Press Start Leadership Podcast

3 Tips for Great Documentation

July 26, 2021 Season 1 Episode 32
Press Start Leadership Podcast
3 Tips for Great Documentation
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Show Notes Transcript

On this week's episode of Press Start Leadership Podcast, we discuss:

3 Tips for Great Documentation

Link to my FREE ebook: 5 Heroic Leadership Skills

Music by: Joey the Mad Scientist

Hit subscribe/follow and be sure to check out: https://pressstartleadership.com/

Support the show

Link to my FREE ebook: 5 Heroic Leadership Skills

Music by: Joey the Mad Scientist

Hit subscribe/follow and be sure to check out: https://pressstartleadership.com/

Christopher Mifsud:

Hi there real quick before we jump into the episode, if you enjoy this episode, or any of the other episodes, be sure to give us a follow or subscribe. It would also be great if you shared it with a friend or better yet left a review so others can know how awesome it is. Thanks so much. And now, the episode.

Joey The Mad Scientist:

Hey there press starters and welcome to the press Start leadership podcast, the podcast about game changing leadership teaching you how to get the most out of your product and development team and become the leader you were meant to be leadership coaching and training for the International game industry professional. Now let me introduce you to your host, the man the myth, the legend, Christopher Mifsud.

Christopher Mifsud:

Hey there, press starters and welcome back. On this week's edition, we'll be discussing documentation. So let's talk about documentation. level up your levels of documentation, how to create the video game you want. having great documentation is crucial. If you want to make a great video game. It's also vital that your team is actually reading it. They aren't reading your documentation. They're not making your game. Don't get me wrong, they're still making a game. It's just not yours. To avoid the travesty of asking for wolfen Stein and ending up with Kirby. Let me provide you with some tips on good, readable and usable documentation. One, make it useful to its particular audience. This is key, the CEO of the organization doesn't need the same information as a developer. Know your audience and write your documentation accordingly. To create levels of documentation, it's likely that your documentation has multiple audiences. Divide your audience into levels and address each one. Three, divide into high, medium and low. The best practice in most cases dividing your documentation into three levels. high, medium and low. High Level contains the least detail and low level contains the most. But here's a breakdown of high, medium and low documentation high. This level is for CEOs, stakeholders, or anyone just curious about the project is a short overview that gives the general idea of the project, you want to provide the big picture perspective. So consider an elevator pitch or 30,000 foot view. Your high level documentation should be easily digestible. Include bullet points and keep all the information above the fold. If possible. You can link deeper into other pages for more detail. Medium. medium level documentation means less walls of text and more imagery, but still include some description. tailor the content specifically toward the user. If the user is a developer, and may be mostly flowcharts, the users and artists may be mainly descriptive blurbs and monetize. It's best to ask your intended audience what their preferences don't assume. Over time, you'll learn what people prefer and won't need to ask for as much guidance. below. This level is generally for developers and sometimes other game designers. This is where your nitty gritty details go. Things like Excel charts, system formulas, edge cases, etc. details like how much damage you take when a wizard zaps you what kind of weapon you need to defeat the wizard and how many emeralds you get for successfully banishing the wizard. That all goes here. Make sure you're linking out to separate pages for the specifics though. That way if something needs to be changed, you're not doubling up on wizard work. The cool thing is you can use the high medium low method of documentation for the overall project or for feature. A wiki is a great way to go about putting it all together. I like Confluence if you're looking for some software to help you get started. Also, when you do start, don't worry about getting a perfect. Most things are living breathing documents these days. That's this week's episode of press Start leadership podcast. Thanks for tuning in. And as always, thanks for being awesome. Give us a follow, like, share, and even review if you feel like it. We'd really appreciate it. Cheers. If you haven't downloaded my free e book five heroic leadership skills, click on the link in the description. Tune in next week for your next episode of press star leadership podcast. Thank you Oh, hi, and the episodes over, but thanks for sticking around till the end. Be sure to check out more episodes in the playlist and new episodes every week on Monday. Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. Don't forget to leave a review. Thanks again for being awesome.