Overview

I was paging through a textbook on Management Information Systems1 and found this advice:

Typically an IS organisation develops and follows procedures for the operation of information systems. Using standard procedures promotes quality and minimises the chances of errors and fraud. It helps both end users and IS specialists know what is expected of them in operating procedures and system quality. In addition, documentation of the systems and software design and the operation of the system must be developed and kept up-to-date. Documentation is invaluable in the maintenance of a system as needed improvements are made.

(O Brien, 1999)

I seem to have lived on a different planet from the author. I agree with his sentiments and perfect-world outlook. But in my experience it just doesn t happen that way. Actually the textbook is good. It s in its fourth edition. People buy it students of course. But when these students enter the real world they find a free-for-all with the standards and procedures things to be avoided, evaded and ignored in the interests of getting the job done. Remember user requirements and project plans? They may make provision for the development of standards and procedures, but they can t be serious. Certainly the developers who read this specification have every intention of documenting the system this time round. But when the deadlines get tight, the first thing to be deferred into the misty future is documentation. Mind you, no-one is ever going to read this stuff anyway.