How would that change the way you thought about it?

Would you...

• Create a product team around it?
• Create a roadmap for it?
• Work on it in sprints?
• Have daily scrums?
• Instrument and measure the experience?
• Perform usability studies?
• Market it?
• Create native apps?
• Add a SaaS on top of it?

Maybe – but why would you do any of that?

Because docs drive developer adoption.

Don't take my word for it, read Medusa.js's excellent deep dive by Chef Shahed into how (and why) they improved their developer documentation:

At Medusa, we early on came to realize that documentation is what can actually drive further adoption of Medusa.

Developers that are curious would be sufficient with a quickstart guide. However, those who actually want to use Medusa to create an ecommerce store for themselves or for their clients require the documentation to explain different concepts and how to implement them.

Because docs are not a product product, that's why I like calling it a learning experience because then applying learning experience design principles makes total sense (and puts the focus on the learner, not the content).

Instead of docs, it's a learning experience.
Instead of a course, it's a learning experience.
Instead of a workshop, it's a learning experience.
Instead of an article, it's a learning experience.
Instead of a product tour, it's a learning experience.

When you reframe docs, content, courses, and everything else as an experience (that benefits from intentional and systematized design), it opens doors you didn't know were there.

Have a lovely day,
Kamran