NCJ Number
49973
Date Published
1978
Length
48 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT DISCUSSES SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION IMPORTANCE, DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS FOR SJIS, AND DOCUMENTATION EXPERIENCES OF THREE EXISTING JUDICIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. MINIMUM DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS ARE PROVIDED.
Abstract
INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERALLY NEED FOUR TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION: USER DOCUMENTATION, OPERATING SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION, PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION, AND OPERATIONS DOCUMENTATION. COMPLETE STATE JUDICIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (SJIS) DOCUMENTATION WOULD PROVIDE BETTER UTILIZATION, DESIGN, AND INTEGRATION OF THE SYSTEM, KNOWLEDGE FOR EFFECTIVE CORRECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE SYSTEM, AND SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS ESSENTIAL TO PLANNING HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE NEEDS AND SCHEDULING. THE SOFTWARE LIFE CYCLE AND DOCUMENTATION TYPES ARE DESCRIBED AS WELL AS DOCUMENTATION RESPONSIBILITY AND FLEXIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS. CRITERIA ARE EXAMINED FOR MINIMUM DOCUMENTATION PREPARATION AND SEMI FORMAL AND FORMAL DOCUMENTATION. THE FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS PUBLICATION 38 (FIPS PUB 38) GUIDELINES FOR COMPUTER PROGRAMS ARE DESCRIBED AND ASSESSED FOR SJIS DOCUMENTATION USE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE STANDARDS ARE USEFUL FOR DETERMINING THE CONTENT AND EXTENT OF DOCUMENTATION, BUT WOULD HAVE TO BE MODIFIED FOR SJIS. SJIS PROJECTS IN MISSOURI, LOUISIANA, AND FLORIDA ARE EXAMINED ACCORDING TO FIPS PUB 38 GUIDELINES, AND RESULTS SHOW THAT SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION SHOULD BE INITIATED DURING THE PLANNING AND DESIGN STAGES AND THAT MANAGEMENT MUST HAVE REAL COMMITMENT TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTATION. THE EXPERIENCES ALSO INDICATE THAT THE GUIDELINES, IF FOLLOWED RIGIDLY, WILL RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF REDUNDANCY ALTHOUGH THEY DO DEMONSTRATE FLEXIBILITY FOR DOCUMENTING MODULAR OR TOTAL SYSTEMS. THE FINAL SECTION CONSIDERS SJIS DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS TO BE USED AS INTERIM GUIDELINES BY SJIS ADMINISTRATORS. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN SAMPLE DOCUMENTS FOR SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT OVERVIEWS, FEASIBILITY STUDIES, PROJECT WORK PLANS, FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS, SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS, AND USER AND OPERATING MANUALS. (DAG)