How do you use feedback in system architecture documentation?

1 Feedback sources

When it comes to system architecture documentation, there are numerous sources of feedback to consider. Peer reviews from fellow architects or developers can help you identify gaps, errors, or ambiguities, as well as validate your assumptions. User testing sessions with your intended audience can assess the clarity, completeness, and accuracy of your documentation. Additionally, metrics and analytics from page views, downloads, ratings, feedback forms, or surveys can measure the effectiveness and popularity of your documentation. All of these sources will provide valuable insights into how well your documentation is understood and used.

2 Feedback types

When it comes to feedback for system architecture documentation, there are various types depending on the purpose and level of detail of your evaluation. Formative feedback can be informal, like comments or notes, or formal, such as checklists or rubrics. Summative feedback is usually qualitative, like testimonials or reviews, or quantitative, like scores or grades. Diagnostic feedback is used to pinpoint and tackle any problems in your documentation, such as errors, gaps, or inconsistencies. It can be corrective with suggestions or solutions, or explanatory with reasons or causes.

3 Feedback methods

When collecting and processing feedback for your system architecture documentation, you can choose from a variety of methods depending on the availability and preference of your feedback sources. Interviews can help you gain insights, opinions, and experiences, while surveys can assist in gathering data, ratings, and feedback from a large number of sources. Additionally, observations can be used to understand the usability, accessibility, and effectiveness of your documentation, as well as identify any issues or difficulties. All in all, these methods can help you clarify doubts or misunderstandings and compare responses to gain valuable insights.

4 Feedback principles

When using feedback in system architecture documentation, there are some general principles to follow in order to ensure it is constructive, respectful, and beneficial. Firstly, you should define the goals, criteria, and expectations of your feedback, as well as the roles and responsibilities of your feedback sources and receivers. Additionally, it is important to communicate the feedback in a clear, concise, and consistent way with appropriate language and tone. It is also essential to collect and provide feedback as soon as possible while the documentation is still fresh and relevant. Furthermore, your feedback should be specific by focusing on the content, structure, and style of your documentation instead of the person or process. You should also provide examples, evidence, or references to support your feedback and suggestions or recommendations for improvement. Lastly, you should recognize both the strengths and weaknesses of your documentation as well as the opportunities and challenges for improvement. Additionally, you should provide positive and negative feedback in a fair and honest way.

5 Feedback tools

Various tools can be used to facilitate and enhance the feedback process for your system architecture documentation, depending on your needs and preferences. Popular options include collaboration platforms such as Google Docs, Confluence, or GitHub, which can help you collaborate with feedback sources and receivers in real time. Additionally, feedback software like UserVoice, SurveyMonkey, or Feedbackify can be used to create and distribute surveys or forms to collect feedback from a large number of sources. Lastly, documentation generators like Sphinx, Jekyll, or MkDocs can be used to create and publish your documentation from source code comments or markdown files. These tools can help you automate and simplify the documentation process while ensuring consistency and quality of the output.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?