Documentation Information Architecture
Use this skill to organize developer documentation so readers can find the right content at the right time. It works at doc-set and site level rather than single-page prose level.
This skill is derived from Docs for Developers: An Engineer's Field Guide to Technical Writing, especially Chapter 10, "Organizing documentation." It is expanded with paraphrased guidance from Christopher Gales and the Splunk Documentation Team's The Product Is Docs: Writing Technical Documentation in a Product Development Group, especially Chapter 17, "Tools and Content Delivery," plus related audience, learning-objective, maintenance, and SaaS guidance from Chapters 3, 9, 10, and 25. Do not copy book prose into user outputs. Source: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-7217-6
Quick Start
- Load
guidelines.md to choose the smallest useful reference set.
- Identify user mental models, common tasks, and existing content inventory.
- Choose or combine sequence, hierarchy, and web structures.
- Use
workflows/evaluate-doc-platform.md when choosing or migrating documentation tooling.
- Use
workflows/audit-doc-ia.md for full IA audit or redesign.
- Preserve redirects, metadata, source decisions, and maintenance rules.
Default Output
When auditing or redesigning IA, return:
- Current-state findings - navigation, gaps, duplication, stale content, and findability issues.
- User model - major audiences, tasks, and entry points.
- Recommended structure - sequence, hierarchy, web, landing pages, and navigation cues.
- Content actions - keep, remove, review, merge, split, move, or create.
- Migration plan - redirects, metadata, owners, and validation.
- Maintenance plan - how IA decisions stay current.
Contents
| Need |
Start Here |
| Understand IA patterns |
references/core/knowledge.md |
| Apply IA rules |
references/core/knowledge.md |
| See IA examples |
references/core/knowledge.md |
| Audit or redesign IA |
workflows/audit-doc-ia.md |
| Evaluate docs platform/tooling |
workflows/evaluate-doc-platform.md |
| Route by task |
guidelines.md |
Core Posture
- Organize docs around user mental models and tasks.
- Use landing pages to route quickly, not to create marketing detours.
- Keep navigation cues useful but economical.
- Treat migration and maintenance as part of IA design.
- Choose tools from reader, authoring, maintenance, and migration requirements rather than feature excitement.
1---2name: documentation-information-architecture3description: Audit, organize, and redesign developer documentation information architecture, including content inventory, navigation, landing pages, sequences, hierarchies, webs, breadcrumbs, sidebars, metadata, redirects, migration, platform/tool selection, and maintainable IA decisions. Use when restructuring docs sites, improving findability, planning doc migration, evaluating docs tooling, or organizing large documentation sets.4license: MIT5---67# Documentation Information Architecture89Use this skill to organize developer documentation so readers can find the right content at the right time. It works at doc-set and site level rather than single-page prose level.1011This skill is derived from *Docs for Developers: An Engineer's Field Guide to Technical Writing*, especially Chapter 10, "Organizing documentation." It is expanded with paraphrased guidance from Christopher Gales and the Splunk Documentation Team's *The Product Is Docs: Writing Technical Documentation in a Product Development Group*, especially Chapter 17, "Tools and Content Delivery," plus related audience, learning-objective, maintenance, and SaaS guidance from Chapters 3, 9, 10, and 25. Do not copy book prose into user outputs. Source: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-7217-61213## Quick Start14151. Load `guidelines.md` to choose the smallest useful reference set.162. Identify user mental models, common tasks, and existing content inventory.173. Choose or combine sequence, hierarchy, and web structures.184. Use `workflows/evaluate-doc-platform.md` when choosing or migrating documentation tooling.195. Use `workflows/audit-doc-ia.md` for full IA audit or redesign.206. Preserve redirects, metadata, source decisions, and maintenance rules.2122## Default Output2324When auditing or redesigning IA, return:25261. **Current-state findings** - navigation, gaps, duplication, stale content, and findability issues.272. **User model** - major audiences, tasks, and entry points.283. **Recommended structure** - sequence, hierarchy, web, landing pages, and navigation cues.294. **Content actions** - keep, remove, review, merge, split, move, or create.305. **Migration plan** - redirects, metadata, owners, and validation.316. **Maintenance plan** - how IA decisions stay current.3233## Contents3435| Need | Start Here |36|------|------------|37| Understand IA patterns | `references/core/knowledge.md` |38| Apply IA rules | `references/core/knowledge.md` |39| See IA examples | `references/core/knowledge.md` |40| Audit or redesign IA | `workflows/audit-doc-ia.md` |41| Evaluate docs platform/tooling | `workflows/evaluate-doc-platform.md` |42| Route by task | `guidelines.md` |4344## Core Posture4546- Organize docs around user mental models and tasks.47- Use landing pages to route quickly, not to create marketing detours.48- Keep navigation cues useful but economical.49- Treat migration and maintenance as part of IA design.50- Choose tools from reader, authoring, maintenance, and migration requirements rather than feature excitement.
LVTD-LLC