Living documentation
Living documentation is documentation maintained or validated as a system evolves so that it remains aligned with the system, behavior, design, or decisions it describes.
BDD in Action, Second Edition
Living documentation is documentation generated from executable specifications so that it reflects and verifies the implemented behavior of software features.
- How it is used
- Communicates checked feature behavior and project status to stakeholders, testers, developers, and maintenance teams.
- How deep it goes
- Defines executed feature files and generated reports, then explains report organization, release filtering, and low-level technical documentation.
- Examples
- Illustrates changed train-departure acceptance criteria, iteration-tagged feature reports, and readable unit-test examples.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it through executed scenarios and organized reports to inspect feature behavior, track progress, and support release decisions.
Read how BDD in Action, Second Edition explains living documentation →
Collaborative Software Design: How to facilitate domain modeling decisions
Documentation that is continuously revised to reflect changes in the system, model, design, or decisions it describes.
- How it is used
- Keeps collaborative models and decisions current while feedback loops reduce uncertainty during design.
- How deep it goes
- Explains iterative updates, collective walkthroughs, documentation sources, and board organization, but stops short of prescribing a complete documentation workflow.
- Examples
- Uses Miro and Mural boards, EventStorming, context maps, Pros-Cons-and-Fixes lists, polarity maps, and ADRs.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure evolving documentation with feedback loops, reorganized whiteboards, ADRs, and asynchronous review.
The Art of Code
Living documentation is documentation automatically generated or maintained through the development process so that it reflects the current state of a system.
- How it is used
- Keeps system descriptions and design reasoning aligned with development while supplying context for maintainers and AI agents.
- How deep it goes
- Defines automated generation and maintenance, explains its value and risk, but stops short of prescribing an implementation workflow.
- Examples
- Uses OpenAPI specifications, Cucumber scenarios, bug-fix analyses, sustainability reviews, and stored design decisions as documentation artifacts.
- What you can do after
- Apply it through OpenAPI specifications, Cucumber scenarios, and codebase records that preserve current system context.
Related concepts
- documentationkind of · Documentation is recorded explanatory, instructional, or reference information that describes a subject, system, or process to support its understanding, use, or maintenance.
- executable specificationproduced by · An executable specification is a machine-runnable description of expected system behavior that can automatically verify whether an implementation satisfies its requirements.
- product ownerused by · A product owner is a role responsible for representing product needs and value and guiding the priorities and direction of product work.
- reporthas part · A report is a structured presentation of information, findings, measurements, analysis, or outcomes for a defined audience or purpose.
- commentcontrasts with · A comment is text or markup designated by a format's syntax as an annotation or non-content rather than ordinary executable or data content.
- behavior-driven developmentpart of · Behavior-driven development is a collaborative software practice that specifies and validates expected behavior through human-readable examples meaningful to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
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