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What is the difference between system documentation and

user documentation?

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Assistant
Bot · May 2

System documentation and user documentation serve different purposes and are
targeted towards different audiences. Here are the main differences between the two:

1. System Documentation:
- Purpose: System documentation focuses on providing detailed technical
information about the system, including its architecture, design, components,
interfaces, and implementation details. It aims to help developers, system
administrators, and IT professionals understand how the system works internally.
- Audience: System documentation is typically intended for technical personnel
who are responsible for de Continue Reading

Upvote

Tayoh Dey
Information Architect at Retired (terminally unemployed) (1961–present) · Author has 2K a · 3y
nswers and 5.3M answer views
What is the difference between system documentation and user documentation?
Upvote · 7 2
System documentation is intended for the people who will create or maintain the system.
It explains in detail how the system accomplishes its work.

User documentation is intended for the people who will use the system to accomplish
their own tasks. It explains how the system is used for the jobs or tasks of the end user. It
does not explain how the system accomplishes its work as that is not relevant to the
user’s task.

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Bradley Nice
Upvote
Content Manager at ClickHelp (2017–present) · Author has 72 answers and 75.2K answer · 3y
views
System documentation is a document that covers the system and its parts:
requirements, design, architecture descriptions, program source code, limitations, and
the like. User documentation includes manuals or user guides for end-users of the
product.

Joseph Schachner
Upvote · 1 1
Retired Senior software engineer at Teledyne LeCroy · Author has 2.7K answers and 3.9M · 3y
answer views
System documentation gives engineers details about system internals and operation to
enable them to successfully maintain and enhance the system as years go by.

User documentation tells the user how to operate the system from its user interface. It
may need to be updated as enhanced over the years.
:
 Carol Walker
Upvote · 7 1
IT Support / Systems Admin / Technical Writer · Author has 2.7K answers and 2M answer v · 6y
iews
Related What is the difference between technical documentation and user
documentation?
At a very basic level, technical documentation is written for the people who manage and
maintain the equipment or software, while user documentation is written for the people
who use it.

Technical documents are usually written in more technical terms, can assume a higher
level of technical knowledge, and are more concerned with how things work behind the
scenes.

User documents should assume no technical or terminology knowledge (with some

exceptions) and are written to describe how you use things to achieve an end result.
Continue Reading
So if you take a washing machine as an example. The technical documents wou

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Amit Yadav
Upvote · 7 1 1
SaaS Product Growth Analyst · 4y

What is the difference between technical documentation and user

Related
documentation?
Technical and user documentation are entirely different from each other. Both these
documents have technical details, but each of them caters to different audiences.

Technical documentation is meant for developers or engineers who directly work on the
software or the technical part of a product. It comprises information about how to
operate, manage, maintain equipment, computer system, software, etc., at the
developer’s or engineer’s end.

Continue Reading

Ronald 'Ron' J. Ellis

Upvote
Sm Bus owner, IT Consultant/Trainer, Fortune 100 Div IT Mgr · Author has 2.6K answers an · 3y
d 6.5M answer views
The difference is the audience!

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4.8K

James Graves-Barakaat
Upvote · 5
Technical writer; 40+ years technical writing, instructional design and teaching · Author ha · 6y
s 6.5K answers and 1.7M answer views
Related What is the difference between technical documentation and user
documentation?
Both technical documentation and user documentation involve technical writing.
Technical documentation are written instructions for operation, maintenance, and repair
procedures for electrical, electronics, electro-mechanical, mechanical, computer
systems, and other technical systems for maintenance engineers and technicians.
Usually, technical knowledge is required.

User documentation are written instructions for those who use software programs at a
computer keyboard, and who may use any system.
Continue ReadingTechnical knowledge is not usually
required. The user documentation became popular when the persona

WebrouteSoln
Upvote 2
Lived in Chandigarh, India · Author has 626 answers and 319K answer views · 3y

System documentation represents documents that describe the system itself and its
parts. User documentation covers manuals that are mainly prepared for end-users of the
product and system administrators. User documentation includes tutorials, user guides,
troubleshooting manuals, installation, and reference manuals.01-Dec-2020

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2.2K

Ashoke Bagchi
Upvote
Author has 1.3K answers and 613.4K answer views · 3y

System documentation : Say, ‘Constitution Of India’.

User documentation : Followed by Mr. Narcissist Mythomaniac et al.

Bradley Nice
Upvote · 14 1
Content Manager at ClickHelp (2017–present) · Author has 72 answers and 75.2K answer · 7y
views
Related What's the difference between documentation and API reference?
In general, this is the matter if terms. Documentation is a generic term and it is often used
to talk about any type of… well… documentation. That is, API Reference can be
considered as one type of Documentation. Undoubtedly, using these two terms together
may be confusing for the visitors, since different people will understand this differently.

But let’s try to draw a line anyway:

The API Reference may be considered different from Documentation in terms of the type
of information it delivers. It is a Reference - very
Continue structured list of
Reading
methods/functions/error code with descriptions. Pretty tec

Pritika Arjun Kumar

Upvote
Author l Media Expert l Motivator l Advisor · Author has 2K answers and 2.6M answer vie · 8mo
ws
Related What is the difference between product documentation and project
documentation?
Product documentation and project documentation serve distinct purposes in the context
of business and project management. Here are the key differences between the two:

Product Documentation:

1. Focus:Product documentation is primarily concerned with providing information

about a specific product, service, or system. It offers comprehensive details
about the product's features, functions, and usage.
:
 2. Audience:The primary audience for product documentation includes end-users,
customers, and sometimes internal teams involved in product development,
testing, and support.

3. Contents:Product documentation ty
Continue Reading

Venkata Sai Laxman

Upvote · 5
Lives in Hyderabad, Telangana, India (2010–present) · Apr 26

Related What is technical documentation?

JSS 0251 is a defence documentation standard. To make it simpler, whenever we buy
some household item, be it a fridge or AC, we get a user manual. If you look closely, each
company follows their documentation structure or pattern and content flow. There will not
be any similarities in formatting or layout. Every OEM has their separate documentation
teams and they design in their way.

Even the size and dimensions of the document may be different.

Similarly whenever a simple system or complex

Continue system is delivered to defence users i.e.
Reading
Army, navy or air force, along with the original equipment OEMs
:
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