projectdoc Toolbox

Provides doctypes to create documentation in software development projects. The focus is on documenting the architecture of the product, but it includes templates for other software development documentation requirements as well.

  

Take an alternative introduction to the Doctypes for Software Development

English and German by Default

 

All doctype add-ons are available in English and German language (except for the V-Modell XT add-on for which only German is supported).

For more information on this topic please refer to Localization.

Overview

The Doctypes for Software Development help agile teams to document their software architecture.

Create a space and you have a basic structure, a repository, to add the relevant information for your stakeholders.

Author's Dashboard vs. Landing Page

The screenshot on the left shows the author's view. It contains links to documentation modules and types, tags, categories you usually want to see as an author, but not as a reader. See it as the authors' working dashboard. The space homepage contains the links that are relevant for readers. It is the landing page of the space.

This is the landing page provided by the The Software Development Add-on:

It leaves more space to add information most relevant to the readers of this space.



After you have created your space use the page blueprints to create documents for project constraints, requirements, views, architecture aspects (aka concepts) and many more.

The different topics are part of a document that comprise usually one wiki page. Since these pages are loosely coupled, they can be combined for different audience groups (e.g. using Tours or Volumes) easily. This makes it natural to run single source documentation principles and employ advanced features like transclusions or automatic lists. If the concepts you want to discuss are complex, you are not limited to a single page. Use the Section or other doctypes to create pages for modular content.

Due to home and index pages it is easier for authors to store new documents.

Install additional Doctypes!

Prerequisites

The Doctypes for Software Development requires the projectdoc Toolbox to be installed. The projectdoc Toolbox has a commercial license.

The add-on also uses blueprints from the Core Doctypes for projectdoc (like Role or Stakeholder). This add-on is available on the Atlassian Marketplace for free.

Please install the following add-ons on your Atlassian Confluence server:

1. Install projectdoc Toolbox

List of Doctypes for Software Development

The following doctypes help to document your software projects.

 

This list can be overwhelming, but using the templates is usually quite straight forward. To get a quick overview we suggest to open the Prezi presentation (the one we mentioned on the top of the page) which groups the logically closely related document types.

Mind some basics given in How to document a Software Development Project?

For an introduction to using projectdoc doctypes and macros from the author's point of view, have a look at the following documents:

Tour for Document Authors
Tour through the documentation for users who want to learn to create documents based on projectdoc doctypes.
Software Project Documentation
How to start your software project documentation? Here are the steps to get started with Confluence and the projectdoc Toolbox.
 

To organize your information about your software or system, you should have a look at the projectdoc Add-on for arc42. The arc42 Template provides a standard layout of chapters.

On the arc42 Template you can find a lot of useful tips on documenting architectures.


#NameShort DescriptionSetDocumentation TypeCategories
1Architecture Alternative
Document a possible option for an architecture decision. Choose this document type to describe the alternative for a decision in more detail. This is typically a subpage of an architecture decision document.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Design
2Architecture Alternative Type
Group architecture alternatives by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
3Architecture Aspect
Document an aspect of your architecture. Something orthogonal or cross-functional like logging, exception handling or configurability.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
4Architecture Aspect Type
Group architecture aspects by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
5Architecture Decision
Document a architecture decision for an option. This is useful to state the reasons and the options that have been evaluated. Later other team members will have it easier to understand the decision.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Design
6Architecture Decision Type
Architecture decisions are group by their types. A commonly used decision type is 'Architecture'.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
7Artifact
Document requirements you impose on artifacts. Artifacts are created by processes defined and used by the team. This includes assemblies created by the build process, source code artifacts or reports.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process
8Artifact Type
Artifact types categorize artifacts.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
9Blackbox
Describe as a Blackbox the elements of a view where only the externally visible properties are relevant.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
10Blackbox Type
Group blackboxes by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
11Code
Describe the codes that are part of the product's API.
Software DevelopmentQ3 - Product / Process / Implementation
12Code Type
Code types categorize codes, used in logging or exception handling.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
13Component
Components are part of a view on a system. A component may refer to a enclosed element or to a complete system of its own.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
14Component Type
Component types categorize components.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
15Data Type
Document a data type for properties and codes.
16Data Type Type
Data type types categorize data types.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
17Environment
Document logical or physical groups of nodes.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
18Environment Type
Type of an environment used by the project to deploy the application or the solution.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process
19Feature
Documents a feature of the product. The top features define the main aspects of the product.
Software DevelopmentQ3 - Product / Process / Analysis
20Feature Type
Feature types categorize features.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
21Interface
Interfaces document how elements of the system communicate with elements of this and other systems.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
22Interface Type
Group interfaces by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
23Node
Nodes are part of environments where artifacts are deployed to.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
24Node Type
Node types categorize nodes.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
25Out Item
Out Items record topics that are out of the scope of the project. This is useful for project inception and for reference in the future.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
26Out Item Type
Out item types categorize out items.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
27Project Constraint
Project Constraints limit the options of a project.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
28Project Constraint Type
Project constraint types categorize project constraints.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
29Project Vision
Frame the vision for a project or iteration.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
30Project Vision Type
Types to categorize vision statements for projects.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
31Property
Properties are part of the configuration options of a system.
Software DevelopmentQ3 - Product / Process / Implementation
32Property Type
Property types categorize properties of products, such as parameters or configuration options.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project
33Quality
Qualities describe desired aspects of the product.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
34Quality Scenario
Quality Scenarios document required qualities.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
35Quality Scenario Type
Quality scenario types categorize quality scenarios.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
36Quality Target
Documents a quality target for a product.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
37Quality Target Type
Group quality targets by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
38Requirement
Documents requirements of a product.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
39Requirement Type
Categorization of requirements for a product.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
40Technical Debt
Technical Debts track issues to be paid back.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Implementation
41Technical Debt Type
Technical Debts are grouped by the area they address.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
42Test Case
Document a test case of your project.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
43Test Case Type
Test case types categorize test cases.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
44Test Charter
Defines a charter to run an exploratory test session.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
45Test Charter Type
Test charter types categorize test charters.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
46Test Data
Document data used for test cases.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
47Test Data Type
Test data types categorize test data.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
48Test Report
Documents the results of a test session for the sponsoring stakeholders.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
49Test Report Type
Test report types categorize test reports.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
50Test Session
Defines a document to collect information during a test session.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Test
51Test Session Type
Test session types categorize test sessions.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
52Use Case
Defines a use case of the product.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
53Use Case Type
Use case types categorize use cases.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
54User Character
User Characters are the actors of user stories. They include personas and extreme characters.
Software DevelopmentQ2 - Project / Process / Analysis
55User Character Type
User character types categorize user characters.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System
56View
Different views on the product help to document the system and its architecture. Typical views are building block, runtime, or deployment.
Software Development / Process / Design
57View Type
Groups the views at a system.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific
58Whitebox
Describe as a Whitebox the elements of a view where only the relations of internal elements are relevant.
Software DevelopmentQ4 - System / Process / Design
59Whitebox Type
Group whiteboxes by their type.
Software DevelopmentQ1 - Process / Organisation / Specific

Related Macros

The following macros are provided by this add-on.

User Story Macro
Renders a user story of a user story doctype.

Resources

  • Doctypes - more doctypes for projectdoc.
  • Macros - macros to be used in your doctype templates.