The purpose of documentation is to communicate what a piece of software does and how to use it. We can split the characteristics of clean documentation into four aspects: a clean piece of documentation communicates the concept of the software, provides a specification of its behaviors, and contains instructions for how to perform specific actions. And it does all of this with a focus on usability. By the end of this section, we will hopefully understand the vital importance of the user in the craft of building clean documentation.
Documentation is something most people don't think about a lot. It's usually an afterthought. My task in this chapter is to convince you that it can be, and should be, so much more than this. As we step into these aspects, forget what you know about documentation – start with a fresh canvas and see if you come away with revelations of your own.