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Define a Recipient for Your Project’s User Documentation

Good documentation always has a reader in mind. Before writing, your team must define who your user documentation is for — not in abstract terms like “the user,” but as a real, recognizable audience. The clearer your picture, the easier it will be later to write usable, focused documentation. Your task is to choose one main audience and describe it through three short points.

  1. What sets this audience apart from others? Think about experience level, background, or goals. Example: “Warehouse staff who use barcode scanners daily but rarely touch a keyboard.”

  2. What does this audience usually do? What is their domain language or style? Consider their daily routines, preferred tools, or how they talk about their work. Example: “They describe errors as ‘scans not going through,’ not ‘API timeouts.’”

  3. What will this audience never, ever do? Clarify what’s off-limits for them. Example: “They will never edit the source code or run the program from the terminal.”

Tip

Imagine you are writing for a real person, not a category. If you can picture how they speak, what frustrates them, and what success looks like for them, you’re on the right path.

Your team should document your chosen audience in your project repository’s documentation folder, in a file named USER_DOCUMENTATION_RECIPIENT.md. This file should contain the three points above, clearly labeled.

At the end of this activity, your team will present your chosen audience to the class. Be prepared to explain why you selected this audience and how it will shape your documentation approach.