Some claim that documentation is unnecessary for well-written software. It would merely be a needless effort to document.
Furthermore, functional software – rather than thorough documentation – should be prioritized, according to the Agile manifesto. Ignoring it, meanwhile, may lead to unneeded bottlenecks – even in agile software development.
Software documentation also provides security for users and project participants, who may use it as a form of oracle or instrument containing all the answers to questions about the product, including how use cases and business rules flow through the system.
However, producing relevant software documentation can be challenging for teams, which makes the process tedious and the document bad. After all, how to document software efficiently, so that it becomes a strategic guide for the organization?
In this post, we bring the information that software documentation needs to have, good software documentation guidelines, and the step-by-step process for good software documentation.
Information that the software documentation needs to have
Software documentation helps the public understand and use the product, whether that audience is made up of administrators, peers, technicians, or end users. Therefore, it must be clear, searchable, and, above all, useful.
Good software documentation should empower the audience and not frustrate them, for this, it needs to have some basic elements, such as customer support.
But not only that. The document also needs to be done according to software or technical documentation guidelines, and trust building.
This is because users look for the document when they need it most. And if the information is not there clearly and accurately, they will start looking for alternatives and, in this case, they may not be the best option for your company.
That’s why, according to experts from SECL Group, most software documentation is available on the company’s website or help pages on digital channels.
Below, we list 4 items that we consider essential in software documentation. They are:
End-user support
A user guide, with release notes, online help systems, training programs, or operating procedures; that is, any details that help users use the product.
Marketing support
Product-focused advertising is used to promote the brand and company, such as photos, explainer videos, presentations, and materials that lead to landing pages with technical information.
Development support
Functional and technical specifications, which serve as software development guides or simply procedures and tools to help developers do their jobs.
Organization support
Information about the company, its structure, its procedures, workflows, policies, and everything else that the professionals on your team need to know to do their jobs.
Good documentation practices
To help you effectively document your software and ensure the expected results, we have listed 5 best practices focused on documentation content within the software documentation requirements that we are considering.
Write what your audience would like to read
Understand which audience you’re documenting for and carefully define the language, tone of voice, structure, and topics you’ll use.
Add an easy-to-read table of contents
Prepare readers for what they will find in the document and allow them to move forward or return to a certain point with ease.
Explain in a simple and detailed way
Your documentation should be easy to consume, both for your team and for the users of the software. Detail all the items, but do it in a simple and direct way, without focusing too much on obviousness.
Create an upgrade plan
Adding the date of the last update is essential to familiarize the reader with the documentation. In addition, ensuring that the document is always relevant is essential.
Help readers find your document
Make sure that, when searched, your document is found. To do this, add resources and product names to titles and explanations, facilitating indexing in digital channels, for example.
Step by step for good software documentation
Software documentation, also known as technical documentation, is often penned by a technical writing specialist and aims to convert product specifications into language that end users can comprehend.
To help with this, we’ve outlined a five-step process for documenting software below.
1. Create a documentation plan
Have a plan for the software documentation stages at hand, with: objectives, existing resources, language style guides, the outline of topics that the documentation will address, tools to be used, how the management will be, and, finally, deadline and final results, which will serve to guide you in this project of documenting.
2. Define structure and design
Before you even start creating the content, define how the structure of your software documentation will be and what design will be presented, including how the hierarchy of information related to technical documents will be designed and what the document navigation structure will be.
3. Make a structured document
The content of good software documentation should have a presentation that makes it easy to analyze. The user has to be able to quickly find what they need.
Think of a template that contains a structure such as: a title, subtitle, overview, table of contents, characteristics, and perhaps a “read more” with additional information.
4. Get feedback before finalizing
In the initial phase, in the draft or draft of the documentation, try to get feedback on your document, both on the structural part and on grammar errors.
When you reach the final phase, with about 90% of your documentation completed, ask your audience to deeply review your document, to avoid unpleasant surprises when finalizing.
5. Edit, edit, and edit more
Remember, the ongoing editing process is what makes for good writing. Therefore, after collecting feedback and revising, expose the document to the editing of a technical writing professional, so that all items are deeply reviewed.
Someone with this eye can ensure that the language has a logical flow and is consistent throughout the text.
Conclusion
It’s evident that one of the best methods to give end consumers all the information they need about a product – while keeping in mind their shopping experience and usability – is by documenting software, as confirmed by the software engineers at SECL Group.
Experts and colleagues working on the project can refer to well-written software documentation as a reference when they have inquiries concerning the features and functionality of the product.
Integrating software documentation into the workflow and making it a key project milestone is the best approach to ensure that it is not ignored throughout development.
A great resource for your company is having efficient and current software documentation, which may improve teams and processes, facilitate the onboarding of new engineers, and, most importantly, enhance the user experience with your product and brand.
