Define the unique technical identifier of the interface.

Specify the version of the interface that is described by this document.

Define the type of the interface which may be internal (used by components of the system you design) or external (also used by components outside the system you design).

The value is edited by the use of the Interface Type Macro.

The level is relevant if you want to document an interface by individual parts.

Add references to information on external systems here.  This is useful if the documentation for an interface is defined elsewhere or may be provided by the interface on-demand.

Give a summary on the interface.

Describe the functionality of the interface from the business point of view.

Describe the business processes relevant for this interface.

Describe the data in its technical context.

List the requirements on the interface.

Describe the security aspects to consider when publishing and using the interface.

Define the quantities serviced by this interface. This addresses figures concerned e.g. with

• Runtime
• Throughput/Volume
• Availability
• Logging
• Archiving

Resources affected when this interface is used.

Describe the side effects and consequences.

Document the technical protocols.

Document the codes and handling of error and exception cases.

Document access rights, temporal constraints, parallel access, and preconditions for using the interface.

Document the interface from the operation point of view.

Document the person in charge, costs of using the interface, organizational issues, and versioning.

Document the architectural decisions made for the interface.

Provide some examples to help users to get started with using the interface.

This may be use cases as well as coding examples.

Complex interfaces may be subdivided into single interfaces.