures. Readers are assumed to have experience or knowledge of general agreement processes for acquisition and supply of products and services. The order of clauses in this International Standard does not imply that the acquisition activities should be performed in this order, nor that documentation should be developed in this order or presented to the user in this order. In each clause, the requirements are media-independent, as far as possible. The checklists in Annexes A and B may be used to track conformance with the requirements of this International Standard for acquirers and suppliers of documentation products. The bibliography of works listed in Annex C provides guidance on the processes of acquiring and supplying user documentation.