5.8Keeping Docs Fresh

Automated Staleness Detection

Set up systems that alert when documentation has not been updated in a defined period:

• Git-based: Script that checks the last commit date for each doc file and flags those older than 90 days
• Wiki-based: Confluence and Notion both support "last updated" tracking; some support automated reminders
• CI-based: Add a job that runs weekly and creates issues for stale documentation

Example staleness check script concept:

# Find documentation files not updated in 90 days
find docs/ -name "*.md" -mtime +90 -print

Ownership Model

Every document should have a designated owner. The owner is not necessarily the author -- they are the person responsible for keeping the document accurate.

Role	Responsibility
Owner	Ensures the document stays accurate and relevant; reviews quarterly
Author	Wrote the original content; may no longer be the owner
Reviewers	Check accuracy when changes are proposed
Consumers	Report inaccuracies and suggest improvements

Maintenance Schedules

Documentation Type	Review Frequency	Trigger for Immediate Review
Test strategy	Quarterly	Major product change, new team member
Runbooks	Monthly	Related incident, process change
Onboarding guides	With each new hire	New hire feedback
Test environment docs	Monthly	Environment changes
Tool documentation	Quarterly	Tool version upgrades