When building a product and developing features we ensure that the product has complete documentation by following iterative documentation practices.
The product documentation is completed iteratively as we work on each major feature, contributing to the complete documentation repository of the product. By creating product documentation iteratively we ensure that we keep track of the product as we build and include all necessary information.
When creating documentation, we ensure that it is:
Concise and Clear
We ensure that our documentation is written in a way that can be understood by any reader, is clearly formatted, and focuses on specific points.
Accurate and Comprehensive
We ensure that all features of the product and the factors that went into building the product are all accurately documented.
Structure and Searchable
We ensure that our documentation is laid-out with usability in mind, ensuring that all documents are organized into clear categories and easily searchable to find specific content.
Each product is set up with a central document repository to store all content related to the project, including:
The product overview document acts as the main reference point for the project and houses all documents and links related to the project. The central product overview document contains all major documents with a link to each document and any links to external resources.
The overview document lists:
When we begin to work on each new major feature or plan out new major iterations of the product we first draw up and plan all of the system architecture using diagrams to detail out the architecture and implementation.
Once system architecture is approved it is added to the documentation repository to keep a record of all architecture decisions.
As we iterate on the product and make new technical decisions we ensure that these are all stored and documented. The technical documentation can include the following:
Code Frameworks & Standards Documentation
An outline of the frameworks, coding principles, and standards followed when implementing the product, including but not limited to;
API Documentation
A list of all APIs used, the purpose of each API, and how to connect to the APIs.
Libraries & Licenses
A list of all libraries and licenses used with version numbers listed.
For each product release, we set up a new release document. The release document will list:
As each new feature enters planning a new document is set up to manage the feature. The feature document gives an outline of the full feature and lists out all epics and user stories required to achieve the required functionality. The features document lists:
Feature Objective
Main intentions of the feature
Criteria of acceptance
Image / video content
Design and user interaction
Requirements for functionality
Code references
Code snippets with markup, libraries, API endpoints, parameters, coding conventions, and additional references to explain the functionality.
The system administrator documentation lists out any content required for admin users to manage the product, helping ensure product continuity and ease in maintenance. Including:
The end-user documentation ensures that the main instructions for end-users are listed, including: