Types of Software Documentation
Overview
Teaching: 5 min
Exercises: 5 minQuestions
What are the different types of software documentation?
How do the types differ?
Objectives
Become familiar with the two main categories of software documentation and how they differ.
The Types of Software Documentation
In our discussion of documentation, we will focus on two overarching categories: Developer and User.
But wait… aren’t there more?
You may be sitting there and asking this question. Many different sources will list various alternative types of documentation such as requirements documentation and testing documentation.
These specific sub-types of documentation can be categorized into the two types listed here. We provide some examples below:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Developer | Requirements documentation; testing documentation; API documentation |
| User | How-to guides; tutorials; troubleshooting guidelines |
Can you think of more?
What other types of documentation can you think of? Do they fit into the categories above?
Characteristics of Each Type
| Category | Intent | Target Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | To inform developers how to interface with a given software package throughout the entire software development lifecycle, including team processes. | Developers, stakeholders, team members, technical members of project |
| User | To inform users how to be more successful in the usage of a software package from installation to usage, including examples, troubleshooting, etc. | End-users, stakeholders |
Key Points
There are two primary categories for documentation: developer and user.
Developer documentation is intended to describe how developers should interface with a given software package.
User documentation is intended to help users be more successful in the usage of a software package.