#SoftwareDocumentation#DocsAsTests#DocsAsCode#APIDocumentation#TechnicalWriting#SoftwareTesting#SoftwareDevelopment: "I initially developed and implemented Docs as Tests at Skyflow, a startup that moves fast and releases features and updates even faster than I’d experienced before. I searched for tools to help me manage the pace of changes: there were style linters, API testers, and engineering-focused testing tools, but there wasn’t anything to easily help me validate the product descriptions or procedures in my docs. So I built my own, and Doc Detective was born. Doc Detective is a toolkit that parses docs and runs tests (like stepping through procedures) directly against UIs and APIs. It’s designed so non-engineers can use it individually, but teams can also collaborate. When I set it up to test my docs, it caught issues that I had no idea of. It was a game-changer.
But Doc Detective is just a tool (a good one, I like to think!), and no tool solves every problem. I wanted to find a way to apply my learnings to the broader docs community, and I came up with Docs as Tests—a strategy that can be implemented with whichever tools you choose to validate your docs. I’m excited to share my learnings with you and to learn from you as well."