How to Write a Good Design Document
A guide on crafting effective design documents to enhance clarity and decision-making in software projects.
- Purpose of Design Documents: Serve as technical reports outlining implementation strategies, trade-offs, and constraints, aiming to convince readers of the design's optimality.
- Self-Validation: Writing enforces rigor, revealing vague intuitions and refining thought processes.
- Organizational Importance: Well-structured documents prevent "spaghetti design docs," ensuring each sentence flows logically to enhance reader comprehension.
- Editing for Brevity: Conciseness respects readers' attention; aim to reduce initial drafts by approximately 30% without losing essential information.
- Practice and Culture: Regular practice, as seen in environments like AWS with a strong writing culture, improves document quality over time.
- Concrete Tips:
- Short Paragraphs: Present one idea per paragraph to aid reader retention.
- Use of Appendices: Place complex calculations or simulations in appendices to maintain document flow.
- Editing Practice: Critiquing others' documents hones editing skills applicable to one's own writing.
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