diataxis-plan

Diataxis Documentation Planner

Design a documentation architecture for a project organized around the Diataxis framework's four quadrants.

Diataxis Compass

           Practical           Theoretical
        +----------------+------------------+
Study   |   TUTORIALS    |   EXPLANATION    |
        |   (learning)   | (understanding)  |
        +----------------+------------------+
Work    |   HOW-TO       |   REFERENCE      |
        |   (problem)    |  (information)   |
        +----------------+------------------+

When to Use

• Starting documentation for a new project
• Restructuring existing documentation into Diataxis quadrants
• Planning a documentation strategy or roadmap
• Deciding what documentation to write first

Required Inputs

1. Project context: What the project does, who uses it
2. Existing documentation (optional): Current state to build from
3. Audience profiles (optional): Who reads the documentation and what they need

Workflow

Phase 1: Understand the Project

Read CLAUDE.md, README, and any existing documentation to understand:

• What the project does
• Who the primary audiences are
• What the current documentation state is
• What the project's complexity level is

Phase 2: Identify Documentation Needs per Quadrant

For each quadrant, determine what documents are needed:

Tutorials — What do new users need to learn?

• Getting started experience
• Key workflows that need guided learning
• Onboarding paths for different roles

How-to guides — What problems do users solve?

• Common tasks and operations
• Configuration and customization
• Troubleshooting and debugging
• Integration with other systems

Reference — What do users need to look up?

• API documentation
• Configuration options
• CLI commands and flags
• Data formats and structures
• Error codes

Explanation — What do users need to understand?

• Architecture and design decisions
• Key concepts and mental models
• Trade-offs and alternatives
• Historical context and rationale

Phase 3: Propose Directory Structure

Design a directory layout. The standard structure is:

docs/
├── tutorials/
│   ├── getting-started.md
│   └── [topic]-tutorial.md
├── how-to/
│   ├── [verb]-[noun].md
│   └── ...
├── reference/
│   ├── api/
│   ├── configuration/
│   └── cli/
└── explanation/
    ├── architecture.md
    └── [concept].md

Adapt to project conventions — some projects use guides/ instead of how-to/, or flatten the structure for smaller projects.

Phase 4: Define Creation Priority

Recommend which documents to write first, based on:

1. Audience need: What's most painful to lack?
2. Effort vs. impact: What gives the most value for the least work?
3. Dependencies: What needs to exist before other docs make sense?

Default priority order:

1. Tutorial (getting started) — if users need onboarding
2. Reference (API/config) — if the project has an API or complex configuration
3. How-to guides — based on most common support questions
4. Explanation — once the system is mature enough to explain

Phase 5: Design Navigation

Plan how users move between documents:

Cross-linking strategy:

• Every document links to related documents in other quadrants
• Tutorials end with "Next steps" pointing to how-tos and reference
• How-tos link back to tutorials (for background) and reference (for details)
• Reference links to how-tos (for usage) and tutorials (for introduction)
• Explanation links to tutorials (for hands-on) and how-tos (for application)

Entry points:

• README or index page as a landing page with paths to all four quadrants
• Clear labeling so users know which quadrant they're in

Phase 6: Create Roadmap

Produce a phased documentation roadmap:

Phase 1 (Essential): Documents needed before users can use the project Phase 2 (Important): Documents that significantly improve the user experience Phase 3 (Complete): Documents that round out the documentation set

Outputs

• Documentation inventory: List of all proposed documents with quadrant, title, and brief description
• Directory structure: Proposed file/folder layout
• Priority matrix: Documents ranked by importance and effort
• Navigation map: How documents link to each other
• Roadmap: Phased plan for creating the documentation

Plan Format

# Documentation Plan: [Project Name]

## Audiences

| Audience | Needs | Primary Quadrants |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| New users | Onboarding, first success | Tutorial, Explanation |
| Developers | Integration, API details | Reference, How-to |
| Operators | Deployment, monitoring | How-to, Reference |

## Proposed Documents

### Tutorials
- [ ] `getting-started.md` — [description] — Priority: P1
- [ ] `[topic].md` — [description] — Priority: P2

### How-to Guides
- [ ] `[verb]-[noun].md` — [description] — Priority: P1
- [ ] `[verb]-[noun].md` — [description] — Priority: P2

### Reference
- [ ] `api.md` — [description] — Priority: P1
- [ ] `configuration.md` — [description] — Priority: P1

### Explanation
- [ ] `architecture.md` — [description] — Priority: P2
- [ ] `[concept].md` — [description] — Priority: P3

## Directory Structure

[Proposed layout]

## Roadmap

### Phase 1 — Essential
[Documents and rationale]

### Phase 2 — Important
[Documents and rationale]

### Phase 3 — Complete
[Documents and rationale]

Validation

• All four quadrants are represented (even if some are deferred)
• Documents are clearly assigned to exactly one quadrant
• Priority reflects actual user needs, not completionism
• Navigation ensures users can find what they need from any entry point

Related Skills

• diataxis-audit: Audit existing docs before planning
• diataxis-create: Create the documents identified in this plan
• diataxis-convert: Convert mixed existing docs as part of the restructuring