Instructions & Help: Testing for Humans
📖 What This Module Is About
Everything we've covered so far has been about internal documentation — specs, stories, designs reviewed by your team.
This module is about the documentation that users will actually read: help articles, FAQs, and release notes. These have their own set of failure modes, and they're just as important to get right.
We also close with the human skill that ties everything together: how to critique documentation without making the author feel attacked.
🎓 What You'll Learn
- How to test a user guide against the actual product
- How to verify release notes are accurate and complete
- The professional framework for giving documentation feedback
📋 Module Lessons
Lesson 1 — User Guides and FAQs: When Words Matter
Screenshots must match the UI. Steps must be complete. Terminology must be consistent. Tested by following the guide literally — one step at a time.
Lesson 2 — Release Notes: What Did We Ship?
A release note is a promise. Learn to verify that every "Fixed" item was actually fixed and every "New Feature" is actually accessible.
Lesson 3 — How to Critique Documentation Professionally
The art of the documentation comment. How to say "this is missing" in a way that leads to collaboration, not conflict.
🤝 Module insight: Technical skills get you invited to review the document. Communication skills get you invited back. Both matter equally.
Earn the "Documentation Guardian" 🛡️ badge by completing all three lessons.