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TechDocs Platform and Documentation Culture

4 posts · May 2022 – Jul 2026

What this trail covers

Grab's TechDocs platform, built on Helix and embracing a Docs-as-Code approach, has evolved to cultivate a high-quality documentation culture. This involves a multi-year strategy focusing on inventorying existing processes, finalizing and enforcing documentation policies, empowering creators with self-serve tools, and tracking metrics to celebrate wins. Key improvements include the TechDocs Editor, enhanced search and landing page experiences, clear ownership assignment for documents, and a poli. The platform has transitioned from a decentralized Docs-as-Code model with many repositories to a centralized repository to improve discoverability, consistency, and governance. This shift enables AI-driven enhancements for internal agents, improved quality assurance through automated linters and standardized templates, and a unified search experience powered by Glean. The contribution process is streamlined by a consistent editing environment, and detailed analytics provide insights into documentation maintenance. Automated syncs, training sessions, and continuous feedback were implemented to manage the transition.

All Grab trails
  1. From decentralized Docs-as-Code to a centralized repository: Evolving Grab's documentation strategyThis post details the evolution of Grab's documentation strategy from a decentralized Docs-as-Code approach to a centralized repository. It explains the motivations for this shift, including addressing fragmented user experience, uneven standards, and discoverability challenges inherent in decentralized systems. The benefits of centralization are highlighted, such as enabling AI-driven enhancements for internal agents, improving quality assurance with automated linters and standardized templates, and providing a unified search experience. The post also discusses the technical challenges and solutions during the transition, including automated content synchronization, training sessions, and continuous feedback mechanisms. The core technical contribution is the architectural shift from multiple documentation repositories to a single, managed repository, and the associated tooling and process changes to support this.
  2. Facilitating Docs-as-Code implementation for users unfamiliar with MarkdownIntroduced a WYSIWYG editor for the TechDocs platform, built using the Lexical framework, to simplify Markdown authoring for non-engineering teams. This enhancement includes features like text formatting, page management, and seamless integration with GitLab for a Docs-as-Code workflow. The post details phased rollouts of editor capabilities, live preview functionality, and GitLab integration strategies to manage conflicts.
  3. TechDocs at Grab: Cultivating a culture of quality documentationThis post details the evolution of Grab's TechDocs platform and its impact on documentation culture. It outlines a 2-3 year strategy involving taking inventory of existing processes, finalizing and enforcing documentation policies (Markdown for 'create and publish' content, collaborative portals for time-sensitive documents, and separation of internal data), empowering creators with self-serve tools (e.g., TechDocs Editor, flagging outdated documents, requiring PICs), and tracking metrics to celebrate wins. User research highlighted issues with search experience, landing page design, and adoption challenges, leading to roadmap improvements. The post emphasizes the shift towards a Docs-as-Code approach integrated into the engineering workflow.
  4. Embracing a Docs-as-Code approachThis post details Grab's adoption of a Docs-as-Code approach to improve technical documentation. It explains the concept of Docs-as-Code, the motivations behind its adoption (challenges in finding and updating documentation), and how it solves these problems by integrating documentation into the code development process. Grab's implementation involves placing documentation in dedicated folders within Git repositories and publishing it on a central internal developer portal. The post also shares user feedback on the initiative and outlines progress and future optimizations, including applying the approach to technical training content.