Documentation

'Documentation' objects (objects of Valuemation object type 'Comment') help to organize information and other relevant data available for objects of other object types. The actual information is in the form of attachments attached to the 'Documentation' object.

Although information or data files can be attached directly to all Valuemation business objects, attaching files via 'Documentation' has the following advantages:

• 'Documentation' objects group and categorize the attachments. For example, a business object may have two 'Documentation' objects assigned, one of the documentations may link all relevant source code files (this documentation object would be of the 'Source Code' type and thus would also belong to the DML structure), the other may link all information documents (manuals, analyses, etc.)
• 'Documentation' objects add additional information to the attachments, most importantly status information. For example, some of the attached source code may be in status 'Initiated' (still in progress) while other may be in status 'Approved / released'. This status distinction may be crucial in real life business environment, e.g. for software deployment.

Documentations are administered:

• Using 'Documentations' catalog(s) which can be added to the sidebar where appropriate. Some of the catalog(s) may be filtered and named to display only documentations of a certain type. For example, a catalog named 'DML' may be created to display only documentations of 'Source Code' documentation type.
• Using the 'Documentation' tab in the editors of other object types. The reference catalog in this tab lists documentations linked to a particulal business object. For example, all documentations pertaining to a System object can be created, assigned, edited and deleted from the 'Documentation' tab of the System editor.

Note: Documentation handling can be further upgraded by administering documents via USU KnowledgeCenter, a knowledge management tool which can be easily interfaced with Valuemation. USU KonwledgeCenter provides sophisticated document management features including document flow with fully customizable status transitions and authorizations.