What emerging software documentation and maintenance trends can you adopt?

Software documentation and maintenance are essential aspects of system development, but they can also be challenging and time-consuming. How can you keep up with the changing needs and expectations of your users, clients, and stakeholders? What are some of the emerging trends and best practices that can help you create and maintain high-quality, user-friendly, and up-to-date documentation and maintenance processes? In this article, we will explore some of the answers to these questions and provide you with some tips and tools that you can adopt to improve your software documentation and maintenance skills.

1 Agile documentation

One of the most popular and effective trends in software documentation and maintenance is agile documentation. Agile documentation is a flexible and iterative approach that aligns with the agile principles and values of software development. Agile documentation focuses on creating the minimum viable documentation that meets the needs of the current iteration, while allowing for continuous feedback, improvement, and adaptation. Agile documentation also emphasizes collaboration, communication, and user involvement, rather than relying on rigid and formal specifications. Some of the benefits of agile documentation are that it reduces waste, increases efficiency, improves quality, and enhances user satisfaction.

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Richard Mateosian

Experienced technical writer
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I've started reading UX Writing by Tham et al. So far it's pretty good. It embraces an iterative and incremental (I&I) process called design thinking. 25 years ago I&I approaches (for example, Extreme Programming and forms of agile development) swept away the waterfall model. In retrospect I see that for most of the time since then, similar approaches have been quietly eroding the traditional technical communication profession. UX writing takes a wholistic approach in which empathy, psychology, user needs and characteristics, and company objectives play roles as important as grammar, rhetoric, and clear writing. To students trained in all the aspects of UX writing, traditional technical communicators may seem like dinosaurs.

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2 Living documentation

Another emerging trend in software documentation and maintenance is living documentation. Living documentation is a dynamic and interactive form of documentation that is generated from the source code, test cases, and other artifacts of the software system. Living documentation is always up to date, accurate, and consistent with the current state of the system. Living documentation also enables users to explore, learn, and interact with the system through various formats, such as diagrams, charts, animations, and simulations. Some of the advantages of living documentation are that it eliminates duplication, simplifies maintenance, facilitates testing, and supports learning.

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Joy Montgomery

win and keep customers with the triple bottom line
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I thought we always used a wholistic approach in which empathy, psychology, user needs and characteristics, and company objectives played roles as important as grammar, rhetoric, and clear writing.

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Richard Mateosian

Experienced technical writer
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An interesting aspect of the process described in UX Writing by Tham et al. is that it doesn't stop with delivery. It calls for post-delivery monitoring, evaluation, and iteration.

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3 Documentation as code

A related trend in software documentation and maintenance is documentation as code. Documentation as code is a practice that treats documentation as an integral part of the software development process, rather than as a separate or secondary activity. Documentation as code uses the same tools, standards, and workflows as code, such as version control, code review, testing, and deployment. Documentation as code also allows for automation, integration, and collaboration among developers, writers, and users. Some of the benefits of documentation as code are that it improves consistency, quality, and reliability, as well as reduces errors, conflicts, and delays.

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Richard Mateosian

Experienced technical writer
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It's hard to achieve with Markdown the highly professional FrameMaker look of the 1990s, but the benefits of doc as code more than make up for the clunky appearance.

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4 User-centered documentation

A user-centered approach to software documentation and maintenance is also a key trend in the field. User-centered documentation is a process that involves understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviors of the target users, and designing and delivering documentation that meets their expectations and goals. User-centered documentation also involves testing, evaluating, and refining the documentation based on user feedback and data. User-centered documentation aims to provide users with clear, concise, and relevant information that helps them use the system effectively and efficiently. Some of the benefits of user-centered documentation are that it increases user satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty, as well as reduces support costs and issues.

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5 Documentation analytics

Finally, documentation analytics is a trend that can help you optimize your software documentation and maintenance processes. Documentation analytics is the application of data analysis techniques and tools to measure and improve the performance and impact of your documentation. Documentation analytics can help you track and analyze various metrics, such as usage, feedback, quality, and outcomes, and use them to identify and address gaps, problems, and opportunities. Documentation analytics can also help you customize and personalize your documentation based on user behavior, preferences, and feedback. Some of the benefits of documentation analytics are that it enhances decision making, innovation, and optimization, as well as demonstrates value and return on investment.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What emerging software documentation and maintenance trends can you adopt?

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2

3

4

5

6

1 Agile documentation

2 Living documentation

3 Documentation as code

4 User-centered documentation

5 Documentation analytics

6 Here’s what else to consider

System Development

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What emerging software documentation and maintenance trends can you adopt?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Agile documentation

2 Living documentation

3 Documentation as code

4 User-centered documentation

5 Documentation analytics

6 Here’s what else to consider

System Development

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