Writing a great audit report is a challenge all on its own. Over the past few months, I have been auditing various developer documentation, each presenting its unique challenges. My biggest struggle was not identifying problems or solutions, but presenting my findings in a way that everyone could easily understand.
This article is based on my experience auditing developer docs. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve your audit process, you’ll learn how to write an effective audit report without the struggles I faced
What is Auditing?
Auditing is the process of identifying problems and proposing solutions. When auditing documentation, you’re looking for issues like spelling errors, broken links, redundant sentence flow, outdated content, and more. When you audit, you read between the lines; this process can be daunting and time-consuming.
My first official documentation audit in 2025 was frustrating. Although I knew the problems and how to fix them, communicating those findings was challenging. Tight deadlines and sprawling docs only made it harder. Fortunately, my mentor shared tips that helped me improve my approach.
Now, I want to share what I’ve learned to help you audit documentation confidently and efficiently.
Types of Audits: Qualitative vs Quantitative
There are two main types of documentation audits:
- Quantitative audits focus on data, such as page views, visitor paths, and user behavior metrics.
- Qualitative audits focus on the content’s quality, including clarity, accuracy, tone, and usability.
While quantitative audits often precede qualitative ones, this article focuses on the qualitative aspect.
Why Audit Documentation?
When support issues keep piling up or users struggle to find the answers they need, it’s often a sign that your documentation isn’t pulling its weight. Maybe it’s fragmented, outdated, or inconsistent. That’s where a documentation audit comes in.
Auditing your documentation is crucial to ensure it does the job it’s meant to do: help your readers.
- Accuracy and currency: Outdated information causes confusion and frustration. An audit keeps your docs up-to-date.
- Technical soundness: Broken links, missing images, or formatting errors break the experience. A thorough review catches these glitches.
To sum it up, auditing documentation helps you build a resource that your users can rely on without headaches. It translates into fewer support tickets, happier users, and a smoother workflow for your team.
What to Audit for in a Qualitative Audit
When carrying out a qualitative audit, there are several key areas to pay attention to. Looking at these components gives you direction and helps you understand where things are working well and where improvements may be needed.
1. Content
Your content should work well for your users and meet organizational goals. Here are key things to check:
- Flow: Does the content read smoothly from start to finish? Is it logically organized, easy to follow, and engaging?
- Accuracy: Are all facts, data, examples, and code samples correct and up to date?
- Spelling & Grammar: Are there spelling, grammar, or typographical errors that could reduce credibility?
- Tone/Voice: Is the tone clear, direct, friendly, and consistent?
- Compliance with Style Guide: Is formatting, terminology, and overall style consistent with the organization’s guidelines?
- Outdated Content: Are there sections that are obsolete or need updating, especially for technical material that changes frequently?
- Visual Content: Are images, videos, diagrams, charts, and code blocks appropriate, relevant, and functioning correctly? Are they captioned or described if needed for clarity?
- Scannability: Is the content easy to skim and understand?
Tips:
- Review each page based on each category, list problems, and summarize them in a table or bulleted list with suggestions. For example, when I audited the Vue.js documentation, I knew how daunting it would be for me, so I audited each category and summarized the issues on each page in a table. See screenshot below
An image showing how to categorize your content audit
In the above image, red text indicates the problem; green indicates a recommendation or suggested fix.
- Screenshot and annotate the category in the documentation to give the reader context on the section your report is talking about. This makes it easy to understand. You can find the audit report in the sample audit section
2. Structure
Logical information architecture (IA) is critical in developer docs. Good structure helps users find info quickly, following a natural learning curve.
When auditing for structure, look out for the following:
- Logical Organization: Are related topics grouped and ordered sensibly? Does the landing page direct users to different sections of the documentation?
- User Journey: Does the flow smoothly guide users from beginner to advanced content?
- Consistency: Are headings, sections, and styles uniform throughout?
- Navigation Aids: Are menus and tables of contents clear and effective?
- Content Type Relevance: Do tutorials, references, examples, and FAQs meet users’ needs?
- Findability: Can readers easily locate important sections, instructions, or answers (through headings, search, or navigation)?
Tips:
- Start by evaluating the welcome/introduction page and overall IA. Use documentation frameworks such as Diataxis or the seven-action model to map the user journey to ensure the information flow is logical.
You can create a separate page for the landing page and IA. The goal is to ensure that the person reading your audit report doesn't get confused.
To achieve this,
- Use tools like Annotely to label the problem and Markdown tree or Lucidchart to present a new proposed information architecture.
- Add a screenshot of the documentation template or from other docs on how you envision the landing page and structure to look.
Example below:
3. UI Components
In developer documentation, UI elements are not just decoration; they enhance usability.
Audit for the presence and functionality of:
- Search bar: A search bar enhances smooth navigation and allows users to search for and access information without scrolling through pages.
- Feedback components, such as rating systems, button systems, forms, and more, are features used to measure user satisfaction with your documentation. It helps for continuous improvement and ensures the documentation meets the user's needs.
- Theme toggles (dark/light mode): Accessibility is crucial in documentation; the theme toggle component is important for developers with visual impairment. Allowing users to switch between light and dark modes can reduce eye strain, improve readability, and accommodate personal preferences or needs.
- Internationalization: means preparing documentation or software so it can be easily adapted to different languages and regions without engineering changes. It is critical for reaching a global audience and ensuring accessibility and usability across diverse cultures.
- Last updated timestamps for content freshness check to boost credibility and trust
- Code blocks with line numbers for better formatting
- Interactive elements like links, buttons, and embedded code work as expected
- Breadcrumbs for in-page navigation
These components create a smoother user experience and facilitate developer workflows.
Tips:
- Create a separate page called UI component to present your findings and proposed solutions
- Use screenshots and label images to communicate the problem effectively
- Always add an example solution or screenshots from similar documentation
4. Broken Links
Broken links frustrate readers and reduce credibility. Manual checking is tedious but necessary. Here’s an effective process:
- Click Every Link: Verify it leads to the correct page/resource.
- Log Issues: Record page, broken URL, and error type (404, redirect loops, missing images).
- Use Tools: Employ link checkers like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs broken link checker for large docs.
- Regular Audits: Schedule link checks regularly to keep docs reliable.
Tips:
- Create a separate page for broken links audit
- Add issue, category in the documentation, link description, link, and fix
Sections to Include in Your Audit Report
- Summary: This section should contain your name, the date you started and ended the report, the scope and purpose of the report, the audit findings, and general recommendations.
- Landing Page
- UI component
- Navigation or Information architecture
- Content
- Broken Links
- Documentation Update Plan
- Documentation Maintenance Strategy
Next Steps
Create a Documentation Update Plan
You cannot complete an audit without presenting a clear update and maintenance plan. This plan should be:
- Based on key audit findings, focus efforts on the areas where the audit identified the most critical or impactful issues.
- Address critical problems first to maximize immediate improvement. This can be divided into high, medium, and low priority. So, what do these priorities mean?
High Priority
These are significant issues that prevent people from understanding or using the documentation effectively. For example:
- Broken links or missing/incorrect technical information that block users from finishing tasks.
- Anything you find during the audit that could cause serious trouble for users or affect the main purpose of the docs.
Tip: Fix these first.
Medium Priority
These problems don’t stop users from getting things done. For example:
- Slightly outdated examples or screenshots that should be updated.
- Problems users can work around easily.
- Suggestions that help internal teams or improve the docs, but aren’t urgent for users.
Tip: Fix these soon, but not right away.
Low Priority
These are minor fixes and nice-to-have improvements that don’t affect how well users understand or use the docs. For example:
- Small typos, grammar, or formatting issues.
- Style or tone tweaks, or better visuals.
- Extra content ideas or enhancements that can wait.
- Regular cleanup tasks, like checking links or fixing formatting that was noted during the audit.
Tip: Fix these when you have extra time.
How to Use This Method
- Base your priorities on what you find in the audit, the severity, how much it affects users, and how urgent it is, not on product schedules or business plans.
- Mark each issue in your report as high, medium, or low priority. This helps everyone know what to work on first.
- Check and update priority levels regularly as the documentation changes or new problems come up.
Create a Maintenance Plan
Beyond updates, a maintenance plan ensures the documentation remains reliable over time. Before creating it, review existing workflows for document upkeep to understand current strengths and gaps.
A maintenance plan typically includes:
- Regularly scheduled documentation reviews, for example, monthly or quarterly.
- Channels for ongoing user feedback.
- Clear ownership of documentation sections or products.
- Change tracking using version control or changelogs.
- Transparent marking of updated or new content.
- Continuous improvements are aligned with software or feature updates.
Conclusion
Auditing documentation is a demanding process that requires time, attention to detail, and careful planning. With the structured approach outlined here, you can confidently deliver a high-level audit report and create a practical starting point for effective documentation improvements. Remember, this approach is flexible; you can always explore new strategies and tools to refine your auditing process.