6.0 KiB
6.0 KiB
Developer Enablement Checklist
Comprehensive checklist for enabling developers to adopt your technical product.
Critical: Documentation
Getting Started Guide
- Installation instructions (< 5 minutes)
- Quick start tutorial (Hello World in < 10 minutes)
- Basic concepts explained
- First successful API call walkthrough
- Authentication setup guide
- Common gotchas documented
API Reference
- All endpoints documented
- Request/response examples for each endpoint
- Error codes and meanings
- Rate limits clearly stated
- Authentication methods
- Versioning strategy explained
- Changelog maintained
Integration Guides
- Step-by-step integration tutorials
- Common use cases covered
- Best practices documented
- Performance tips
- Security considerations
###Migration Guide (if applicable)
- Breaking changes highlighted
- Migration steps clear
- Before/after code examples
- Timeline for deprecations
- Support for old version
Critical: Code Assets
SDKs/Client Libraries
- Python SDK
- JavaScript/Node SDK
- Additional languages as needed
- Well-documented public APIs
- Type definitions (TypeScript, etc.)
- Published to package managers
- Examples in README
Sample Applications
- Simple "Hello World" app
- Realistic integration example
- Production-ready template
- README with setup instructions
- Runnable locally
Code Snippets
- Common operations (CRUD)
- Authentication examples
- Error handling patterns
- Copy-paste ready
- Multiple languages
Important: Developer Experience
Interactive Tools
- API explorer / playground
- Interactive tutorials
- Sandbox environment (no credit card)
- Test mode / mock data
- Debugging tools
Developer Portal
- Dashboard for API keys
- Usage analytics
- Billing/quota visibility
- Team management
- Support access
Testing & Debugging
- Test credentials available
- Webhook testing tools
- Request logs accessible
- Error debugging guides
- Postman collection (if REST API)
Important: Learning Resources
Video Content
- Demo video (3-5 minutes)
- Tutorial series for key features
- Architecture overview video
- Best practices video
Written Tutorials
- Blog posts for common use cases
- Integration tutorials
- Performance optimization guides
- Security best practices
Community Resources
- FAQ section
- Troubleshooting guide
- Community forum / Discord / Slack
- Stack Overflow tag
- GitHub Discussions enabled
Important: Technical Specifications
Architecture Documentation
- System architecture diagram
- Data flow diagrams
- Sequence diagrams for complex flows
- Infrastructure overview
- Scaling characteristics
Performance & Limits
- Rate limits documented
- Latency expectations (p50, p95, p99)
- Throughput capabilities
- Quotas and limits
- SLA commitments
Security Documentation
- Authentication methods
- Authorization model
- Data encryption (at rest, in transit)
- Compliance certifications
- Security best practices
- Vulnerability reporting process
Nice to Have: Advanced Resources
Reference Architectures
- Common patterns documented
- Production deployment examples
- Multi-region setups
- High availability configurations
Integrations
- Third-party tool integrations
- Framework specific guides (React, Vue, etc.)
- CI/CD integration examples
- Monitoring integration guides
Developer Tools
- CLI tool
- Browser extensions
- IDE plugins (VS Code, etc.)
- Linters / code validators
Launch Day Specific
Pre-Launch
- Beta testers given early access
- Documentation live on staging
- SDKs tagged and ready
- Samples tested end-to-end
Launch Day
- Docs published to production
- SDKs released to package managers
- Samples available on GitHub
- Playground accessible
- Support channels staffed
Post-Launch
- Monitor documentation traffic
- Respond to questions quickly
- Update docs based on feedback
- Create additional resources as needed
Quality Checks
Documentation Quality
- Tested by someone unfamiliar with product
- Code samples all execute successfully
- Links all work
- Screenshots up-to-date
- Grammar/spelling checked
- Search functionality works
- Mobile responsive
Code Quality
- SDKs have tests
- Sample apps run without errors
- Dependencies up-to-date
- Security vulnerabilities checked
- Licenses clearly stated
By Audience
Beginner Developers
- Clear getting started
- Simple examples
- Video tutorials
- Interactive playground
- Active community support
Experienced Developers
- Comprehensive API reference
- Advanced use cases
- Performance documentation
- Architecture details
- Migration guides
Enterprise/Teams
- Security documentation
- Compliance information
- Team management docs
- SSO integration
- SLA details
Measurement
Track these metrics post-launch:
- Documentation traffic
- Time to first API call
- Sandbox activation rate
- SDK download count
- Sample app clones
- Support ticket volume
- Community questions
- Tutorial completion rate
Use data to improve enablement continuously.