Software Documentation
Building a startup is a complex process, and one thing that often gets neglected is documenting your software. But this isn't just a manual for your team and users; it's also a training guide for your AI models. In this article, we'll talk about why documentation is so important, what tools you can use, and give you practical advice on keeping it updated and easy to use.
The Big Deal About Software Documentation
Software documentation helps you get your head around how your product should work. It ensures that everyone - from product, engineering, marketing, to support teams - are on the same wavelength. Plus, in a world where AI is everywhere, it can be used to train AI models to help with customer support.
Why It's Important: Clear Thinking, Team Alignment, and AI Training
- Clear Thinking: When you document your software architecture, you have to explain how your product works. This process makes sure you understand everything and helps you spot any gaps or inconsistencies in your product design.
- Team Alignment: Good product documentation acts as a shared language for different departments within your company. It guarantees that everyone knows how the product works.
- AI Training: In our AI-driven world, your product's documentation can be used to train AI models to improve customer support. These models can sift through the documentation to answer user questions accurately, making your support team more efficient.
Tools for Documenting Your Software Architecture
There are many tools you can use for software documentation, but two of them stand out because they're effective and user-friendly: Archbee and Docusaurus.
- Archbee: This is my favorite option. Archbee has a straightforward interface for creating clear, detailed documentation.
- Docusaurus: This is another great tool. Docusaurus lets you create, maintain, and manage documentation that grows with your product.
Making Documentation Easy to Browse
Most companies take a straightforward approach to documentation: they set up a help center with a search bar and ask users to look for help. But I have another idea - make your documentation easy to browse.
By making your documentation read like a book, you ensure your product is covered comprehensively, encourage clear thinking about the product, and help users become product experts. While having a search function is important, making the documentation easy to navigate improves the user experience and the usefulness of your documentation.
Examples of Good Documentation
Stripe has long been seen as the gold standard for documentation. But as they added more products, their documentation became more fragmented and leaned more towards search-oriented help.
The lesson here is about balance. As your product grows, so should your documentation - but not to the point where it becomes hard to read and navigate.
Keeping Documentation Up-to-Date
The most important part of documentation is keeping it current. And this needs to be easy. So I would opt for "simple but easy for the team" over anything too fancy or complicated. This is like the home organization advice that tells people to make it easy to put things away. To do this, make updating the documentation part of your software engineering practice. You could make it a step in the release cycle, updating it either before or after a feature goes live. This makes sure your documentation grows with your product.
Wrapping Up: Documentation as a Key to Your Startup's Success
To wrap up, strong, comprehensive, and updated software documentation can be a game-changer for your startup. It not only brings your team together but also guides your users and trains your AI models. Embrace the documentation journey, and you'll see it pay off in your startup's success.