P and Telecom for Broadcast Engineering and Operations Copyright © 2004 by Fred Huffman. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS and services. Design reference documents include such things as standards, Product brochures, and specifications, sometimes called data sheets. Another class of documents includes application specific installation, operation, and maintenance instructions supplied with equipment, software, and, occasionally, services. Computer operating systems and applications include some form of help. Interactive telephone services based on DTMF tones supporting voice mail, corporate voice network access, and other similar services may be supported with small pocket-sized user guides. When carriers and Internet service providers build equipment and software into network infrastructure, documentation is critical to operational efficiency and good customer service. It also serves as a list of assets required for accounting records. As you will see later, it's wise to use a single list for accounting, engineering, and operations purposes. A third type of documentation in the second class is the concern and subject of this chapter. The scope of this type of documentation spans all of the above in terms of its content. Regardless of who does it initially and thereafter maintains it, the potential risk of off- air time may more than justify the up-front expense of its creation. This chapter will define and describe the type, content, and extent of documentation recommended for various size networks and projects. ESTABLISHING DOCUMENTATION If you currently use a combination of equipment and network facil- ities to support content transport, it's very likely that some form of documentation exists. For example, service providers send out bills each month, which are paid by the accounting department. These bills are based on unique circuit identification, usually a series of alpha-numeric characters included in the body of an invoice bes