"High-documentation" isn't the cure, either. Just write quality software with well-defined interfaces, minimal dependencies and smooth building processes. I want to be able to build the thing without frustration, to start playing with it in order to learn its internals and debug it. Only then can I be comfortable enough to start implementing features and changes.
It's devastating to learn after more than 20 years in the industry that the secret is "Just write quality software with well-defined interfaces, minimal dependencies and smooth building processes". If I and my colleagues had known only sooner about this straightforward and actionable advice...
That’s how I often use documentation - start documenting something, then ask myself “should the code be fixed to avoid the need to document this part? Yes, yes it should”.
A long provisioning instruction became much shorter as a result of automating it by reducing the need to document.
