Docs as Tests

tutorial

Add Docs as Tests to Your CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions

August 10, 2024: Updated the tutorial to use the Doc Detective GitHub Action.

Validate README Commands with Innovation Engine

Maintaining accurate and reliable CLI-based documentation is critical, especially when it comes to installation instructions and READMEs.

Validate a UI with Cypress

Docs as Tests is a strategy for using docs to test a product, validating both that the docs are accurate and that the product is functioning as expected. That’s a great aspiration, but what does it look like in practice?

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Validate an API with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests draws on many of the same principles as test-driven-development and data-driven-development and, as such, is a natural fit for REST API documentation.

Validate a UI with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests is a strategy for using docs to test a product, validating both that the docs are accurate and that the product is functioning as expected. That’s a great aspiration, but what does it look like in practice?

Back to Top ↑

doc-detective

Add Docs as Tests to Your CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions

August 10, 2024: Updated the tutorial to use the Doc Detective GitHub Action.

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Validate an API with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests draws on many of the same principles as test-driven-development and data-driven-development and, as such, is a natural fit for REST API documentation.

Validate a UI with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests is a strategy for using docs to test a product, validating both that the docs are accurate and that the product is functioning as expected. That’s a great aspiration, but what does it look like in practice?

Back to Top ↑

docs-as-tests

Docs as Tests: From Development to Production

The Docs as Tests methodology stems from a simple but profound principle: documentation shouldn’t just inform—it should also verify. By treating each piece of documentation as a test case that gets executed against the product, teams can preemptively identify discrepancies and ensure that what users read is what they get.

Docs as Tests vs. Docs as Code

Documentation has the critical role of helping users keep their footing in the storm of continuous releases driven by the iterative nature of modern product development. While many people think of documentation as creating guides and references for new features, publishing them online, and moving on to the next feature, this simply doesn’t reflect the actual challenges of technical writing in the age of continuous deployment, agile development, continuous contact, and easy access to feedback from customers. Writing is a big part of docs, of course, but maintaining those docs slides into the background as the business, product, and audience shift around them.

Docs as Tests: A strategy for resilient docs

It’s a common problem: A user is reading the docs for a product, and they come across a step that doesn’t work. Maybe the UI has changed, or the API has been updated, or the instructions are just plain wrong. Whatever the reason, they’re stuck. They can’t move forward, and they can’t get help because the docs are out of date.

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concept

Docs as Tests vs. Docs as Code

Documentation has the critical role of helping users keep their footing in the storm of continuous releases driven by the iterative nature of modern product development. While many people think of documentation as creating guides and references for new features, publishing them online, and moving on to the next feature, this simply doesn’t reflect the actual challenges of technical writing in the age of continuous deployment, agile development, continuous contact, and easy access to feedback from customers. Writing is a big part of docs, of course, but maintaining those docs slides into the background as the business, product, and audience shift around them.

Docs as Tests: A strategy for resilient docs

It’s a common problem: A user is reading the docs for a product, and they come across a step that doesn’t work. Maybe the UI has changed, or the API has been updated, or the instructions are just plain wrong. Whatever the reason, they’re stuck. They can’t move forward, and they can’t get help because the docs are out of date.

Back to Top ↑

bash

Validate README Commands with Innovation Engine

Maintaining accurate and reliable CLI-based documentation is critical, especially when it comes to installation instructions and READMEs.

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Back to Top ↑

REST

Validate an API with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests draws on many of the same principles as test-driven-development and data-driven-development and, as such, is a natural fit for REST API documentation.

Back to Top ↑

APIs

Validate an API with Doc Detective

Docs as Tests draws on many of the same principles as test-driven-development and data-driven-development and, as such, is a natural fit for REST API documentation.

Back to Top ↑

docs-as-code

Docs as Tests vs. Docs as Code

Documentation has the critical role of helping users keep their footing in the storm of continuous releases driven by the iterative nature of modern product development. While many people think of documentation as creating guides and references for new features, publishing them online, and moving on to the next feature, this simply doesn’t reflect the actual challenges of technical writing in the age of continuous deployment, agile development, continuous contact, and easy access to feedback from customers. Writing is a big part of docs, of course, but maintaining those docs slides into the background as the business, product, and audience shift around them.

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overview

Docs as Tests vs. Docs as Code

Documentation has the critical role of helping users keep their footing in the storm of continuous releases driven by the iterative nature of modern product development. While many people think of documentation as creating guides and references for new features, publishing them online, and moving on to the next feature, this simply doesn’t reflect the actual challenges of technical writing in the age of continuous deployment, agile development, continuous contact, and easy access to feedback from customers. Writing is a big part of docs, of course, but maintaining those docs slides into the background as the business, product, and audience shift around them.

Back to Top ↑

comparison

Docs as Tests vs. Docs as Code

Documentation has the critical role of helping users keep their footing in the storm of continuous releases driven by the iterative nature of modern product development. While many people think of documentation as creating guides and references for new features, publishing them online, and moving on to the next feature, this simply doesn’t reflect the actual challenges of technical writing in the age of continuous deployment, agile development, continuous contact, and easy access to feedback from customers. Writing is a big part of docs, of course, but maintaining those docs slides into the background as the business, product, and audience shift around them.

Back to Top ↑

shell

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Back to Top ↑

terminal

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Back to Top ↑

scripts

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Back to Top ↑

native

Validate Commands and Scripts with Doc Detective

We’ve covered how to validate UI procedures and API procedures with Doc Detective, but what about shell commands and scripts? After all, not every procedure is navigating through UIs or making API calls.

Back to Top ↑

environments

Docs as Tests: From Development to Production

The Docs as Tests methodology stems from a simple but profound principle: documentation shouldn’t just inform—it should also verify. By treating each piece of documentation as a test case that gets executed against the product, teams can preemptively identify discrepancies and ensure that what users read is what they get.

Back to Top ↑

development

Docs as Tests: From Development to Production

The Docs as Tests methodology stems from a simple but profound principle: documentation shouldn’t just inform—it should also verify. By treating each piece of documentation as a test case that gets executed against the product, teams can preemptively identify discrepancies and ensure that what users read is what they get.

Back to Top ↑

staging

Docs as Tests: From Development to Production

The Docs as Tests methodology stems from a simple but profound principle: documentation shouldn’t just inform—it should also verify. By treating each piece of documentation as a test case that gets executed against the product, teams can preemptively identify discrepancies and ensure that what users read is what they get.

Back to Top ↑

production

Docs as Tests: From Development to Production

The Docs as Tests methodology stems from a simple but profound principle: documentation shouldn’t just inform—it should also verify. By treating each piece of documentation as a test case that gets executed against the product, teams can preemptively identify discrepancies and ensure that what users read is what they get.

Back to Top ↑

cypress

Validate a UI with Cypress

Docs as Tests is a strategy for using docs to test a product, validating both that the docs are accurate and that the product is functioning as expected. That’s a great aspiration, but what does it look like in practice?

Back to Top ↑