Migration Support for a Structurally Fragmented Manual
A long-lived Word manual created by multiple authors over several years
Information types mixed together
Inconsistent hierarchy and organization
Content structure reflected history, not intent
High risk of migrating problems into a new system
No clear topic boundaries or hierarchy
Reviewed the existing manual to identify structural issues
Defined a target documentation structure independent of the source format
Provided guidance on how content should be reorganized before and during migration
Separate mixed information into appropriate topic types
Redefine hierarchy based on content purpose
Avoid “lift and shift” migration of existing structure
Clear target structure for migration
Reduced risk of structural cleanup after migration
Improved long-term maintainability
Migration is an opportunity to fix structural problems, not preserve them. Architectural decision support ensures that documentation improves rather than degrades during system changes.
