📚 Documentation Noob Test Report - January 22, 2026

[github-actions[bot]]

Test method: Automated HTML content analysis
Pages analyzed: 6 key pages (homepage, quick start, CLI commands, creating workflows, examples)
Overall impression: Good structure and comprehensive content, but assumes too much prior knowledge

---

🔴 Critical Issues

1. Jargon Without Definitions

"Frontmatter" appears 8 times in Quick Start but is never explained. New users don't know this refers to the YAML header in markdown files.

"MCP" appears 7 times but the acronym is never expanded to "Model Context Protocol".

Impact: High - Beginners will be confused from the start

Fix: Add a "Key Concepts" section defining frontmatter, MCP, workflow lifecycle, and lock files. Link from first mentions.

2. Installation Prerequisites Buried

Prerequisites section exists but doesn't emphasize:

• Need for GitHub repository with Actions enabled
• Repository write permissions required
• Copilot subscription (optional but recommended)

Fix: Add prominent callout box at Quick Start top listing ALL requirements upfront.

---

🟡 Confusing Areas

1. Compilation Purpose Not Explained

Quick Start shows gh aw compile but doesn't explain WHY. Users don't understand why .md becomes .lock.yml.

Fix: Explain upfront: "Workflows are written in markdown but GitHub Actions needs YAML"

2. CLI Page Overwhelming (107 commands!)

Fix: Split into Essential/Common/Advanced sections or add beginner/intermediate/advanced tabs

3. Examples Lack Complete Context

Fix: Every example should show:

• Full file path (.github/workflows/my-workflow.md)
• Complete, copy-pasteable code
• Plain English explanation
• Expected outcome

4. "Agentic" Never Defined

The core term "agentic" is used everywhere but never explained.

Fix: First mention should define: "Agentic workflows are AI-powered automations that can make decisions and take actions autonomously"

---

🟢 What Worked Well

✅ Homepage immediately explains the tool with clear CTA
✅ Quick Start has excellent structure with 26 code examples
✅ CLI docs are comprehensive with 79 code examples
✅ Good visual hierarchy and consistent formatting
✅ No broken internal links detected

---

📊 Recommendations (Prioritized)

High Priority (Quick Wins - 1-4 hours total)

1. Add "Key Concepts" glossary page (1-2 hours) - Define frontmatter, MCP, workflow, lock file, compilation
2. Enhance Quick Start prerequisites (30 minutes) - Prominent callout box with ALL requirements
3. Add terminology tooltips (2-3 hours) - Hover definitions for frontmatter, MCP, agentic

Medium Priority (4-8 hours)

4. Split CLI page (1-2 hours) - Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced sections
5. Add "Complete Examples" page (3-4 hours) - 5-10 copy-pasteable workflows with full context
6. Add "Common Mistakes" section (1-2 hours) - Forgot to commit .lock.yml, permission errors, etc.

Lower Priority (1-2 weeks)

7. Interactive tutorial - Step-by-step with validation in Codespaces
8. Video walkthroughs - 2min/5min/10min videos
9. Better error docs - Link error messages to documentation

---

🔧 Technical Findings

Documentation Build

• ✅ Build successful (25.35s)
• ✅ 110 pages indexed
• ✅ No broken internal links

Content Structure

Page	Sections	Code Examples	Status
Homepage	4	3	✅ Good
Quick Start	7	26	⚠️ Needs clarity
CLI Commands	11	79	✅ Comprehensive
Creating Workflows	8	7	⚠️ Needs examples

---

📝 Conclusion

The documentation has a solid foundation with comprehensive content. Main issues:

1. Assumes too much prior knowledge - Define jargon upfront
2. Buries important context - Front-load key concepts
3. Lacks complete examples - Show full, copy-pasteable workflows

These are highly fixable in 1-2 days of focused work.

Overall grade: B (Good content, needs better onboarding)

---

🎯 Success Metrics

Track with actual beginners:

• Time to first successful workflow (target: < 10 minutes)
• % stuck on terminology (target: < 10%)
• % complete Quick Start without help (target: > 80%)

---

Note: Playwright browser automation encountered connectivity issues, so analysis was performed via HTML parsing. Screenshots were not captured but findings are based on thorough content structure analysis.

Generated by: Documentation Noob Test - Automated Analysis

AI generated by Documentation Noob Tester

• expires on Jan 29, 2026, 7:51 AM UTC

[github-actions[bot]]

This discussion was automatically closed because it expired on 2026-01-29T07:51:07.856Z.