Documentation for Releases

Documentation for releases encompasses all documentation activities required when shipping new design system versions. This includes updating component documentation, creating release notes, writing migration guides, and communicating changes to consumers. Release documentation ensures users can successfully adopt new versions.

What Is Documentation for Releases

Documentation for releases refers to documentation work specifically tied to version releases. This work spans preparation activities like updating docs for new features, release-time activities like writing changelogs, and post-release activities like responding to migration questions. The scope extends beyond the release itself to support the entire adoption process.

Release documentation differs from ongoing documentation maintenance. Maintenance keeps existing documentation accurate. Release documentation creates new content describing changes and guides adoption. Both matter, but release documentation has deadline pressure tied to release schedules.

How Documentation for Releases Works

Release documentation typically follows a process aligned with development cycles. Documentation planning identifies what documentation changes releases require. Development phase documentation work updates component docs and prepares draft release notes. Release finalization completes changelogs and migration guides. Post-release work addresses gaps identified through user feedback.

Changelogs document what changed between versions. Effective changelogs organize changes by type such as features, fixes, and breaking changes. They explain not just what changed but why users should care and what they might need to do. Automated changelog generation from commit messages can accelerate this work.

Migration guides help users move between major versions. These guides address breaking changes specifically, providing step-by-step instructions for updating code. Code examples show before and after patterns. Migration guides may include codemods or scripts that automate some migration steps.

Key Considerations

• Documentation should be release-ready before code releases rather than trailing behind
• Changelogs should categorize changes meaningfully and explain user impact
• Migration guides should include code examples and cover all breaking changes
• Release notes may differ from changelogs in audience and level of detail

Common Questions

How do teams ensure documentation readiness at release time?

Ensuring documentation readiness requires process integration. Including documentation in definition of done for features ensures documentation develops alongside code. Documentation reviews in pull requests catch gaps before merge. Release checklists include documentation items explicitly. Dedicated documentation time in sprint planning ensures resources for release documentation. Some teams freeze code before release while documentation catches up to avoid releasing ahead of documentation.

What is the difference between changelogs and release notes?

Changelogs and release notes serve overlapping but distinct purposes. Changelogs provide comprehensive, technical documentation of all changes, typically organized chronologically and by change type. Release notes communicate highlights to a broader audience, often including context about why changes matter and what benefits they provide. Changelogs may be auto-generated from commits while release notes require deliberate writing. Some teams maintain both, with changelogs in repositories and release notes in broader communications.

Summary

Documentation for releases ensures users can successfully adopt new design system versions. Effective release documentation includes updated component docs, comprehensive changelogs, and practical migration guides. Process integration ensures documentation readiness aligns with release schedules rather than trailing behind.