Documentation Maintenance Plan¶

This document outlines the processes and schedules for maintaining MAID's documentation quality and accuracy.

Overview¶

Documentation is a critical part of MAID. Outdated or inaccurate documentation leads to frustrated users and increased support burden. This maintenance plan ensures our documentation stays current, accurate, and helpful.

Maintenance Schedule¶

Per-Release Tasks¶

Before each release:

[ ] Review all changed files for documentation impact
[ ] Update API documentation for changed interfaces
[ ] Update CHANGELOG.md with user-facing changes
[ ] Review and update tutorial steps if affected
[ ] Check all code examples still work
[ ] Update version numbers in documentation
[ ] Review and update configuration reference

Monthly Tasks¶

[ ] Review open documentation issues
[ ] Check for broken links using link checker
[ ] Review search analytics for common queries without results (if analytics configured)
[ ] Update "Getting Started" if onboarding friction reported
[ ] Review and respond to documentation feedback

Quarterly Tasks¶

[ ] Full documentation audit against current code
[ ] Review and update architecture diagrams
[ ] Check tutorial completeness and accuracy
[ ] Evaluate documentation structure for improvements
[ ] Review community feedback trends
[ ] Update contributor documentation

Annual Tasks¶

[ ] Major documentation restructuring review
[ ] Evaluate documentation tooling
[ ] Community survey on documentation quality
[ ] Archive deprecated documentation versions

Documentation Quality Standards¶

Writing Standards¶

Clarity: Use simple, direct language. Avoid jargon when possible.
Accuracy: All code examples must be tested and working.
Completeness: Cover common use cases and edge cases.
Consistency: Follow the style guide throughout.

Code Examples¶

All code examples must:

Be complete and runnable (no missing imports)
Include expected output where relevant
Follow project coding standards
Be tested as part of CI

API Documentation¶

All public functions, classes, and methods have docstrings
Docstrings follow Google style format
Include type hints and descriptions
Document exceptions and edge cases
Include usage examples for complex APIs

Review Process¶

Documentation PRs¶

Documentation changes follow the same review process as code:

Create feature branch from main
Make documentation changes
Build docs locally to verify formatting
Submit PR with clear description
Address reviewer feedback
Merge after approval

Review Checklist¶

[ ] Content is technically accurate
[ ] Writing is clear and concise
[ ] Code examples are tested
[ ] Links work correctly
[ ] Formatting renders correctly
[ ] Navigation is logical
[ ] Search terms are appropriate

Tooling¶

Documentation Stack¶

MkDocs: Static site generator
Material for MkDocs: Theme and extensions
mike: Version management
mkdocstrings: Auto-generated API docs
interrogate: Docstring coverage checking

CI/CD Integration¶

Documentation is automatically:

Built on every PR for validation
Deployed to GitHub Pages on merge to main
Versioned with each release

Local Development¶

# Install documentation dependencies
uv sync --group docs

# Serve documentation locally with hot reload
uv run mkdocs serve

# Build documentation
uv run mkdocs build

# Check docstring coverage
uv run interrogate packages/ -v

Issue Management¶

Documentation Issues¶

Label documentation issues with documentation tag:

docs:bug - Incorrect or outdated information
docs:enhancement - Improvement suggestions
docs:missing - Missing documentation
docs:question - Clarification needed

Triage Process¶

Review new documentation issues weekly
Prioritize by user impact
Assign to appropriate maintainer
Track in project board

Metrics and Monitoring¶

Documentation Health Metrics¶

Track these metrics quarterly:

Coverage: Percentage of public APIs documented
Freshness: Age of last update per section
Issues: Open documentation issue count
Feedback: User satisfaction scores

Search Analytics¶

Monitor documentation search for:

Common queries with no results
High-bounce search results
Trending search terms

User Feedback¶

Collect feedback through:

GitHub Discussions
Issue reports
Community Discord
User surveys

Deprecation Process¶

When deprecating documentation:

Mark as deprecated with clear notice
Link to replacement documentation
Keep deprecated docs available for one major version
Archive after deprecation period

Deprecation Notice Template¶

> **Deprecated**: This documentation is for version X.X and is no longer maintained.
> See [Current Documentation](link) for the latest version.

Emergency Updates¶

For critical documentation issues (security advisories, breaking changes):

Create PR immediately
Request expedited review
Merge and deploy ASAP
Announce update in relevant channels

Responsibilities¶

Core Maintainers¶

Final approval on documentation structure changes
Review and merge documentation PRs
Quarterly documentation audits
Tooling decisions

Contributors¶

Report documentation issues
Submit documentation improvements
Review documentation PRs
Provide user perspective feedback

Community¶

Report confusing or missing documentation
Suggest improvements
Translate documentation (future)
Share documentation feedback

Resources¶

Last updated: 2025

See also: Release Process | Contributing Guide