IMPROVING DOCUMENTATION

Tech Update: Docusaurus

Better documentation improves efficiency in almost every area of business operations. Learn how Acro is using Docusaurus to beef up and streamline our Gesso documentation.

I recently went to IKEA to buy a bed frame. Now, buying a bed frame and putting a bed frame together are two different stories. It’s almost as if you go through the stages of grief when trying to piece together the instructions.

1. Denial - This is going to be easy!
2. Anger - Where the heck is that piece it wants me to use?
3. Bargaining - If I finish this portion, I only have 3 more to go!
4. Depression - I’m two hours in, and I’ve accomplished nothing.
5. Acceptance - It’s not awful, but it’s far from good.

So what does IKEA furniture have to do with software development? Well, it speaks volumes about the approach you should take as a developer when looking at documentation. We often deal in very complicated environments requiring a deep understanding of how to handle complex logic. Good documentation is worth its weight in gold, while conversely, poor documentation can be detrimental to a project when trying to piece together functionality.

As a mentor of mine once said,

“Spending a little time reading and writing documentation can save you and your team hours of future headaches.”

IT spending is projected to top $ 5.1 trillion in 2024, with the lion’s share going to software to help optimize organizations.

“Digital business transformations are beginning to morph. IT projects are shifting from a focus on external facing deliverables such as revenue and customer experience, to more inward facing efforts focused on optimization.” - John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.

So why am I talking to you about documentation? The Gesso team wanted an easy-to-read and write documentation system within our project that also has a clean UI to view the code. This is why we landed on using Docusaurus! And if it can help us improve efficiency, it can do the same for your business.

What is it?

Docusaurus makes it easy to write docs and blog posts with MDX, and Docusaurus builds them into static HTML files ready to be served. You can even embed React components in your Markdown, thanks to MDX.
It is beneficial in supporting users on all versions of your project. Document versioning helps you keep documentation in sync with project releases.

Check out how nice that looks! No front-end developer is needed!

Finally, one of the best features available is the live code editor. This sandbox environment allows for changes to the code to reflect on the result panel live. The image below illustrates how it might look with both a live editor and result in your documentation:

Benefits Of Better Documentation

• Knowledge Preservation: Documentation serves as a means to preserve and transfer knowledge from one person to another. It ensures that important information is not lost when individuals leave an organization or move on from a project.
• Training and Onboarding: New team members or employees can quickly get up to speed by referring to documentation. This is particularly important for complex processes, tools, or systems, as it reduces the learning curve.
• Efficiency and Productivity: Well-organized documentation can improve efficiency by making it easier to find information, reducing the need to explain things repeatedly, and streamlining processes.
• Problem Solving: In troubleshooting and issue resolution, documentation can be invaluable. It can contain known problems and their solutions, which can save time and resources when similar issues arise in the future.

In summary, documentation plays a critical role in ensuring that information is accessible, organized, and effectively utilized in various contexts. Whether it’s software development or business processes, documentation is critical to enhancing communication, knowledge preservation, and overall productivity, and it can be particularly essential in fields where accuracy, accountability, and compliance are paramount. Who knows, it might just save you a couple of hours on building furniture, too!

Ready to talk about the future of web development and learn more about the tools we use at Acro Commerce? 

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