A self documenting technique for systems analysis

Abstract

Probably the biggest, messiest, most onerous task in systems analysis is documentation. Typically, we produce enormous amounts of highly detailed narrative, together with some fairly general flowcharts. If anybody ever actually reads these documents, they often find redundant and contradictory information. Even though the documents are laden with all the detail we could think of to include, the reader typically walks away muttering, "But what's the system supposed to do? " The feeling is something like expecting floor plans and renderings of your new custom house from the architect, and instead receiving an accounting of the barrels of nails, board-feet of lumber, reels of copper wire, and a carpentry manual.