Technical documentation writer shares AI-assisted documentation drafting workflow
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A technical documentation writer shared their workflow for using AI to draft software documentation: first define the target users, then collect materials from sources such as engineering tickets and requirements documents, have AI flag information gaps and conflicts, and generate drafts according to the team template and style guide. The author emphasizes that you must personally try the features to verify the accuracy of the steps, write the mistakes AI repeatedly makes into the instructions instead of rewriting the prompt each time, and finally hand it over to domain experts to review edge cases before publishing.
AI overview based on source reports · Updated 35 min ago
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- Hacker News AII use AI to draft software docs
The author describes treating AI like an intern when drafting software documentation: starting from the user's needs, gathering source material from engineering tickets and design docs, giving the agent templates and a style guide, then testing the draft against the actual product. Simple fixes are made directly, while recurring problems are added to the agent's instructions before requesting another draft, followed by subject matter expert review and publication. The author says AI handles repeatable work such as copying information across documents and checking drafts against the full style guide, freeing time to understand the product and help users.
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