Now, this isn't your dusty old manual that sits on a shelf gathering cobwebs or languishes in a drive or unvisited project website getting more out of date by the minute. Living Documentation, which can also be known as dynamic documentation, is an artifact that evolves alongside the software itself. Think of it as documentation that's always current and reflects the latest information available.
Most test artifacts can be living documentation as long as they are kept current. You can create living documents by updating them as required or build them using automation tools. Depending on a project's context they might find a balance between documentation and dashboards to provide up to date information to colleagues and stakeholders.
Why is living documentation a good thing in software development? It can help everyone in and around the team to have a clear understanding of how the system works and any other relevant information identified. It can make onboarding new team members much easier to get them up to date. It can also help to reduce misunderstandings and improve communication. When your documentation is tied to your automated tests, it can also act as a form of executable specification, showing how the system is supposed to behave. It's all about keeping everyone current with documentation that's actually useful and reliable.
Most test artifacts can be living documentation as long as they are kept current. You can create living documents by updating them as required or build them using automation tools. Depending on a project's context they might find a balance between documentation and dashboards to provide up to date information to colleagues and stakeholders.
Why is living documentation a good thing in software development? It can help everyone in and around the team to have a clear understanding of how the system works and any other relevant information identified. It can make onboarding new team members much easier to get them up to date. It can also help to reduce misunderstandings and improve communication. When your documentation is tied to your automated tests, it can also act as a form of executable specification, showing how the system is supposed to behave. It's all about keeping everyone current with documentation that's actually useful and reliable.
