Docs as Tests: A Strategy for Resilient Technical Documentation

Docs as Tests by Manny Silva offers a pioneering strategy to keep your documentation in sync with rapid product changes through automated validation. Leveraging principles from software engineering, Silva introduces methods to apply content testing to technical documentation.

This book provides practical advice on creating resilient documentation, ensuring accuracy, and enhancing user experience amidst evolving products.

Aimed at technical writers, engineers, and product managers, Docs as Tests bridges the gap between documentation and product development, making it an essential resource for maintaining up-to-date and reliable documentation.

About the Author

Manny Silva is a technical writer and engineer who has worked at Apple, Google, and Skyflow. He is passionate about creating intuitive developer experiences and founded Doc Detective.

Click here to read Manny Silva’s full bio.

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Table of Contents

• About Docs as Tests
• What and Why
  • Chapter 1: Something Always Breaks
  • Chapter 2: Turning Documentation into Action
• How
  • Chapter 3: How to Write Tests
  • Chapter 4: Lessons From Engineering
  • Chapter 5: Testing GUI Docs
  • Chapter 6: Testing API Docs
  • Chapter 7: Testing Code in Docs and Docs in Code
  • Chapter 8: Keeping Docs and Products in Sync
• Glossary
• Resources

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Praise for Docs as Tests

“Docs as Tests brings documentation to life. Discover how tests can adapt to your specific documentation needs (start with a cupcake) before diving into advanced workflows (a whole wedding cake). This resource is easy to read and informative for both practitioners and students of modern technical writing.”

—Carlos Evia, Professor and Chief Technology Officer; CLAHS, Virginia Tech

“If your docs aren’t tested, they’re one code change away from being wrong. This book is all about turning documentation from a static resource into a living, tested asset. If you’ve ever struggled with outdated docs, you need this.”

—Jake Cahill, Senior Principal Technical Writer at Redpanda Data

“Docs as Tests transformed the way I approach writing, maintaining, and evangelizing documentation. With this approach, you can give your users confidence that your documentation reflects the current state of your products and APIs. This confidence builds the trust that’s essential for adoption and success.”

—Sarah Sanders, Technical Writer at Docker

“Docs as Tests weaves a rich tapestry of ideas around documentation as a source of truth, and testing as a source of confidence. Investing in more accurate docs builds user trust, and therefore makes your product more valuable. Every team will find something in this book that they can adopt to improve their docs.”

—Lorna Mitchell, OpenAPI Initiative

“The techniques in this book help technical writers and developers create reliable, up-to-date documentation that evolves alongside production code. I learned a lot while reading this book, and I plan to prioritize test creation in my documentation projects.”

—Anne Gentle, Consultant, Just Write Click

“Great products deserve great docs—but too often they’re built in isolation. Manny Silva lays out a clear, actionable path to bring them together. If you’re ready to close the gap, start with this book.”

—Adam Altman, Founder of Redocly

“The old docs models are broken. Manny Silva shows you a way to fix it. It’s worth doing because up-to-date, accurate documentation is the best tool to convert and retain customers for your technical product.”

—Adam DuVander, Author, Developer Marketing Does Not Exist