How to write Project Documentation

Question

I just finished a relatively small project (~3000 lines of code in several modules) and I've been asked to produce a document for the project. I have no idea how to go about this as I've mostly written code for other programmers before. Do I describe every module, do UML diagrams for each object, simply expand on my comments? Is there a template I can use for this? If anyone has had to do standard documentation I'd appreciate your help/pointers.

Answer 1

There's not much in the way of "standard" documentation; "Javadoc"-style API docs are about as close as you get. Get more solid requirements. What kind of docs does your customer need? UML diagrams for all your classes are a neat exercise, and sometimes useful, but your time may be better spent on future projects.

Answer 2

At a minimum you should document

• how to build the software
• how to install it
• a "manifest" of files and tools required
• release notes: what changed from the previous released version
• license and copyright information

Then, depending on how the software is used, you might want

• User Manual
• API documentation

Answer 3

You could do a lot worse than reviewing the DOD-STD-2178A Data Item Descriptions for the Software Design Document and the Version Description Document.

The SDD describes the design of the software. The VDD describes the packaging, including how to install it (unpack, compile, load, setup) it.