Appendix B. Documentation Standards

In this appendix, you review the more common documents used in developing software applications, in outline form. Use these like you would a checklist or a recipe, neither of which have explanations , but are still useful. These documents are not required to complete the assignment, so Sun isn't looking for them in your certification project. However, I recommend using some of them in the appendix as a checklist to guide you in designing your solution. You don't have to spend much time writing all the documents, but if you use their outlines as a guide, you are more likely to do well on the project. At a minimum, I would recommend completing the design document because you can use it to create the design choices document, which is required in your project submission. Using proper design methodology and documentation has been proved to improve the quality of software and will also improve the quality of your certification project. It is a question of time: How much time are you willing to spend on good documentation and design?

The documents covered in the following sections in outline form are the ones that should prove helpful in guiding you through your certification project. Some of them are covered in more detail in Chapter 5, "Documentation and Javadoc Comments," but are presented here again as a quick reference. They are based on the IEEE standards noted in each section.