ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011
(Main)Systems and software engineering — Requirements for acquirers and suppliers of user documentation
Systems and software engineering — Requirements for acquirers and suppliers of user documentation
ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011 was developed to assist users of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 or ISO/IEC 12207:2008 to acquire or supply software user documentation as part of the software life cycle processes. It defines the documentation process from the acquirer's standpoint and the supplier's standpoint. ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011 covers the requirements for information items used in the acquisition of user documentation products: the Acquisition Plan, Document Specification, Statement of Work, Request for Proposals, and the proposal. It 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. It addresses the preparation of requirements for software user documentation. These requirements are central to the user documentation specification and Statement of Work. It includes requirements for primary document outputs of the acquisition and supply process: the Request for Proposal and the Proposal for user documentation products and services. It also discusses the use of a Documentation Management Plan and a Document Plan as they arise in the acquisition and supply processes. ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011 is independent of the software tools that may be used to produce documentation, and applies to both printed documentation and on-screen documentation. Much of its guidance is applicable to user documentation for systems including hardware as well as software.
Ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes — Exigences pour acquéreurs et fournisseurs de documentation utilisateur
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Standards Content (Sample)
INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC/
STANDARD IEEE
26512
First edition
2011-06-01
Systems and software engineering —
Requirements for acquirers and suppliers
of user documentation
Ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes — Exigences pour acquéreurs et
fournisseurs de documentation utilisateur
Reference number
ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2011
©
IEEE 2011
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction.vi
1 Scope.1
2 Conformance .2
2.1 Definition of conformance.2
2.2 Conformance situations .3
3 Normative references.3
4 Terms and definitions .3
5 User documentation within a system/software life cycle.8
5.1 Software documentation management process .8
5.2 Information management process.9
6 User documentation agreement processes within a system/software life cycle .10
6.1 User documentation acquisition process.10
6.1.1 Purpose of the acquisition process .10
6.1.2 Outcomes of the acquisition process .11
6.2 User documentation acquisition activities and tasks .11
6.2.1 Acquisition preparation .11
6.2.2 Supplier selection.13
6.2.3 Contract agreement.13
6.2.4 Contract management and monitoring .13
6.2.5 Acquirer acceptance .14
6.2.6 Acquisition closure .14
6.3 User documentation supply process .14
6.3.1 Purpose of the supply process.14
6.3.2 Outcomes of the supply process.14
6.4 User documentation supply activities and tasks.14
6.4.1 Opportunity identification and evaluation .15
6.4.2 Proposal preparation .15
6.4.3 Contract agreement.15
6.4.4 Contract execution .15
6.4.5 Product/service delivery and support.17
6.4.6 Closure .17
7 Defining user documentation requirements and constraints.18
7.1 Aspects of requirements and constraints .18
7.2 Schedule constraints .18
7.3 Usability requirements.19
7.4 Product modification requirements.19
7.5 Localization and translation requirements.20
7.6 Legal requirements .20
7.7 Security requirements.21
7.8 Standards and conventions .21
7.9 Quality management requirements .21
8 User Documentation Specification.21
9 User documentation Statement of Work.22
10 Request for Proposal .23
10.1 Request for Proposal topics .23
10.2 Project objectives.23
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
10.3 Requirements for supporting processes .24
10.4 Supplier capabilities and experience.24
10.5 Instructions for bidders .24
10.6 List of deliverable user documentation products or services .24
10.7 Terms and conditions .25
10.8 Proposal evaluation criteria.25
11 Documentation proposal .25
11.1 Documentation proposal contents .25
11.2 Understanding of requirements .26
11.3 Scope of the project .26
11.4 Processes .27
11.5 Experience, capabilities, and available resources.27
11.6 Schedule .28
11.7 Deliverables.28
11.8 Price proposal.28
Annex A (informative) Requirements clauses and checklist for acquirers.29
Annex B (informative) Requirements clauses and checklist for suppliers.34
Bibliography .37
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established
by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical
committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-
governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information technology, ISO
and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
IEEE Standards documents are developed within the IEEE Societies and the Standards Coordinating
Committees of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board. The IEEE develops its standards
through a consensus development process, approved by the American National Standards Institute, which
brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve the final product. Volunteers
are not necessarily members of the Institute and serve without compensation. While the IEEE administers the
process and establishes rules to promote fairness in the consensus development process, the IEEE does not
independently evaluate, test, or verify the accuracy of any of the information contained in its standards.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of ISO/IEC JTC 1 is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards adopted
by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this standard may require the use of subject matter
covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, no position is taken with respect to the existence or
validity of any patent rights in connection therewith. ISO/IEEE is not responsible for identifying essential
patents or patent claims for which a license may be required, for conducting inquiries into the legal validity or
scope of patents or patent claims or determining whether any licensing terms or conditions provided in
connection with submission of a Letter of Assurance or a Patent Statement and Licensing Declaration Form, if
any, or in any licensing agreements are reasonable or non-discriminatory. Users of this standard are expressly
advised that determination of the validity of any patent rights, and the risk of infringement of such rights, is
entirely their own responsibility. Further information may be obtained from ISO or the IEEE Standards
Association.
ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information
technology, Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering, in cooperation with the Software and
Systems Engineering Standards Committee of the IEEE Computer Society, under the Partner Standards
Development Organization cooperation agreement between ISO and IEEE.
This first edition of ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512 cancels and replaces ISO/IEC 15910:1999, which has been
technically revised.
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
Introduction
This International Standard was developed to assist users of ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (IEEE Std 15288-2008) or
ISO/IEC 12207:2008 (IEEE Std 12207-2008) to acquire or supply software user documentation and
documentation services as part of the software life cycle processes. It defines the documentation process
from the acquirer’s standpoint and the supplier’s standpoint. The accurate description of the requirements for
user documentation is essential in order to ensure that the documentation meets the needs of its users. This
International Standard addresses the identification, definition, and fulfillment of user documentation
requirements as part of the acquisition and supply processes.
This International Standard covers the requirements for information items used in the acquisition of user
documentation products: the Acquisition Plan, Document Specification, Statement of Work, Request for
Proposals, and the Proposal. It also discusses the use of a Documentation Management Plan and a
Document Plan as they arise in the acquisition and supply processes.
This International Standard is independent of the software tools that can be used to produce documentation,
and applies to both printed documentation and on-screen documentation. Much of its guidance is applicable to
user documentation for systems including hardware as well as software.
Earlier standards tended to view the results of the documentation process as a single book or multi-volume
set: a one-time deliverable. Increasingly, documentation acquirers and suppliers recognize that most user
documentation is now produced from managed re-use of previously developed information (single-source
documentation) adapted for new software versions, or presentation in various on-screen and printed media.
While this International Standard does not describe how to set up a content management system, it is
applicable for documentation organizations practising single-source documentation, as well as for acquirers
and suppliers of one-time deliverables.
Anyone who uses application software needs accurate information about how the software will help the user
accomplish a task. The documentation can be the first tangible item that the user sees, and so influences the
user’s first impressions of the software product. If the information is supplied in a convenient form and is easy
to find and understand, the user can quickly become proficient at using the product. Therefore, well-designed
documentation not only assists the user and helps to reduce the cost of training and support, but also
enhances the reputation of the product, its producer, and its suppliers.
Although software developers intend to design user interfaces that behave so intuitively that very little
separate documentation is needed, this is rarely possible. Today’s software offers increasingly robust
functionality, not only within applications, but also across applications which intelligently exchange information
with one another. Further, most software includes underlying rules and calculations, or algorithms that affect
the results a user can obtain when using the software. These underlying programming mechanics are
discernable by users, but only through laborious testing. For these and other reasons, user documentation
remains an essential component of usable software products.
Documentation is often regarded as something done after the software has been implemented. However, for
high-quality software documentation, its development needs to be regarded as an integral part of the software
life cycle. In fact, quality documentation or information management services are important enough to require
specific planning.
Related standards for those acquiring and supplying software user documentation include
ISO/IEC 26514:2008 (IEEE Std 26514-2010), Systems and software engineering — Requirements for
designers and developers of user documentation, and ISO/IEC 26513:2009 (IEEE Std 26513-2010), Systems
and software engineering — Requirements for testers and reviewers of user documentation. Other
International Standards are in preparation or planned to address the documentation and information
management processes from the viewpoint of managers and agile projects.
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
This International Standard is consistent with ISO/IEC 12207:2008 (IEEE Std 12207-2008) as an
implementation of the Acquisition and Supply processes, which comprise the Agreement processes, and of
the Information Management and Software Documentation Management Processes.
This International Standard is intended for use in all types of organizations, whether they have a dedicated
documentation department or not. It can 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 need to be
performed in this order, nor that documentation needs to 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 can be used to track conformance with the requirements of this
International Standard for acquirers and suppliers of documentation products.
The Bibliography contains references to source material used in the development of this International
Standard, as well as sources of additional information that might be useful to acquirers and suppliers.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
Systems and software engineering — Requirements for
acquirers and suppliers of user documentation
1 Scope
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.
As defined in ISO/IEC 12207:2008 (IEEE Std 12207-2008) and ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (IEEE Std 15288-2008),
the acquisition and supply activities comprise the agreement processes of the software life cycle. Acquisition
and supply of user documentation and user documentation services are specializations of those processes.
User documentation services can be acquired and supplied for any part of the software documentation
management or information management process, such as:
• documentation or information management;
• information design and development;
• documentation editing and review coordination;
• documentation testing, particularly usability testing;
• documentation production and packaging;
• documentation distribution and delivery;
• advice on the selection and implementation of documentation tools and supporting systems;
• documentation process improvement.
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. It applies the Agreement processes (acquisition and supply) to software user documentation,
and addresses the preparation of requirements for software user documentation. These requirements are
central to the user documentation specification and Statement of Work discussed in this International
Standard. This International Standard also addresses requirements for primary document outputs of the
acquisition and supply process: the Request for Proposal and the Proposal for user documentation products
and services.
This International Standard is intended for use in acquiring or supplying either printed or electronic (on-screen)
documentation. It is independent of documentation development or management tools or methodologies.
This International Standard might be helpful for acquiring and 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;
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
• computer-based training (CBT) packages and specialized course materials intended primarily for use
in formal training programs;
• maintenance documentation describing the internal operation of systems software;
• documentation incorporated into the user interface.
This International Standard is applicable to acquirers and suppliers of user documentation, including a variety
of specialists:
• business analysts who identify the tasks that the intended users will perform with the software;
• managers of the software development process or the documentation process;
• managers of the acquisition process, and those who authorize and approve acquisitions;
• managers and authors involved in proposal preparation.
It can also be consulted by those with other roles and interests in the documentation process:
• information designers and architects who plan the structure, format, and content requirements of
documentation products in a documentation set or web-accessible suite;
• 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;
• usability testers, documentation reviewers, subject matter experts;
• developers of tools for creating on-screen documentation.
2 Conformance
This International Standard may be used as a conformance or a guidance document for projects and
organizations claiming conformance to ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (IEEE Std 15288-2008) or ISO/IEC 12207:2008
(IEEE Std 12207-2008).
2.1 Definition of conformance
This International Standard is meant to be tailored so that only necessary and cost-effective requirements are
applied. Tailoring may take the form of specifying approaches to conform to the requirements of this
International Standard, or altering its recommendations to reflect the particular software and documentation
product or service more explicitly. The acquirer may involve other parties, including potential suppliers or any
necessary third parties (such as regulators), before contract award, in determining the acquirer’s requirements
for tailoring of this International Standard for the project. Annex A (normative) of ISO/IEC 12207:2008
(IEEE Std 12207-2008) describes the Tailoring Process. Tailoring decisions made by the acquirer should be
specified in the contract.
NOTE The acquirer determines whether the term “contract” or “agreement” is to be used in the application of this
International Standard.
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ISO/IEC/IEEE 26512:2011(E)
Throughout this International Standard, “shall” is used to express a provision that is binding, “should” to
express a recommendation among other possibilities, and “may” to indicate a course of action permissible
within the limits of this International Standard.
Use of the nomenclature of this International Standard for the parts of user documentation (that is, chapters,
topics, pages, screens, windows) is not required to claim conformance.
2.2 Conformance situations
Conformance may be interpreted differently for various situations. The relevant situation shall be identified in
the claim of conformance:
a) When conformance is claimed for an organization, the organization shall make public a document
declaring its tailoring of the acquisition or supply process.
b) When conformance is claimed for a project using user documentation services, the project plans or
the contract shall document the tailoring of the documentation management process.
NOTE 1 One possible way for an organization to deal with clauses that cite “the documentation plan” is to specify that
they shall be interpreted in the project plans for any particular documentation project.
NOTE 2 A project’s claim of conformance is typically specified with respect to the organization’s claim of conformance.
This International Standard may be included or referenced in contracts or similar agreements when the parties
(called the acquirer and the supplier) agree that the supplier will deliver documentation in accordance with this
International Standard. It may also be adopted as an in-house standard by a project or organization that
decides to acquire documentation from another part of the organization in accordance with this International
Standard.
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 12207:2008 (IEEE Std 12207-2008), Systems and software engineering — Software life cycle
processes
ISO/IEC 15288:2008 (IEEE Std 15288-2008), Systems and software engineering — System life cycle
processes
ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765:2010, Systems and software engineering — Vocabulary
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765:2010 and the
following apply.
4.1
accessibility
usability of a software or documentation product, service, environment, or facility by people with the widest
range of capabilities
[ISO/IEC 26514:2008]
NOTE Although “accessibility” typically addresses users who have disabilities, the concept is not limited to disability
issues.
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