This guide provides information that should be in documentation for computer software prepared for scientific and engineering computations in fire models and other areas of fire protection engineering.

Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee E05 on Fire Standards and Subcommittee E05.33 on Fire Safety Engineering, this guide was withdrawn without replacement in July 2011. This standard is being withdrawn without replacement because it completed its usefulness when it provided SFPE with a starting point for their own engineering guides and standards on these points. This standard does not rely on expertise in ASTM's areas of strength but is more appropriately the subject of SFPE guides and standards, in that SFPE members will be all or nearly all of the users of such guides.

This guide provides recommendations for writers of user’manuals and other documents for computer software prepared for scientific and engineering computations in fire models and other areas of fire protection engineering. The guide provides information that can be included in terms of three types of documents.

This guide is intended to assist in the understanding, usage, transfer, conversion, and modification of computer software. If the options and instructions contained in this guide are considered when documentation is prepared, the software should be used more readily for its intended purposes.

The use of fire models currently extends beyond the fire research laboratory and into the engineering, fire service, and legal communities. Sufficient documentation of computer software for fire models is necessary to ensure that users can judge the adequacy of the scientific and technical basis for the models, select the appropriate computer operating environment, and use the software effectively within the specified limitations. Adequate documentation will help prevent the unintentional misuse of fire models.

Additional guidelines on documentation can be found in ANSI/ANS 10.3 and ANSI/IEEE 1063.

ANSI/ANS 10.2 and 10.5 provide guidelines for programming to ease the portability of the software and meet user needs.

1.1 This guide provides information that should be in documentation for computer software prepared for scientific and engineering computations in fire models and other areas of fire protection engineering.

1.2 The guidelines are presented in terms of three types of documentation: (1) technical document; (2) user's manual; and (3) installation, maintenance, and programming manual.

1.3 There are no numerical values stated in this standard. It is recommended that SI units be the standard in the documentation and development of fire models.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.5 This fire standard cannot be used to provide quantitative measures.