A technical README explains how to start the application, but staff still do not know how to correct a request. A user guide explains the screens, but a new developer cannot find the deployment process. Both readers need useful documentation.
Give users task-based guidance
Describe ordinary work, corrections and exceptions. Include the meaning of statuses and the person to contact when something is uncertain. Keep the guide close to the task where practical.
Use screenshots or examples only when they clarify the action and keep them current after material changes. Do not expose private customer records in shared training material.
Give maintainers operational context
Document authoritative source, configuration, dependencies, deployment, tests and recovery. Identify provider account owners without embedding secrets. State known limitations and actual support responsibilities.
Ask someone unfamiliar with the system to follow each guide using test data. Their questions reveal missing assumptions more effectively than checking that a document exists.
A useful handover supports today's work and future change. Include it as a deliverable with its own review, rather than treating documentation as whatever notes remain after the code is finished.
Keep the guide's reviewed version linked to the release where practical. A screenshot or instruction from an older interface should be identifiable when someone reports a confusing step.