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NATO SOFTWARE ENGINEERING CONFERENCE 1968
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9. Working Papers
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Are hardware manuals forbidden to exist separately for users, so that the system is described in terms of the software system?
When software is produced by a non-English speaking group, is a full set of English documentation provided?
Is this simultaneous with the non-English documentation, or at least within a 2 month lag?
Does the software allow only for writing programs in English, although the natural language of the user may be used for variables?
Is the software itself always written entirely in English?
Is the volume of manuals produced carefully controlled and charged to the field organization, so that these expensive documents will not be used for sales handouts?
Is the user documentation publishing a function of software production, including an art group?
Is there a computerized distribution system to control inventory and reorder points?
Is the decision for internal or external printing controlled by bids, or by delivery schedules in case of equivalent bids?
Is there a computerized system to ensure that user documentation is always correct and matches the current software system in the field?
Is responsibility for documentation allocated to individuals by software unit or groups of units, with a required sign-off on a checklist before distribution of changed software systems?
Is there a standard interior printing area to accommodate the difference between U.S. and ISO paper size?
8. TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION
Is the software system fully supported by correct flowcharts, descriptions of design algorithms, listings, performance specifications and structure descriptions for AE’s and Field Engineers?
Do listings carry a maximum of technical information in annotation?
Is such documentation susceptible to limitations on how much may be furnished users in proprietary cases?
Are there mechanical methods of producing technical documentation, such as flowcharters and structure decoders?
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Is there a control mechanism to ensure that technical documentation is revised to correspond with actual program operation?
9. QUALITY ASSURANCE
Is the quality assurance function recognized to be different from implicit and continuous quality control during fabrication, in that it is discrete, explicit following production, and ignores the sequence or nature of the fabrication steps or processes?
Is software quality assurance done by an independently reporting agency representing the interests of the eventual user?
Is the product tested to ensure that it is the most useful for the customer in addition to matching functional specifications?
Do software quality assurance test programs undergo the same production cycle and method (except Q/A) as the software they test?
Are they defined and constructed concurrently with the software?