Changing the Mode of Software Documentation with Lean Model of Software Development

Changing the mode of software documentation with Lean model of software development A case study of adaptations and improvements Table of contents Understanding DDLC Aligning DDLC with Waterfall and V Model Aligning DDLC with Agile Model Implementing Lean Model of Software Development Lessons Learnt Page 2 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

DDLC is a methodology for creating structured documentation Analysis Publishing and Final Release Translation Documentation Development Life Cycle Design Content Development Review Page 3 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Synchronizing DDLC with SDLC is a must DDLC Audience Profiling User-task Analysis Information Architecture Content Development Technical and Editorial Review Formatting and Publishing SDLC Project Planning Requirements Definition Design Development Integration and Testing Installation and Acceptance Each of the steps in the DDLC is always synchronized with each steps in the SDLC. Page 4 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

DDLC was initially synchronized with Waterfall and V model Waterfall Model V Model Sequential design process, which is seen as flowing steadily downwards through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation, and Maintenance. Extension of the waterfall model, which demonstrates the relationships between each phase of the development life cycle and its associated phase of testing in a V-shape. Page 6 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Synchronizing DDLC with sequential models of product development leads to critical challenges Less time, more tasks Completion of most of the tasks encapsulated in the DDLC during the testing and acceptance phase of the software development. Last minute updates Incorporation of last minute customer critical updates in multiple documents at a short notice in a short duration. On time translation Inadequate support from development team Selection of an appropriate translation technology, process, and resource to translate the documents prior to the release of the product. Absence of either any dedicated resources or time allocation to the developers for discussion with the documentation team. Page 7 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Advent of Agile model minimized drawbacks of the sequential development models Incremental model of software development Customer satisfaction by rapid and continuous delivery of useful software Emphasis on people and communication instead of process and tools Frequent delivery of working software (weeks instead of months) Close and daily cooperation between business people and developers Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design Regular adaptation to changing circumstances and requirements Page 9 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Projects started getting aligned gradually to Scrum model of development Scrum is an iterative and incremental Agile software model of development. Software is developed in incremental, rapid cycles resulting in small incremental releases with each release building on previous functionality. Page 10 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Agile model of development also had its share of challenges in DDLC Usable Documentation Creating an usable documentation at the end of every sprint Inputs received at the end of every Sprint Completing the documentation of the feature within the same sprint of development in a short duration Non-finalized screenshots Capturing of the screenshots multiple times owing to repeated changes in the user interface Translation Translating documents during the development sprints Defect Tracking Ensuring that the release criteria board for software documentation is green Page 11 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Lean software development is a translation of lean manufacturing and lean IT principles and practices to the software development Originally called just-in-time production Adapted from the Toyota Production System Value Value Streaming Understand how value is perceived by the customer What adds value to the customer Removes waste from end to end value streams Flow Flow cleanly from start to finish Perfection Pull Seek perfection through continual improvement Focus of simulation What pulls the customer Page 13 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Product development structure is modified Team structure Expert Team member CPO Architecture PO 1 PO 2 STT STA PPO 1 PPO 2 PPO 3 Quality Usability CM UDoc TTS 1 TTS 2 TTS 3 TTS 4 TTS 5 TTS 6 Developers (Representatives for Central Function processes) Architecture Configuration Management Usability User Documentation CPO Chief Product Owner PO Product Owner PPO Part Product Owner TTS TAKT Team Speaker STT System Testing STA System Test Automation CM Configuration Management UDoc User Documentation Page 14 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

New development model leads to new processes Release Development TAKTS Hardening TAKTS Backlog Requirement Document (BLRD) TAKT Kick-off meeting TAKT Analysis Review meeting Stand up meeting Release criteria board Functional Document for User Documentation (FDUD) Page 15 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Changes for software documentation Modification of Documentation Development Life Cycle Introduction of the role of User Documentation expert Defined responsibilities of User Documentation expert Increased responsibilities of User Documentation expert Introduction of FDUD Page 16 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Responsibilities of a User Documentation Expert Plan and estimate the scope for UDoc Review FDUD Author in source language Translate documents in target languages Review and translate UI messages Track and fix defects Configuration Management tasks Migration Page 17 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Methodology of creating software documentation in LEAN Analysis Review BLRD Release Kick-off Create Documentation requirements backlog Content Development in every TAKT Review FDUD and Review UI message Authoring Technical review Understanding requirement Content Development in every TAKT Finalize source content Documentation in final feature demo Merge documents to INT build Page 18 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Methodology of creating software documentation in LEAN Defect Fixing Analyze defects Fix defect Review Review Online review with stakeholders Address review comments Merge documents to INT build Translation management tasks Pre-translation tasks Post-translation tasks Page 19 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Methodology of creating software documentation in LEAN Content Development in Hardening TAKT Gather inputs for Readme and Product Information manuals from stakeholders Authoring Final review with stakeholders Publish Final Documents Document Delivery Integrated documents to INT Build Generate CMP label Page 20 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Case Study Eliminating waste Created a streamlined process of creating a UI message by eliminating a wastage of 47 % of the effort and time of all the stakeholders using value-stream mapping. Established the principles of passing a defect /test case on User Documentation on the basis of source language documentation. Established the process of effective creation and review of FDUD to reduce the number of review comments during the online review of the meeting with all the stakeholders. Page 21 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Changing the mode of software documentation with lean model of software development A case study of adaptations and improvements Table of contents Understanding DDLC Aligning DDLC with Waterfall and V Model Aligning DDLC with Agile Model Implementing Lean Model of Software Development Lessons Learnt Page 22 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

What went well and what did not go well - Global responsibility of software documentation - Adherence to Lean model - Distribution and delegation of tasks - Introduction of processes and technology - Improvement of processes and technology - On-time delivery - Availability of multilingual documents globally Waterfall or V model: - Delay in delivering translated documents - Delayed review process - Time bound stress Lean model: - Time bound stress - Constant improvisation in processes to eliminate waste Page 23 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.

Questions and Answers For more information, you can reach me: Jaya Choudhury Documentation Engineer Siemens Technology and Services Pvt. Ltd. Corporate Technology Development Center Asia Australia (CT DC AA) Technology Competency (TEC) Center of Competency for Technical Communication (TECOM) No. 84, Keonics Electronic city Bangalore, India Phone: +80 3313 1817 Mobile: +91 9740085602 E-mail: jaya.choudhury@siemens.com Page 24 May 2015 Corporate Technology Unrestricted use only / Siemens AG 2015. All rights reserved.