It is well known that many software systems nowadays are only partly documented and that, in addition, little is known about the quality, the degree of mutation, and the size of the software in use. The result of this is that it is very difficult to understand such systems and, in addition, to maintain them effectively and efficiently.

The  Computer Aided Redocumentation and Evaluation (CARE) concept is based on an improvement cycle, in which the quality and size of the software are evaluated and the documentation is updated on a regular basis.

CARE can be adapted to your specific situation and it takes into account the domains in which you wish to employ CARE.

The improvement cycle consists of the following steps:

• Intake: A CARE environment is defined here, depending on the domain for which you wish to have a software documentation and software evaluation environment. The result, the CARE definition, is a clear specification of the application software sources to be analyzed, the standards, and the method of documentation and evaluation.
  

• Monitoring: Monitoring based on the CARE definition in order to analyze the application sources automatically and periodically. The result is a CARE repository with quality and size measurements. For documentation purposes, this repository also contains all the structures and relationships of and between the application sources. The result is therefore a dataware-house with all the application sources and their characteristics
  

• Reporting: Different reports can be generated from the CARE-repository. These can be reports about the quality, size, and trend development of these. The technical documentation is also generated. In addition, the functional documentation that may need to be adapted is identified based on the changes in the application.
  

• Analysis: Analysis is carried out by further analyzing signals and KPIs in the areas of quality and productivity, and qualifying these for prescriptions for improvement. The functional documentation is also analyzed on the basis of the signals.
  

• Improvement: Improvement occurs by implementing the improvement prescriptions and updating the functional documentation. This updating is carried out manually or is automatically supported by tooling. If required, the CARE definition can be updated on the basis of advanced insight.