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Documentation Review Cadences

Status: Active
Version: 1.0.0
Last Updated: 2025-12-06
Epic: Epic 5 - Documentation Management and Maintenance
Story: Story 1 - Documentation Maintenance Framework
Task: E5:S01:T03 - Create documentation review cadences

Executive Summary​

This document defines review cadences, procedures, and checklists for maintaining documentation quality across the ai-dev-kit repository. It establishes systematic review schedules based on documentation priority and provides structured processes for conducting reviews.

Key Principle: Documentation reviews must be systematic, thorough, and actionable. Reviews should identify issues, prioritize fixes, and track improvements.

Review Cadence Framework​

Cadence Categories​

Critical Documentation (Weekly Review):

  • Release Workflow documentation
  • Versioning policies
  • Core framework READMEs
  • Critical process documentation

High-Priority Documentation (Monthly Review):

  • Framework guides and tutorials
  • Architecture documents (ADRs)
  • Policy documents
  • Integration guides
  • User-facing documentation

Standard Documentation (Quarterly Review):

  • General guides and tutorials
  • Examples and case studies
  • Historical documentation
  • Archive documentation
  • Reference materials

Low-Priority Documentation (Annual Review):

  • Legacy documentation
  • Deprecated feature documentation
  • Historical reference materials
  • Archive-only documentation

Review Procedures​

Pre-Review Preparation​

1. Identify Documentation to Review:

  • Check review schedule
  • Identify documentation by category
  • Gather related documentation
  • Check for related code changes

2. Gather Context:

  • Review related code/implementation
  • Check for user feedback
  • Review related documentation
  • Check version history

3. Prepare Review Checklist:

  • Select appropriate checklist
  • Customize for specific documentation
  • Identify review focus areas
  • Set review scope

Review Execution​

1. Accuracy Check:

  • Verify information against current implementation
  • Check version numbers and dates
  • Validate examples and code snippets
  • Confirm process descriptions match actual workflows

2. Consistency Check:

  • Cross-reference with related documentation
  • Verify terminology consistency
  • Check process alignment
  • Validate version synchronization

3. Completeness Check:

  • Verify required sections present
  • Check examples are comprehensive
  • Validate edge cases documented
  • Confirm troubleshooting included

4. Currency Check:

  • Verify last update date
  • Check for outdated information
  • Validate links and references
  • Assess relevance to current state

5. Clarity Check:

  • Evaluate language clarity
  • Check technical term definitions
  • Assess example relevance
  • Review structure and navigation

6. Format Check:

  • Verify markdown formatting
  • Check front-matter metadata
  • Validate template compliance
  • Review link formatting

Post-Review Actions​

1. Document Findings:

  • Record issues identified
  • Categorize by severity
  • Prioritize fixes
  • Document recommendations

2. Create Action Items:

  • Assign fixes to owners
  • Set deadlines
  • Track progress
  • Update review status

3. Update Documentation:

  • Fix critical issues immediately
  • Schedule high-priority fixes
  • Plan medium/low priority improvements
  • Update last reviewed date

4. Follow-Up:

  • Verify fixes completed
  • Validate improvements
  • Update review schedule
  • Document lessons learned

Review Checklists​

Critical Documentation Review Checklist​

Accuracy:

  • Information matches current implementation
  • Version numbers are current
  • Examples work as documented
  • Processes match actual workflows
  • Dates are current

Consistency:

  • Consistent with related documentation
  • Terminology is consistent
  • Processes align across documents
  • Versions are synchronized

Completeness:

  • Required sections present
  • Examples are comprehensive
  • ] Edge cases documented
  • Troubleshooting included

Currency:

  • Last update within last week
  • No outdated information
  • Links are valid
  • References are current

Clarity:

  • Language is clear
  • Technical terms defined
  • Examples are relevant
  • Structure is logical

Format:

  • Markdown formatting correct
  • Front-matter complete
  • Template compliance
  • Links formatted correctly

High-Priority Documentation Review Checklist​

Accuracy:

  • Information matches current implementation
  • Version numbers are current
  • Examples work as documented
  • Processes match actual workflows

Consistency:

  • Consistent with related documentation
  • Terminology is consistent
  • Processes align across documents

Completeness:

  • Required sections present
  • Examples are comprehensive
  • Edge cases documented

Currency:

  • Last update within last month
  • No outdated information
  • Links are valid

Clarity:

  • Language is clear
  • Technical terms defined
  • Examples are relevant

Format:

  • Markdown formatting correct
  • Front-matter complete
  • Template compliance

Standard Documentation Review Checklist​

Accuracy:

  • Information matches current implementation
  • Version numbers are current
  • Examples work as documented

Consistency:

  • Consistent with related documentation
  • Terminology is consistent

Completeness:

  • Required sections present
  • Examples are comprehensive

Currency:

  • Last update within last quarter
  • No outdated information
  • Links are valid

Clarity:

  • Language is clear
  • Technical terms defined

Format:

  • Markdown formatting correct
  • Front-matter complete

Low-Priority Documentation Review Checklist​

Accuracy:

  • Information is still relevant
  • Version numbers noted if applicable

Consistency:

  • No major contradictions

Completeness:

  • Core information present

Currency:

  • Last update within last year
  • Still relevant or marked deprecated

Clarity:

  • Language is understandable

Format:

  • Basic formatting correct

Review Assignment and Tracking​

Assignment Process​

Review Assignment:

  • Critical documentation: Assigned to Epic owners
  • High-priority documentation: Assigned to Framework owners
  • Standard documentation: Assigned to Story owners
  • Low-priority documentation: Assigned to Documentation team

Review Scheduling:

  • Weekly reviews: Every Monday
  • Monthly reviews: First Monday of month
  • Quarterly reviews: First Monday of quarter
  • Annual reviews: First Monday of year

Review Tracking:

  • Track in Kanban board
  • Use Story/Task tracking
  • Update review status
  • Document review outcomes

Review Outcomes​

Review Status:

  • Pass: Documentation meets all standards
  • Minor Issues: Small fixes needed
  • Major Issues: Significant updates required
  • Critical Issues: Immediate fixes needed

Action Items:

  • Create tasks for fixes
  • Assign to documentation owners
  • Set deadlines
  • Track completion

Follow-Up:

  • Verify fixes completed
  • Re-review if needed
  • Update review schedule
  • Document improvements

Review Documentation​

Review Records​

Review Documentation Must Include:

  • Review date
  • Reviewer name
  • Documentation reviewed
  • Issues identified
  • Action items created
  • Review status
  • Follow-up date

Review Template:

## Documentation Review Record

**Review Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Reviewer:** Name
**Documentation:** Path to documentation
**Review Type:** Critical/High-Priority/Standard/Low-Priority

### Issues Identified

#### Critical Issues
- Issue 1
- Issue 2

#### High-Priority Issues
- Issue 1
- Issue 2

#### Medium-Priority Issues
- Issue 1
- Issue 2

#### Low-Priority Issues
- Issue 1
- Issue 2

### Action Items

- [ ] Action item 1 (Assigned to: Owner, Deadline: Date)
- [ ] Action item 2 (Assigned to: Owner, Deadline: Date)

### Review Status

**Overall Status:** Pass/Minor Issues/Major Issues/Critical Issues

**Next Review Date:** YYYY-MM-DD

### Notes

Additional notes and observations...

Review Workflows​

Weekly Critical Documentation Review​

Schedule: Every Monday Duration: 1-2 hours Scope: Critical documentation only

Process:

  1. Identify critical documentation to review
  2. Use critical documentation checklist
  3. Review each document systematically
  4. Document findings and create action items
  5. Update review status and schedule

Monthly High-Priority Documentation Review​

Schedule: First Monday of month Duration: 2-4 hours Scope: High-priority documentation

Process:

  1. Identify high-priority documentation to review
  2. Use high-priority documentation checklist
  3. Review each document systematically
  4. Document findings and create action items
  5. Update review status and schedule

Quarterly Standard Documentation Review​

Schedule: First Monday of quarter Duration: 4-8 hours Scope: Standard documentation

Process:

  1. Identify standard documentation to review
  2. Use standard documentation checklist
  3. Review each document systematically
  4. Document findings and create action items
  5. Update review status and schedule

Annual Low-Priority Documentation Review​

Schedule: First Monday of year Duration: 1-2 days Scope: Low-priority documentation

Process:

  1. Identify low-priority documentation to review
  2. Use low-priority documentation checklist
  3. Review each document systematically
  4. Document findings and create action items
  5. Update review status and schedule

Review Metrics​

Key Metrics​

Review Coverage:

  • Percentage of documentation reviewed on schedule
  • Average time since last review
  • Review completion rate

Review Quality:

  • Issues identified per review
  • Fix completion rate
  • Review effectiveness score

Review Efficiency:

  • Average review time
  • Reviews per reviewer
  • Action item resolution time

Reporting​

Monthly Review Report:

  • Reviews completed
  • Issues identified
  • Fixes completed
  • Coverage statistics

Quarterly Review Report:

  • Comprehensive review summary
  • Trend analysis
  • Improvement recommendations
  • Resource requirements

Integration with Other Processes​

Release Workflow Integration​

RW Step 6-7:

  • Documentation updates during release
  • Review documentation changes
  • Validate documentation accuracy
  • Update review schedules

Kanban Integration​

FR/BR Intake:

  • Documentation issues as Feature Requests
  • Documentation improvements as Tasks
  • Review outcomes tracked in Kanban

Framework Health Monitoring​

Health Metrics:

  • Documentation health scores
  • Review status metrics
  • Issue tracking metrics

References​

  • Documentation Maintenance Policy: docs/architecture/standards-and-adrs/documentation-maintenance-policy.md
  • Epic 5: docs/project-management/kanban/epics/Epic-5/Epic-5.md
  • Story 1: docs/project-management/kanban/epics/Epic-5/Story-001-documentation-maintenance-framework.md

Decision Record​

Decision: Establish systematic review cadences with structured procedures, checklists, and tracking.

Rationale:

  • Ensures documentation is reviewed regularly
  • Provides structured approach to reviews
  • Enables consistent quality assessment
  • Supports proactive maintenance
  • Tracks review outcomes and improvements