Once a quarter it’s good to take a look at your documentation and other customer-facing resources. The new year is a good time to do a larger evaluation of the direction and scope of your documentation.
Here are some questions to think about as you evaluate the state of your docs:
- Does your documentation facilitate self-service?
- How good is the search function?
- Can customers and others submit feedback?
- If your docs include comments, how is the moderation?
- If you have a forum, how is the moderation?
- Do the comment system and/or forum bring value above and beyond the documentation itself?
- Is your documentation compatible with screen readers and other accessibility tools?
- How well do you address multiple learning modalities? (Do you balance text, images, and videos?)
- What does your updating process look like?
- What does your doc creation process look like?
- What process do you use to change documentation when a new release comes out?
There are many more things to consider, but this is a good list to start with. This is foundational work, the kind of work that isn’t glamorous but pays huge dividends in the long run. Make the time to add this kind of a documentation check to your documentation system and your customers will thank you many times over.
