ERP Software development teams often make choices for ERP software architecture without fully comprehending why these decisions have been made. This usually leaves newcomers needing clarification about why specific languages such as Ruby or React or hosting options were chosen rather than alternative platforms.
Teams responsible for ERP software architecture development may want to document their decisions when making software architecture choices, including documenting architectural decisions in agile contexts where code documentation may suffice as its internal documentation tool. API documentation remains essential in functioning teams; good documentation should always be considered when setting goals and benchmarks for ERP software architecture development teams.
ERP software architecture documentation is critical for development teams because code alone doesn't convey all of its meaning. Many questions remain unanswered when viewing only code. An outsider looking at code simply wouldn't know why the architecture has been constructed in certain ways or whether making changes would compromise system integrity, significantly hindering change efforts.
What Is ERP Software Architecture Documentation?
ERP Software architecture documentation refers to the comprehensive analysis and presentation of a software system's architecture, from deliberate design decisions, component construction details, and artifacts such as diagrams or specs and descriptions, through its construction to completion and ongoing support needs. Documenting software's architectural composition helps team members and clients better comprehend and refine it over time.
Documenting ERP software architecture aims at outlining these areas of code:
- Functional requirements of the system.
- Goals of the system.
- Decisions driving its architecture along with justification.
Although good code should speak for itself, good documentation makes future maintenance and updates of software more straightforward and makes updating of code much more feasible. ERP Software architecture documentation typically addresses these key stakeholders:
- Developers
- Software Architects
- Testers
- Quality Assurance
- Support
- Clients
- Project managers
Anyone interested in how a software solution has been designed should document its architecture for reference purposes. Otherwise, you must remember why and how something was constructed, potentially undoing existing decisions when changes occur or even worsening current choices when adjustments take effect.
Why Should We Document ERP Software Architecture?
Benefits of documenting ERP software architecture. now, let's delve deeper into it:
Knowledge Sharing
Documenting ERP software architecture may seem like an administrative burden for technical contributors, but its importance in knowledge sharing must be balanced. Over time, team members may forget what decisions were made and may alter the software from its initial purpose if it is not documented properly. By documenting ERP software architecture, development teams can better share internal knowledge base software between contributors and preserve it for later contributors who might come along who don't necessarily share similar goals as the original creators of that knowledge.
Collaboration
Writing ERP software architecture documents helps teams work more effectively together because stakeholders from across the board understand its purpose more fully. This makes intentions behind code that may not immediately become obvious more apparent, and even non-technical user manuals comprehend why certain parts of it function in certain ways, leading to better and more pragmatic business decisions.
Scalability
To scale a project successfully, you must document all design decisions behind its architecture, specifications, and technical details. Without adequate documentation, your team and architecture may become stagnant, as crucial information will be unaccounted for, leading to software that eventually fails. Your initial scope might be narrow at launch time but may evolve over time as additional features or use cases are introduced into your app.
Reducing Maintenance Cost
To keep pace with customer demands and meet them successfully, your software developers will require regular code maintenance to fix bugs or update patches as needed. When your software architecture is well documented and documented correctly, even newcomer developers can confidently jump right in without worrying about missed changes, thus lowering its maintenance cost. This makes changes more accessible, reducing update and patch costs over time.
Maintain And Modernize Outdated Software Systems
As your software evolves, its requirements change daily, and stakeholders can sometimes lose track due to its rapid transformation. Software should be maintained and modernized regularly using updated architecture, and documentation provides insight into any necessary adjustments or instances where standards may have been breached.
Decision Support
Documents that support decision-making provide architects, developers, project managers, and others responsible for driving it with more information to draw upon when making decisions. While some might assume that simply looking at code is enough of an insight source, this approach needs more context or intentions; software architecture documentation fills this void nicely.
Also Read: Can Architecture Governance Save $10M In ERP Software Development?
How To Create ERP Software Architecture Documentation
Now, we will cover all the necessary steps to develop ERP software architecture documentation.
An Effective Plan And Audience Analysis Are Essential
As with any form of writing, when creating ERP software architecture documentation, you must establish its intended reader or audience. While your immediate thought might be other software architects, your audience could include developers, technical writers, project managers, clients, or anyone else involved with its creation and distribution. As with all forms of writing, separating documents for specific audiences is often beneficial, as information that might interest some could prove distracting or overwhelming for others.
Gather Existing Information Currently In Existence
Your ERP software architecture already contains documentation in some form; collecting existing materials will save time during the documentation process and make the best use of available resources. This route increases the odds that all collateral remains up-to-date and accurate—plus, it keeps important info together in one location.
Select An Appropriate Document Format
As part of your documentation strategy, it is necessary to select an approach for a presentation that suits both users and has minimal maintenance costs - images, text, or videos will require different resources and may prove more challenging than others in updating and translating into multiple language versions over time. Take time to consider which format best meets users' requirements while having minimal ongoing costs to ensure ongoing commitment to its maintenance and use.
Outline The Documentation
Before embarking on creating large volumes of ERP software architecture documentation, ensure you make a plan. As numerous collaborators will likely assist in your documentation efforts, everyone must have access to a roadmap they can work from - just as with software code development projects.
Change Management And Versioning
Your ERP software architecture documentation may change with time, so you should establish both a change management system and versioning procedures to manage changes over time properly. All versions should be kept current while keeping all team members up-to-date on what version of documentation they should refer back to in case of any disagreement or need for revision; additionally, everyone on your team should always stay abreast of its most up-to-date state.
Include Appendices And References As Well
Your software architecture documentation likely references external sources and materials; be sure to include an appendix and references so users can readily look up these references for additional information. This way, your documentation remains comprehensive and trustworthy for future reference.
Maintain And Update On An Ongoing Basis
Documenting ERP software architectures is never complete; instead, it should evolve along with changes to your system. Quality documentation must accurately represent every part of the system for users' trust that its contents will provide meaningful guidance; accordingly, it needs regular upkeep as your software architecture progresses while keeping original versions for reference purposes.
Conclusion
Software updates, maintenance, and new feature additions may no longer fall to those who initially built it; for this and other reasons mentioned previously, documenting your ERP software architecture can ensure its ongoing effectiveness and ensure users continue to benefit from using your application.
With proper documentation, software teams can become more organized and understand their direction. ERP software architecture becomes hard to decipher when engineers leave positions, and their replacements don't understand why certain decisions were made. Even though documentation might not always be prioritized among software architects, your teammates and users will appreciate your effort in putting it together.
