Case Study Archive¶

Learn from real documentation projects. These case studies examine challenges, approaches, and outcomes from various documentation initiatives.

Documentation Overhaul Projects¶

Startup API Documentation Rebuild¶

Context: A growing fintech startup with 50+ API endpoints and documentation scattered across wiki pages, PDFs, and README files.

Challenge: Developers complained they couldn't find information. Support tickets about API usage consumed 40% of engineering time.

Approach:

1. Audited existing documentation across all sources
2. Interviewed developers (internal and external) about pain points
3. Chose OpenAPI specification as single source of truth
4. Built documentation site with Redoc
5. Created contribution guidelines for engineering team

Timeline: 3 months from audit to launch

Results:

• Support tickets about API usage dropped 60%
• Developer onboarding time reduced from 2 weeks to 3 days
• 95% of endpoints now have complete documentation

Lessons:

• Single source of truth matters more than perfect tooling
• Involving engineering in documentation ownership creates sustainability
• Measuring baseline metrics before starting proves value

Enterprise Documentation Migration¶

Context: Large software company with 15 years of documentation in a legacy CCMS.

Challenge: The CCMS was being discontinued. 50,000+ topics needed migration to a new system while maintaining business continuity.

Approach:

1. Evaluated 5 potential target platforms
2. Created custom migration scripts for content transformation
3. Migrated in phases by product line
4. Ran parallel systems during transition
5. Trained 40+ writers on new platform

Timeline: 18 months

Results:

• Zero documentation outages during migration
• Reduced publishing time from hours to minutes
• Consolidated from 12 documentation sites to 3

Lessons:

• Parallel systems during migration prevent disruption
• Custom migration scripts beat manual conversion at scale
• Training investments pay off in adoption

Documentation from Scratch¶

Open Source Project Documentation¶

Context: Popular open source tool with strong community but no organized documentation.

Challenge: Issues and questions flooded GitHub because users couldn't find basic information.

Approach:

1. Analyzed GitHub issues to identify common questions
2. Created minimal viable documentation: install, quick start, key concepts
3. Used docs-as-code workflow matching contributor expectations
4. Established documentation contribution guidelines
5. Recruited community documentation maintainers

Timeline: 6 weeks for initial launch, ongoing community maintenance

Results:

• "How do I" issues decreased 75%
• Documentation contributions increased after clear guidelines
• Community members now maintain docs independently

Lessons:

• Open source docs should use familiar contribution workflows
• Community will maintain docs if you lower the barrier
• Solving real questions beats comprehensive coverage

New Product Launch Documentation¶

Context: SaaS company launching a new product line with aggressive timeline.

Challenge: Create complete documentation for a product still in development, ready for launch day.

Approach:

1. Embedded technical writer in product team from week one
2. Documented features as they were finalized, not after
3. Used feature flags to hide unreleased content
4. Conducted user testing with beta customers
5. Created templates for ongoing feature documentation

Timeline: 4 months parallel to development

Results:

• Documentation ready on launch day
• User testing revealed 12 UX issues before launch
• Templates enabled 50% faster documentation of subsequent features

Lessons:

• Early writer involvement beats documentation sprints
• Documentation user testing catches product issues
• Templates create sustainable velocity

Process Improvement¶

Documentation Review Process Overhaul¶

Context: Tech company where documentation reviews took 2+ weeks, creating bottlenecks.

Challenge: Reviews delayed releases. Writers and reviewers were frustrated.

Approach:

1. Analyzed review bottlenecks through time tracking
2. Identified that 80% of review time was formatting and style fixes
3. Implemented automated linting and style checking
4. Created review checklists for different document types
5. Established SLAs for review turnaround

Timeline: 2 months to implement, 1 month to adjust

Results:

• Average review time reduced from 12 days to 3 days
• Review rejection rate dropped 40%
• Writer satisfaction with process increased

Lessons:

• Automate what can be automated
• Checklists reduce reviewer cognitive load
• Measuring bottlenecks reveals solutions

Content Reuse Implementation¶

Context: Enterprise software with 10 product variants sharing 60% common functionality.

Challenge: Maintaining 10 nearly-identical documentation sets was unsustainable.

Approach:

1. Analyzed content overlap across products
2. Identified reusable components and product-specific variations
3. Restructured content into shared and conditional modules
4. Implemented DITA-based single-sourcing
5. Created governance for shared content updates

Timeline: 9 months

Results:

• Content volume reduced 45% while coverage remained complete
• Update propagation time reduced from weeks to hours
• Translation costs reduced 35%

Lessons:

• Content analysis reveals reuse opportunities
• Governance prevents shared content conflicts
• Single-sourcing ROI compounds over time

Measuring Documentation¶

Analytics Implementation¶

Context: Documentation team needed to prove value to justify budget increase.

Challenge: No data on how documentation was used or whether it was effective.

Approach:

1. Defined key metrics: page views, search success, time on page, bounce rate
2. Implemented Google Analytics with custom event tracking
3. Added feedback mechanisms to documentation pages
4. Correlated documentation usage with support ticket reduction
5. Created executive dashboard for ongoing reporting

Timeline: 1 month to implement, 3 months to gather meaningful data

Results:

• Identified top 20 pages representing 80% of traffic
• Found search terms returning no results (content gaps)
• Demonstrated $200K annual support cost reduction attributable to docs

Lessons:

• Basic analytics reveal quick wins
• Failed searches point to content needs
• Correlating docs with support proves value

User Research Initiative¶

Context: Developer documentation with declining satisfaction scores.

Challenge: Team didn't know why developers were unhappy or what to improve.

Approach:

1. Conducted 20 user interviews with developers of varying experience
2. Ran card sorting exercise for navigation redesign
3. Performed usability testing on key workflows
4. Analyzed competitor documentation approaches
5. Created personas based on research findings

Timeline: 2 months for research, 3 months for implementation

Results:

• Satisfaction scores increased 35 points
• Task completion rate improved 50%
• Identified three distinct user personas with different needs

Lessons:

• Assumptions about users are often wrong
• Small research investments yield large returns
• Personas keep teams focused on real needs

Team and Process¶

Building a Documentation Team¶

Context: Company with 200 engineers but no dedicated documentation staff.

Challenge: Engineers wrote docs reluctantly and inconsistently. Quality suffered.

Approach:

1. Made business case for documentation investment
2. Hired first technical writer focused on high-impact areas
3. Created style guide and templates for engineer contributions
4. Established documentation review process
5. Grew team based on demonstrated value

Timeline: 2 years from first hire to team of 5

Results:

• Documentation NPS increased from -20 to +45
• Engineers spend 60% less time on documentation
• Documentation coverage increased 300%

Lessons:

• First writer should focus on highest-impact areas
• Enabling engineer contributions scales faster than hiring
• Demonstrated value justifies growth

Remote Documentation Team¶

Context: Documentation team of 8 distributed across 4 time zones.

Challenge: Collaboration was difficult. Style and quality varied.

Approach:

1. Established asynchronous communication norms
2. Created comprehensive style guide as single source of truth
3. Implemented peer review requirements for all content
4. Scheduled regular video calls for relationship building
5. Used shared documentation of decisions and processes

Timeline: Ongoing evolution over 18 months

Results:

• Consistent quality across all writers
• Effective collaboration despite no overlap in working hours
• Team retention higher than company average

Lessons:

• Async-first communication works with clear norms
• Written documentation of decisions prevents repeat discussions
• Relationship building requires intentional investment

Key Patterns¶

What Works¶

• Measure before and after - Data proves value
• Start with user problems - Solve real needs
• Involve stakeholders early - Build ownership
• Iterate based on feedback - Improve continuously
• Automate repetitive tasks - Focus on value-add work

Common Pitfalls¶

• Starting without clear success metrics
• Assuming you know what users need
• Trying to fix everything at once
• Underestimating change management
• Not celebrating and communicating wins

Contributing Case Studies¶

Have a documentation project story worth sharing? Consider presenting at Write the Docs conferences or writing for industry publications. Real-world case studies help the entire community learn.