Foreword ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xvii

Introduction 1

Project Background 11

1 Finding the Right Topics 19

Target Readers 24

Focused Information 26

Individual Documentation Requirements 28

Documentation Portfolio 30

Focus on Long-Term Relevance 34

Specification as a Joint Effort 36

Design Rationale 39

The Big Picture 40

Separation of Description and Evaluation 42

Realistic Examples 44

Experience Reports 46

2 Structuring Individual Documents 61

Structured information 66

Judicious Diagrams 70

Unambiguous Tables 73

Guidelines for Readers 75

Thumbnail Sketches 77

Traceable References 78

Glossary 79

Document History 81

Experience Reports 82

3 Layout and Typography 93

Text on 50% of a Page 98

Two Alphabets per Line 100

120% Line Spacing 102

Two Typefaces 104

Careful Use of Type Variations 106

Careful Ruling and Shading 108

Adjacent Placement 109

Coherent Pages 111

Experience Reports 112

4 Infrastructure and Technical Organisation 117

Document Landscape 120

Document Archive 123

Wiki 125

Code-Comment Proximity 126

Reader-Friendly Media 128

Separation of Contents and Layout 131

Single Source and Multiple Targets 133

Import by Reference 136

Separation of Processing and Printing 138

Document Templates 139

Few Tools 142

Annotated Changes 144

Notification upon Update 145

Reorganisation upon Request 147

Experience Reports 149

5 Management and Quality Assurance 159

A Distinct Activity 161

One Responsible Author 164

Continuing Documentation 166

Writing and Reflection 168

Review Culture 170

Review Before Delivery 174

Customer Review 175

A Distant View 177

Information Marketplace 179

Knowledge Management 180

Experience Reports 182

Final Remarks 193

Pattern Thumbnails 197

Finding the Right Topics 197

Structuring Individual Documents 198

Layout and Typography 200

Infrastructure and Technical Organisation 201

Management and Quality Assurance 203

Glossary 205

References 211

Index 221