Chapter 12. Testing the Documentation

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Types of Software Documentation

• The Importance of Documentation Testing

• What to Look for When Reviewing Documentation

• The Realities of Documentation Testing

In Chapter 2, "The Software Development Process," you learned that there's a great deal of work and a great number of non-software pieces that make up a software product. Much of that non-software is its documentation.

In simpler days, software documentation was at most a readme file copied onto the software's floppy disk or a short 1-page insert put into the box. Now it's much, much more, sometimes requiring more time and effort to produce than the software itself.

As a software tester, you typically aren't constrained to just testing the software. Your responsibility will likely cover all the parts that make up the entire software product. Assuring that the documentation is correct is your job, too.

In this chapter you'll learn about testing software documentation and how to include it in your overall software test effort. Highlights of this chapter include

• The different types of software documentation

• Why documentation testing is important

• What to look for when testing documentation