Guidelines Document

A Guidelines Document is a reference document that provides standardized procedures, principles, and instructions to guide actions and decisions in a specific context.

• AKA: Guide Document.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) provide Clear Information for user understanding.
  • It can (typically) establish Target Audience for content focus.
  • It can (typically) maintain Document Structure for information organization.
  • ...
  • It can (often) include Step-by-Step Instructions for task completion.
  • It can (often) incorporate Visual Aids for explanation support.
  • It can (often) specify Best Practices for quality assurance.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Brief Guide Document to being a Comprehensive Guide Document, depending on its detail level.
  • It can range from being an Informal Guideline Document to being a Formal Guideline Document, depending on its formality level.
  • It can range from being a Physical Guide Document to being an Electronic Guide Document, depending on its format type.
  • It can range from being a Corporate Guidelines Document to being a Public Sector Guidelines Document, depending on its sector context.
  • ...
  • It can have Version Control Systems for content management.
  • It can maintain Information Currency through regular updates.
  • It can ensure Information Relevance to user needs.
  • ...
  • It can be managed by SOP Document Management Tasks.
  • It can be used for Training Purposes.
  • It can support Professional Settings.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Corporate Documents, such as:
    • Employee Handbook for company policy guidance.
    • Style Guide for publication consistency.
    • Policy and Procedure Manual for organizational standards.
  • Technical Documents, such as:
    • User Manual for software applications.
    • System Technical Specification for system requirements.
    • Software Development Guidelines for coding standards.
  • Specialized Guides, such as:
    • Legal Playbook for legal practices.
    • Annotation Guidelines Document for data annotation.
    • Standard Operating Procedure for process standardization.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Advertisement, which focuses on product promotion.
  • Fictional Novel, which provides entertainment rather than instructions.
  • Raw Data Spreadsheet, which lacks explanatory context.
  • Personal Notes, which lack standardization.
• See: Standard Operating Procedure, Compliance Document, Regulatory Framework, Quality Manual.

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References

2010

• http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/working_groups/Software/dev_guide/dev_guide/node5.html
  • QUOTE: The purpose of these document guidelines is to create a coherent set of documents that clarify the goals of the various software development teams and the functionality of the software they create. These documents are meant to be readily available not only to the development team members, but also to management and other interested parties.

    The creation of these documents is closely related to the software life cycle described in Section 3. For example, the existence of a reviewed requirements document demonstrates that the requirements definition phase of a project has been completed.

    Section 4.2 provides specific guidelines for each of the documents, suggests responsibility for their creation and maintenance, and describes how the documents are interrelated.

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