PRD: User Experience & Documentation

Generated: 2025-07-23 00:00 UTC
Status: Complete
Verified:

Executive Summary

This PRD defines the user experience strategy and documentation requirements for the Document Conversion Service. It establishes standards for developer documentation, API references, user interfaces, onboarding experiences, and support systems to ensure developers and end-users can successfully integrate and utilize the conversion service.

Key Objectives

Create intuitive developer experiences with minimal learning curve
Provide comprehensive, searchable documentation
Build interactive API explorers and testing tools
Implement effective onboarding and education systems
Establish responsive support channels

User Stories

As a New Developer

I want to understand the service in 5 minutes
I want to make my first API call in 10 minutes
I want code examples in my language
I want to test without signing up

As an Experienced Developer

I want detailed API references
I want advanced usage examples
I want performance optimization guides
I want troubleshooting documentation

As a Product Manager

I want to understand pricing and limits
I want integration case studies
I want ROI calculations
I want feature comparison charts

As a Support Engineer

I want searchable error codes
I want debugging guides
I want common solutions
I want escalation procedures

Functional Requirements

Documentation Portal

1. Information Architecture

graph TD A[Documentation Home] --> B[Getting Started] A --> C[API Reference] A --> D[SDKs & Tools] A --> E[Guides & Tutorials] A --> F[Examples] A --> G[Support] B --> B1[Quick Start] B --> B2[Authentication] B --> B3[First Conversion] C --> C1[REST API] C --> C2[Webhooks] C --> C3[Error Codes] D --> D1[Node.js SDK] D --> D2[Python SDK] D --> D3[CLI Tool] E --> E1[Best Practices] E --> E2[Performance] E --> E3[Security]

2. Documentation Features

Search Functionality:

Full-text search
Fuzzy matching
Search suggestions
Filter by category/language
Search analytics

Navigation:

Sticky table of contents
Breadcrumb navigation
Previous/next links
Related articles
Version selector

Code Examples:

// Syntax highlighting
const converter = new DocumentConverter({
  apiKey: process.env.API_KEY
});

// Copy button
// Run in browser button
// Language selector (JS/Python/Go/etc.)

3. Interactive Elements

API Explorer:

endpoint: /api/v1/convert
method: POST
description: Convert a document to another format

try_it:
  - file_upload: true
  - parameter_builder: true
  - response_viewer: true
  - curl_generator: true
  - code_generator: 
    - javascript
    - python
    - curl
    - go

Live Examples:

Embedded CodePen/CodeSandbox
Runnable examples
Input/output visualization
Step-by-step tutorials

Developer Portal

1. Portal Layout

+------------------+------------------+
|   Quick Stats    |   Getting Help   |
| - API Calls: 1.2K| - Documentation  |
| - Success: 99.2% | - API Status     |
| - Credits: 8,431 | - Support        |
+------------------+------------------+
|        Recent Activity              |
| - 10:23 XLSX→JSON Success 245KB    |
| - 10:21 PDF→MD    Success 1.2MB    |
| - 10:19 DOCX→HTML Failed  Error    |
+------------------+------------------+
|   API Keys       |   Quick Actions  |
| - Production     | - Test API       |
| - Development    | - View Logs      |
| - Testing        | - Billing        |
+------------------+------------------+

2. Key Features

Usage Analytics:

Real-time API metrics
Historical usage graphs
Format distribution
Error rate tracking
Cost analysis

API Key Management:

Create/revoke keys
Set permissions
Usage per key
IP restrictions
Key rotation reminders

Quick Actions:

Test file upload
API playground
Download SDKs
View documentation
Contact support

3. Onboarding Flow

graph LR A[Sign Up] --> B[Email Verification] B --> C[Welcome Tour] C --> D[First API Key] D --> E[Try Conversion] E --> F[Install SDK] F --> G[View Dashboard] C --> H[Skip Tour] H --> D

Progressive Disclosure:

Start with simple conversion
Introduce advanced features
Show optimization tips
Suggest relevant guides

API Reference

1. Reference Structure

## POST /api/v1/convert

Convert a document from one format to another.

### Request

**Headers**
| Header | Type | Required | Description |
|--------|------|----------|-------------|
| Authorization | string | Yes | Bearer {api_key} |
| Content-Type | string | Yes | multipart/form-data |

**Parameters**
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| file | binary | Yes | The file to convert |
| to | string | Yes | Target format: json\|markdown\|html |
| options | object | No | Format-specific options |

### Response

**Success Response (200)**
\`\`\`json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "content": "...",
    "metadata": {
      "originalFormat": "xlsx",
      "targetFormat": "json",
      "fileSize": 245632,
      "processingTime": 2.34
    }
  }
}
\`\`\`

### Examples

**JavaScript**
\`\`\`javascript
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('file', fileBlob);
formData.append('to', 'json');

const response = await fetch('https://api.docconverter.com/v1/convert', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer your_api_key'
  },
  body: formData
});
\`\`\`

2. Error Documentation

errors:
  - code: INVALID_FORMAT
    status: 422
    message: "The file format is not supported"
    solution: "Check supported formats in documentation"
    
  - code: FILE_TOO_LARGE
    status: 413
    message: "File exceeds maximum size limit"
    solution: "Reduce file size or upgrade plan"
    
  - code: RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED
    status: 429
    message: "Too many requests"
    solution: "Implement exponential backoff"
    headers:
      X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
      X-RateLimit-Remaining: 0
      X-RateLimit-Reset: 1634567890

SDKs & Libraries

1. SDK Documentation

Installation Guides:

# Node.js
npm install @docconverter/sdk

# Python
pip install docconverter

# Go
go get github.com/docconverter/go-sdk

# Ruby
gem install docconverter

Quick Start Examples:

# Python SDK Example
from docconverter import DocumentConverter

# Initialize client
converter = DocumentConverter(api_key='your_api_key')

# Convert file
with open('report.xlsx', 'rb') as f:
    result = converter.convert(
        file=f,
        to='markdown',
        options={'sheets': ['Summary', 'Data']}
    )

# Save result
with open('report.md', 'w') as f:
    f.write(result.content)

2. Framework Integration

Next.js Guide:

// pages/api/convert.js
import { DocumentConverter } from '@docconverter/sdk';

const converter = new DocumentConverter({
  apiKey: process.env.DOCCONVERTER_API_KEY
});

export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const result = await converter.convert(req.body.file, {
    to: 'json'
  });
  
  res.json(result);
}

Educational Content

1. Tutorials

Beginner Series:

"Your First Document Conversion"
"Understanding Output Formats"
"Handling Errors Gracefully"
"Optimizing for Performance"

Advanced Topics:

"Batch Processing Strategies"
"Webhook Integration Patterns"
"Building a Conversion Pipeline"
"Enterprise Integration Guide"

2. Video Content

Getting started (5 min)
API walkthrough (10 min)
SDK installation guides
Common use cases
Live coding sessions

3. Case Studies

## How Acme Corp Reduced Document Processing Time by 90%

**Challenge**: Manual document conversion taking 2 hours daily
**Solution**: Automated pipeline using Document Converter API
**Results**: 
- 90% time reduction
- 99.9% accuracy
- $50K annual savings

[Read Full Case Study →]

Support System

1. Help Center

graph TD A[Help Center] --> B[Knowledge Base] A --> C[FAQs] A --> D[Contact Options] B --> B1[Articles] B --> B2[Tutorials] B --> B3[Troubleshooting] C --> C1[Technical] C --> C2[Billing] C --> C3[Security] D --> D1[Chat Support] D --> D2[Email Support] D --> D3[Community Forum]

2. Support Features

Intelligent Search:

Natural language queries
Suggested articles
Related questions
Search refinement

Contextual Help:

In-dashboard tooltips
Error-specific help links
Inline documentation
Video walkthroughs

3. Community Support

Developer Forum:

Q&A format
Code sharing
Best practices
Feature requests
Bug reports

Community Features:

User reputation
Accepted answers
Code syntax highlighting
Voting system
Expert badges

Non-Functional Requirements

Accessibility Requirements

WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
Keyboard navigation
Screen reader support
High contrast mode
Text scaling support

Performance Requirements

Documentation load time < 2s
Search results < 500ms
Dashboard refresh < 1s
Code example execution < 3s

Localization Requirements

English (primary)
Spanish, French, German, Japanese
RTL language support
Localized code examples
Cultural considerations

Technical Specifications

Documentation Platform

1. Static Site Generator

# docusaurus.config.js
module.exports = {
  title: 'Document Converter API',
  tagline: 'Convert any document format',
  url: 'https://docs.docconverter.com',
  baseUrl: '/',
  plugins: [
    '@docusaurus/plugin-content-docs',
    '@docusaurus/plugin-content-blog',
    'docusaurus-plugin-api-docs'
  ],
  themes: ['@docusaurus/theme-live-codeblock']
};

2. Search Implementation

Algolia DocSearch
Custom search indices
Query analytics
Personalized results
Federated search

3. Analytics Integration

// Track documentation usage
gtag('event', 'page_view', {
  page_title: 'API Reference - Convert Endpoint',
  page_location: '/api/convert',
  user_type: 'authenticated'
});

// Track code example usage
gtag('event', 'code_example_run', {
  language: 'javascript',
  endpoint: '/api/v1/convert',
  success: true
});

Dashboard Technology

1. Frontend Stack

React 18 with TypeScript
Tailwind CSS for styling
Recharts for analytics
React Query for data
Zustand for state

2. Component Library

// Reusable dashboard components
<Card>
  <CardHeader>
    <CardTitle>API Usage</CardTitle>
    <CardDescription>Last 30 days</CardDescription>
  </CardHeader>
  <CardContent>
    <UsageChart data={usageData} />
  </CardContent>
  <CardFooter>
    <Button variant="outline">View Details</Button>
  </CardFooter>
</Card>

Success Metrics

Documentation Metrics

Page views > 100K/month
Average session > 5 minutes
Search success rate > 80%
Bounce rate < 30%

Developer Experience

Time to first API call < 10 minutes
Documentation helpfulness > 4.5/5
SDK adoption rate > 60%
Support ticket reduction > 40%

Support Metrics

First response time < 2 hours
Resolution time < 24 hours
Customer satisfaction > 4.5/5
Self-service rate > 70%

Dependencies

External Services

Documentation hosting
Search service
Analytics platform
Video hosting
Forum software

Internal Systems

API backend
Authentication service
Usage tracking
Billing system

Timeline & Milestones

Phase 1: Foundation (Month 1)

Basic documentation site
API reference
Getting started guide
Simple dashboard

Phase 2: Interactive (Month 2)

API explorer
Code playground
Interactive examples
Advanced dashboard

Phase 3: Education (Month 3)

Video tutorials
Case studies
Best practices
Community forum

Phase 4: Optimization (Month 4)

Search enhancement
Personalization
A/B testing
Feedback integration

Risk Mitigation

Documentation Risks

Outdated content: Automated sync with code
Poor searchability: Advanced search implementation
Language barriers: Professional translation

Support Risks

Overwhelming tickets: Self-service emphasis
Slow response: Automated initial responses
Knowledge gaps: Continuous training

Future Considerations

Enhanced Features

AI-powered documentation assistant
Personalized learning paths
Interactive API design tools
AR/VR code visualization

Platform Evolution

Mobile app for documentation
IDE plugins with inline docs
Voice-controlled API testing
Collaborative debugging tools