Developing a Glossary for Software Projects

Abstract

The success of a software project depends intrinsically on effective communication among stakeholders. The purpose of a glossary is to ensure that the knowledge of the domain underlying a software project be communicated properly to all the stakeholders of that project. This chapter provides the context, the rationale, and the means for developing a glossary for software projects. In doing so, it proposes a process for developing a glossary. This process is independent of any particular application domain, software development methodology, and information technology. The approaches for representing and presenting a glossary, for the consumption of humans as well as that of machines, are discussed.