5.13 Document future updates and evolutions
Business Strategy And Product Management
Provide documentation to help users find their way whenever functionality changes.
Criteria
- Feature changes: Human-testable
When a feature is added, updated, or removed to improve user experience, clear documentation of the changes is provided in a well structured, semantically versioned document.- Common Changelog
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 3.5 – Architecture (Patch Updates)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 3.6 – Architecture (Incremental Updates)
- GR491 – 6-3040 – Changing Features
- Keep a Changelog
- Keeping a CHANGELOG at Work
- Semantic Versioning
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 8 – Economics & Work
Benefits
- Economic
Updating digital products and services regularly requires less development time and reduces the risk of negative consumer impact from the extended downtime that can result from needing to start from scratch if a product or service is otherwise left to become outdated beyond repair. - Environment
Maintaining an intuitive, lightweight user experience while adding new features or updating software reduces frustration, churn, and the energy users expend when the interface performs in ways users do not expect. - Performance
Maintaining an optimized user experience that is regularly updated in line with best practices usually means content and assets will load quickly and as expected by users. - Security
Maintaining evergreen status often means fewer issues due to a strong release cycle. This involves making necessary changes and keeping users informed while maintaining transparency.
GRI
- Materials: Low
- Energy: Low
- Water: Low
- Emissions: Low