How do you balance documentation completeness and conciseness?

1 Why documentation matters

Documentation serves many purposes in software development, such as explaining the design, functionality, and usage of your code, providing guidance and reference for users and developers, facilitating collaboration and communication, and ensuring quality and consistency. Documentation can also help you save time, avoid errors, and improve your skills. However, documentation is not a goal in itself, but a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to deliver software that meets the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.

2 What makes documentation complete

Documentation completeness means that your documentation covers all the relevant aspects of your software, such as its purpose, scope, features, requirements, architecture, design, code, tests, deployment, maintenance, and limitations. It also means that your documentation is consistent, coherent, and correct, and that it reflects the current state of your software. Completeness does not mean that you have to document everything in detail, but that you have to document what is important and necessary for your audience.

3 What makes documentation concise

Documentation conciseness means that your documentation is clear, simple, and easy to understand, without being redundant, verbose, or ambiguous. It also means that your documentation is organized, structured, and formatted, and that it uses appropriate language, style, and tone. Conciseness does not mean that you have to omit or simplify information, but that you have to present it in the most effective and efficient way for your audience.

4 How to balance completeness and conciseness

Balancing documentation completeness and conciseness is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a process that requires planning, analysis, and evaluation. To achieve this balance, you should define your documentation goals, scope, and audience; choose the right format, tool, and standard; write your documentation with clarity, accuracy, and relevance; and review and revise your documentation with feedback, testing, and metrics. Consider what information to include or exclude in your documentation to explain your software in a clear and accurate way. Make sure to make your documentation relevant and useful for your audience. Finally, improve your documentation based on feedback from users and peers; test for usability, functionality, and reliability; and measure the performance and impact of your documentation.

5 How to avoid common pitfalls

Balancing documentation completeness and conciseness is not easy, and you may encounter some common pitfalls along the way. To avoid over-documentation, focus on the essential information, use clear and concise language, and update your documentation regularly. For under-documentation, make sure to cover all the relevant information, use precise and specific language, and verify accuracy. Mis-documentation can be avoided by following documentation standards, using the same terminology and notation, and checking your documentation logic. If done correctly, your documentation will be easy to read, maintain, understand and trust; if done incorrectly it can cause confusion, frustration, errors, bugs and conflicts.

6 How to learn more

Balancing documentation completeness and conciseness is a skill that you can learn and hone with practice and experience. If you want to learn more about documentation best practices, tools, and examples, there are many resources available. For example, Daniele Procida's Documentation System offers a framework for creating effective documentation based on four types. Additionally, Write the Docs is a community of software documentation enthusiasts that provides resources, events, and support for documentation writers and users. Finally, Awesome Documentation is a curated list of high-quality documentation examples, tools, and resources for various software domains and technologies.

7 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?