website-and-documentation/content/en/docs/documentation-guide/_index.md

---
title: "WiP Documentation Guide"
linkTitle: "WiP Doc Guide"
weight: 1
description: Guidelines and templates for creating EDP documentation. This page will be removed in the final documentation.
---

{{% alert title="WiP - Only during creation phase" %}}
This page will be removed in the final documentation.
{{% /alert %}}

## Purpose

This guide helps team members create consistent, high-quality documentation for the Edge Developer Platform.


## Documentation Principles

### 1. Focus on Outcomes

1. Describe how the platform is comprised and which Products we deliver
2. If you need inspiration for our EDP product structure look at [EDP product structure tree](../components/website-and-documentation_resources_product-structure.svg)
2. Include links to repositories for deeper technical information or for not beeing too verbose and redundant with existing doumentation within the IPCEI-CIS scope or our EDP repos scope.

### 2. Write for the Audience

1. **Developers**: How to use the software products
2. **Engineers**: Architecture
3. **Auditors**: Project history, decisions, compliance information

### 3. Keep It Concise

1. Top-down approach: start with overview, drill down as needed
2. Less is more - avoid deep nested structures
3. Avoid emojis
4. **When using AI**: Review the text that you paste, check integration into the rest of the documentation

### 4. Maintain Quality

1. Use present tense ("The system processes..." not "will process")
2. Run `task test:quick` before committing changes

## Documentation Structure

The EDP documentation is organized into five main sections:

### 1. Platform Overview

High-level introduction to EDP, target audience, purpose, and product structure.

**Content focus**: Why EDP exists, who uses it, what it provides

### 2. Getting Started

Onboarding guides and quick start instructions.

**Content focus**: Prerequisites, step-by-step setup, first application deployment

### 3. Components

Detailed documentation for each platform component.

**Content focus**: What each component does, how to use it, integration points

**Template**: Use `components/TEMPLATE.md` as starting point

### 4. Operations

Deployment, monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintenance procedures.

**Content focus**: How to operate the platform, resolve issues, maintain health

### 5. Governance

Project history, architecture decisions, compliance, and audit information.

**Content focus**: Why decisions were made, project evolution, external relations

## Writing Documentation

### Components

#### Using Templates

In section 'Components' Templates are provided for common documentation types:

* **Component Documentation**: `content/en/docs/components/TEMPLATE.md`

#### Content Structure

Follow this pattern for component documentation:

1. **Overview**: What it is and what it does
2. **Key Features**: Bullet list of main capabilities
3. **Purpose in EDP**: Why it's part of the platform
4. **Getting Started**: Quick start guide
5. **Usage Examples**: Common scenarios
6. **Integration Points**: How it connects to other components
7. **Status**: Current maturity level
8. **Documentation Notes**: Instructions for filling in details (remove when complete)

### Frontmatter

Every markdown file starts with YAML frontmatter according to [Docsy](https://www.docsy.dev/docs/adding-content/content/#page-frontmatter):

```yaml
---
title: "Full Page Title"
linkTitle: "Short Nav Title"
weight: 10
description: >
  Brief description for search and previews.
---
```

* **title**: Full page title (appears in page header)
* **linkTitle**: Shorter title for navigation menu
* **weight**: Sort order (lower numbers appear first)
* **description**: Brief summary for SEO and page previews

## Testing Documentation

Before committing changes:

```bash
# Run all tests
task test:quick

# Build site locally
task build

# Preview changes
task serve
```

## Adding New Sections

When adding a new documentation section:

1. Create directory: `content/en/docs/[section-name]/`
2. Create index file: `_index.md` with frontmatter
3. Add weight to control sort order
4. Update navigation in parent `_index.md` if needed
5. Test with `task test`

## Reference

* **Main README**: `/doc/README-technical-writer.md`
* **Component Template**: `/content/en/docs/components/TEMPLATE.md`
* **Hugo Documentation**: <https://gohugo.io/documentation/>
* **Docsy Theme**: <https://www.docsy.dev/docs/>