Problem

When teams lack a structured workflow, updates are delayed or forgotten. Without a clear process, content becomes fragmented and formatting becomes inconsistent. Technical writers spend more time resolving merge conflicts than writing high-quality content.

Why it matters

Without a formal process, documentation quickly becomes outdated. If updating documentation requires waiting on a slow software release cycle, guides will remain out of sync with product features. This leads to user frustration and increased support volume.

Approach

Decouple documentation deployments from software release cycles. Adopt the same reliable processes used in software engineering (Branches → Pull Requests → CI/CD Previews). docmd’s lightweight nature allows teams to treat “documentation as code” with minimal overhead.

Implementation

1. Repository Strategy

Choose the strategy that best fits your organisational structure:

• Monorepo Strategy: Keep a /docs folder within your main application repository. This ensures documentation changes merge in the same Pull Request as the code they describe.
• Separate Repository Strategy: Best for large organisations or open-source projects where a dedicated team manages documentation independently.

2. Validation with CI/CD

Integrate docmd into your CI/CD pipeline to ensure every update is technically sound. At a minimum, your pipeline should run the build command to check for syntax errors and configuration issues.

# Example validation step in GitHub Actions
- name: Validate Documentation
  run: npm install && npx @docmd/core build

See the GitHub Actions Guide for detailed setup instructions.

3. Collaborative Review Process

Establish a culture of peer review for all documentation updates. Use Pull Requests to discuss changes, verify formatting, and ensure technical accuracy. Use the Threads Plugin to facilitate discussions directly on the rendered content.

Trade-offs

Adopting a “docs-as-code” workflow can create a barrier for non-technical contributors who may find Git and Markdown intimidating. To mitigate this, consider using GitHub’s built-in web editor for minor fixes. Alternatively, use the Live Preview feature to provide a visual and intuitive authoring experience.