The title above is one of the few times you will see an exclamation point after the word “documentation.”  However, you should see it more often.  Document generation, as part of an overall Model-Based Design workflow, enables developers to improve their models more quickly and more efficiently.  For the most part, the required documentation can be automatical generated as part of the Model-Based Design workflow.

Types of documentation

Test and verification activity reports

There are two primary types of test and verification reports; instance and trending.

• Instance report:  This report provides the information on the results of a given “instance” of one or more tests.
• Trending report: Trending reports collect high-level statics such as the total number of tests passed/failed.

Traceability reports

Traceability reports provide information on the coverage of the requirements.  These reports should show the following information

• Percentage of requirements with links to models
• Requirements with tests
• Requirement test status

Unlike test and verification, traceability reports are always trending reports.

“Process” and “documentation” reports

The final type of report tracks the adherence to a defined process; this type of documentation is most frequently seen in safety critical systems.  A process document tracks how models move through the development process.  It is used to verify that all defined stages in the development cycle are completed.

Final thoughts

Documentation serves a vital purpose in the development of software.  It both allows developers to understand the state of their product (tracking documents).  For companies following safety critical processes, both the traceability and process documents are artifacts that are used in support of the development cycle.