SODOS: A software documentation support environment — Its use

A description is given of a computerized environment, SODOS (Software Documentation Support), which supports the definition and manipulation of documents used in developing software. An object-oriented environment is used as a basis for the SODOS interface. SODOS is built around a software life-cycle model that structures all access to the documents stored in the environment. This model supports software documentation independently of any fixed methodology that the developers may be using. The main advantage of the system is that it permits traceability through each phase of the life cycle, thus facilitating the test and maintenance phases. The effort involved in learning and using SODOS is simplified by a sophisticated, user-friendly interface.