If you invest in the proper knowledge base software like Helpjuice, you will have built-in templates with UX designed just for documentation users. Information Architecture refers to:.
When you get to a certain point in your documentation, you need to seriously consider how people with different needs will be able to use your documentation. For example, consider whether your users are from international audiences when actually writing content.
You want to avoid the use of idioms and references that they might not understand. Accessibility relates to the User Experience of the documentation tool itself. For example, consider whether it will be accessible to a person using a screen reader, which will read the test aloud to a person using it.
Images with text overlaid are not accessible, so think about your screenshots and make sure they have accompanying text. Take into consideration the contrasting colors of your knowledge base design, and how you style links, to ensure other users with visual impairments can engage with your site successfully.
Take this example from Write the Docs' website:. The site design is very clear, easy to use, with underlined links and short paragraphs. The black and white color scheme provides a high contrast for visually impaired users. Consider how customers arrive at your knowledge base in the first place.
Very few customers will consider your knowledge base as a whole, and hardly anyone will arrive at your carefully constructed homepage. Wherever you dip your toe into the Web, that is your page one. Whether you are a reader or a writer, and whether you like it or not, that is the way the Web works. Every page is page one.
Your software documentation is no good if nobody can find it, but there are a number of ways to promote your content. Your knowledge base software should be indexable by search engines, with all the correct meta tags. You should also link to your documentation from your software app, since this is where users will naturally get stuck. If possible, make use of contextual help which is served up whenever customers need it.
For example, if customers are having trouble with their billing, ensure a link takes them to a page with billing documentation that can help solve their problem.
To deliver the documentation to your users, you need the appropriate software documentation tool. Knowledge base software like Helpjuice enables you to easily create and publish documentation in a stylish website optimized for search and discovery. This can even mean creating entirely new knowledge bases and maintaining several KBs for different versions of the product.
Helpjuice allows you to create different versions of your documentation and even switch between them in the editor. Many companies need to keep different versions of their documentation live at the same time for customers who are using different releases. Keeping track of your documentation tasks in collaboration tools like Asana or Trello is also essential. Whatever your tool, make sure everyone is using it for maximum productivity. Consider whether you want to work in a lightweight markup language.
One of the advantages of working in a lightweight markup language is that content can be easily styled and presented in a visually appealing way. This is where professional technical writers come in. You can outsource your technical writing to an agency or you can hire in-house expertise. If you want to achieve anything like success with your User Experience, Information Architecture, and understanding of your audience, then professional tech writing experience is essential.
Your documentation gives an important impression to your customers that you care about their success with your software and you have provided help for when they run into problems. Set time aside to review the documentation, identify missing documentation, or improve documentation that is frequently used.
This relates to the customer feedback loop. Quickly act on comments from your customers that tell you your documentation is failing to solve a problem. Make the time to talk to your support agents about what documentation they might find useful, and even empower them to create it themselves! This has been a lot to take in!
Feel free to refer back to this guide as you develop your software documentation strategy and start reaching new heights of user success. Good documentation practices are just as important a part of the software as the code. Build the documentation into your development process and try to use the same Agile methodologies. This article is a broad overview and there is still so much more to learn. Return To Blog.
Written by: David Oragui Published: May 11 Software documentation is a crucial part of working software. Types of Software Documentation First and foremost, there are several types of software documentation, but the two main categories are product documentation and system documentation. Using object diagrams you can depict snapshots of existing runtime objects as well as instantiated relationships. The UML allows to distinguish between active and passive objects.
This view describes the environment within which the system is executed. It describes the geographic distribution of the system or the structure of the hardware components that execute the software. It documents workstations, processors, network topologies and channels, as well as other elements of the physical system environment.
Software is not much use without hardware. These models should enable the operator to properly install the software. Software Documentation template lite. Docs » Welcome to Software Documentation Template! Edit on GitHub. Welcome to Software Documentation Template! What should they read and understand beforehand Describe what a developer needs to be familiar with to further understand the code.
Link to relevant documents or create a new page and add them there. List of all a-l-l neighboring systems. Todo Define what coding guideline they should use, if you differ from the ones below. Todo Describe what constraints someone further developing this software should adhere to, and why.
Todo List all technical constraints in this section. This category covers runtime interface requirements and constraints such as: Hard- and software infrastructure Applied technologies - Operating systems - Middleware - Databases - Programming languages. Todo For all your interfaces, define their first 3 levels of interoperability. Todo If you have a user interacting with the finished system, and especially if you have a UI or GUI, describe how it can be used.
Todo If you want to use it, keep track of decisions that someone further developing this software or using it in the future might want to know about. Things to consider: What exactly is the challenge? Why is it relevant for the architecture? What consequences does the decision have? Which constraints do you have to keep in mind?
What factors influence the decision? Which assumption have you made? How can you check those assumptions? Which risks are you facing? Which alternative options did you consider? The design is simple and clean and it makes a great starter template for your small coding projects. If you want a minimalist and lightweight template for your technical documentation, Scribbler is a good fit. Follow me on Twitter so you don't miss coming freebies. I tweet about useful UX and Webdev related content and resources.
CoderDocs CoderDocs is a free documentation template built on the popular Bootstrap framework. She makes free Bootstrap themes for developers.
She tweets about UX design and web development related content.
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