TM1 Forum

Hi All,

I wanted to get an idea on some the documentation you create for clients for TM1 projects. I am trying to figure out if there is a standard that majority of developers adhere to in this forum?

I have done a few implementations and although majority of my clients (mainly Small/Medium Size Orgs) never specified the documentation I tended to provide the following:

TM1 Documentation
TM1 Admin Guide – Details on how the model operates, annual maintenance & troubleshooting etc.. – Recipients: Business Analyst or IT staff
TM1 End User Guide - Step by Step guide for end users (model & reports) - Recipients: Business/Finance Analysts
Functional Requirements – Captures business functional requirements and high level outline of the TM1 Model and its functionality - Recipients: Business/Financial Analyst & Sponsor
Technical Requirements - Technical details of the model and environment including Servers & PW’s, Security, Configuration etc….– Recipients: IT Staff

BI Reports (Report Studio) if applicable
Report Specification – Outline detailed report spec - Business Analyst or IT staff

Most of the time it depends on what they are willing to pay for. However, I always insist on a minimum:

Required:
1) Design Document - this is where I lay out, in as much detail as possible what the model is going to do and how we are going to accomplish in TM1.
2) Technical Document - delivered at the end of the project. It takes the initial design document and fleshes it out completely. All objects in TM1 are documented.

Optional:
Administrators Guide - tells them how to run the model, make modifications, etc.
End User Guide - tells a regular user how to work the model (cubes, dimensions, views, reports, input templates, etc.)
Training Materials

Most clients opt for the Admin Guide but you would be surprised how many skimp and don't want the User Guide or Training Materials, regardless of how much I try to convince them they'll be sorry they didn't get me to do them. By the time they realize they want them I'm already knee-deep in another project.

The four documents that you mention under TM1 Documentation sound right to me, with a particular emphasis on the Admin guide as the critical document for any future developers. It pays to incorporate additional information about what sort of considerations should be taken into when future change is attempted, i.e. 'you can't implement these sorts of things because of the way metadata is updated'.

Thanks for the comments.