As long as there are any projects in our mind or ordered by the customers, there must be perfectly planned and performed documentation. A single person shouldn’t necessarily work on the entire amount of work. Many companies provide team documentation tools and document control for every participant of the project. Before you start using them, learn how to create and keep technical documentation.
What Is Technical Documentation?
Technical documentation refers to all the documents that are used during the project creation. It explains the process of the development, architecture of the product, functionality, and even the peculiarities of use. It is a detailed guide for administrators, users, and stakeholders.
To avoid messiness in documentation, it must contain all the details of the project and a step-by-step performance. It must be clear and understandable even for the outsider. It is more than a description of the developer’s actions but a helpful tool for the audience.
Good technical documentation involves document control. It involves identifying, controlling, and tracking all documented procedures and processes in one place using a document control software program.
Furthermore, document control software enables you to use the best workflows without configuring keywords, forms, fields, and procedures for document records. Moreover, you’ll have complete document access and visibility of the approval process for better collaboration and project completion.
Proper Use of Documentation
Documentation offers you to stay involved in the process on every step of its creation. It provides a better understanding of the product by the audience. Stakeholders can simply check the documents to solve any disputable question. Documentation does not have to frustrate anyone who reads it. It must contain a plan of your work and describe the end goals.
Documentation is crucial in all businesses, from research and development to engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, etc. The effective implementation of documentation puts all users on the same page, detects and prevents data inaccuracies, and keeps everyone on the same page. Stakeholders have a consolidated framework for making wise decisions. In addition, paperwork acts as irrefutable evidence for the purposes of conducting business and complying with legal requirements.
Types of Documentation
Here is a simple way to find which documentation you need. The major goal of any documentation is to keep the information you need intact. It will help you to achieve your goals afterward. Software documentation has two main types and several subtypes:
- Product documentation is divided into system documentation and user documentation;
- Process documentation which includes plans, schedules, estimates, working papers, reports, and standards.
Product Documentation
This type describes the product and provides instructions for it, like technical documentation. It is divided into separate types, which are:
- System documentation that includes design and architecture, source code, requirement documents during the work, testing, validation, and verification, help guide or maintenance;
- User documentation that includes the manual for the end-user or the system administrator. This documentation reveals the further actions of users or system administrators in case there are some questions or problems.
Requirements Document
This document provides the system functionality data. You can find out what the system must do and how it has to work. This document contains use cases, user stories, and business rules. You can use a template to create such a document. Share it with the members of the team so that they could add information to it. Include there:
- Names of the team members and specify what they are responsible for. Provide the information on the owner of the product and the stakeholders;
- Specify the goals your team is working on;
- Strategic aims of the product. Provide the background before you start creating the project;
- Open the document for employees to write down their propositions and notes about the project;
- Pick the user stories as an example of what your project must look like;
- Record all the questions that appear during the work on the project. It must be questions from the team and stakeholders as well;
- Write down all the postponed changes you want to make in the project.
Architecture Document
This document usually contains important architectural decisions. You don’t need to list everything there, just the relevant information that might be used in the future. You may also write down all the questionable moments of the process. The document contains:
- Template of the design document where you can list the aspects that must be covered;
- Principles of design and architecture that will be used. If you want to use microservices architecture, you have to specify it;
- Description of a user story. User stories must be connected to the business process and scenarios you have for the project;
- Write down all the details of the solution for your project. You can make a list with the tools you use, components, modules, and services that will be improved;
- Make a diagram to highlight the solution you come up with. If you have several options, make several diagrams for each of them.
Source Code Document
This document contains all the technical aspects of the work. It explains the specifics of code and how it can be used. Not all the aspects can be covered. This type of documentation must be simple with small sections and every element in its place. You can include the following information:
- The type of data binding;
- HTML generation framework plus other frameworks that are applied;
- Security measures;
- Design pattern and examples if there are any;
- Other principles and patterns were not originally included in the documentation.
Research Document
Research documents include scientific research papers, theses, or academic papers. The document offers comprehensive information regarding the work, including unique research results and reviews. In addition, the documentation of the study incorporates both primary and secondary sources, which are derived from the concepts of other individuals.
In order to respect the intellectual property of others, appropriate documentation must be attributed to the original creator or author. In ethical research, proper documentation allows users to verify the document’s consistency and accuracy through a reference list. Furthermore, proper documentation is transparent and conveys integrity and trust.
Easy Way to Create Documentation
To simplify your task, you have to understand which type of documentation is needed first. Create a plan and follow it. Use the guide above to keep in mind all the aspects of documentation you might need later. If you want to use professional help, you can find it on ClickHelp.
