Testing software products is not the only focus of testers – it’s also essential to test documentation for these products. High-quality documentation is important to all sides: customers have fewer questions for the support service and don’t hurry to reject the product, while it’s easier for the team to understand how the product should function. Here are some things to pay attention to when performing documentation testing.
Description.
All sorts of things (especially the most important ones) must be described, and this description must be absolutely relevant. No one wants to read outdated information. Besides, the documentation must be clear, logical, and consistent, just like a good book.
Structure.
Customers usually start checking the documentation when they have some problems. When it happens, they virtually always are in a bad mood. That’s why it’s important to make sure that everything is easy to find – the documentation must be simple enough to meet needs of any customer, even if they are upset or in a hurry.
Irreversibility.
If any action is irreversible, it’s essential to inform customers about this. It’s also important to specify how to deal with reversible actions.
Literacy.
No one will take the documentation seriously in case it’s full of grammar mistakes, so make sure that they are absent.
Adaptation.
Consider the target audience and use appropriate vocabulary. Simple users won’t be happy to find out that the documentation is written in a complex language which they don’t understand.