IMHO, all of those items are a requirement and should always be done. In my experience, they are NEVER done (except for the user manual which is typically out of date). However those items are almost always done by consultants and contractors. In those cases, they are typically written into the contract and are a part of the purchased service/app.


>i hv been a progrmmer for a few years most of it self taught, no fancy college stuff. recently our company hired a consultant and he was surprised that i hv not yet created a
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>functional analysis
>program analysis
>user manual
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>of the program
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>and a lot of other stuff,
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>we only have 5 employees in our company, everyone knows the program inside out.
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>my question here is
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>1. how important are these things and what are these things (except the user manual which i understand)
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>2. is the consultant just trying to impress my boss
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>3. what other documentations are there which are necessary to be done along with the program?
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>4. where do i get to learn all this stuff?
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>any help is welcome
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>thanks