Use Markdown for your README

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    Most of the major product development companies around the world are following Agile methodology now. Agile essentially blurs the line between different roles. We need no clear differentiation between a developer and a tester. But it does not seem so when it comes to Technical Documentation, as the nature of work is quite different.

The Agile Methodology helps reduce redundant and duplicate work and shrinks the time it takes to get to the market. The tools we use and the process we follow can help us in our Agile approach.

Jot down a product feature under development in Markdown and use it everywhere; in the JIRA, Confluence, and also while making a release. Integrate the README, Release Notes, New Features document, and so on with Markdown, and integrate it with the release build. The Markdown file has .MD file extension. The same file is both reader and writer. It is both the working file and the final output file, and it is not required to convert the file to any other output format when it goes with a release. It is compact and allows opening with any Markdown editor. Probably, it is enough for a Technical Writer or an Editor to have a cursory look at it to help find and fix the issues that can be embarrassing. 

A Technical Writer will find it more interesting to work on a complex document such as Hardware Manual, Software Manual, or Quick Start Guide. It is not very productive to spend a lot of time on Release Notes and other documentation artifacts that matter only for a particular release.

I am not proposing any fundamental changes to the documentation approach. Use FrameMaker, MadCap Flare, Oxygen XML, and other tools for your primary manuals. Using Markdown for release-specific documents will ease the pressure on Technical Writers.

Currently, Typora is my favorite Markdown Editor (sorry for the repeat quite so often in my blogs). Almost anybody can get started on it in less than 20 minutes. I have tried to put detailed instructions regarding the same in some of my blogs. Kindly try the Markdown approach, and it can save a lot of money and time for the company.

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