Teaching Software Documentation through an Asynchronous Module: An Experience Report
We present the development of an asynchronous online module for teaching software documentation in an introductory software design course. Drawing on literature from industry practices and computing education, we designed a lightweight, self-paced module that introduces students to the principles of effective documentation. A central feature of the module is our ACCEU framework, which defines five key dimensions of documentation quality: accuracy, clarity, completeness, ease of use, and up-to-dateness. These dimensions are grounded in a synthesis of prior research and serve as a practical guide for students documenting both code and software projects. We describe the pedagogical motivations behind our design, the structure and content of the module, and initial student feedback. Our experience suggests that the module was well received by our students and met our goals. We conclude with recommendations for instructors interested in adopting or adapting our described approach.