📚 Documentation Noob Test Report - November 18, 2025

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📚 Documentation Noob Test Report - November 18, 2025

I navigated the GitHub Agentic Workflows documentation as a complete beginner who has never used the tool before. Here's what I found.

🎯 TL;DR

Overall Impression: Documentation is well-structured with good navigation and code examples, but beginners will struggle with missing context about costs/time and jargon terms used before explanation.

Quick Wins Recommended:

1. Add cost/time estimates to Prerequisites (2 hours)
2. Define jargon terms on first use (2 hours)
3. Add "Verify Your Setup" section to Quick Start (1 hour)

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🟢 What Works Well

✅ Clear homepage - Immediately obvious what the tool does
✅ Prominent experimental warning - Sets expectations appropriately
✅ Good code examples - 8+ examples in Quick Start, 26 in CLI docs
✅ Easy navigation - Found Getting Started, Examples, Reference easily
✅ Comprehensive CLI docs - All major commands documented with examples

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🟡 Confusing Areas for Beginners

1. Prerequisites Missing Critical Context ⚠️

Page: /setup/quick-start/

What's Missing:

• ❌ No cost information - Beginners don't know if they need to pay for API access or how much
• ❌ No time estimate - "How long will this take?" is unanswered
• ⚠️ Vague repository requirements - Should I use a test repo? Is it safe for production?

Suggested Addition:

**Time Required:** ~15-30 minutes for initial setup

**API Access (Choose One):**
- GitHub Copilot CLI (free with Copilot subscription)
- Anthropic Claude API (~$3-15 per workflow)
- OpenAI API (~$1-10 per workflow)

**Note:** Start with a test repository to understand costs before using in production.

2. Jargon Used Before Explanation 📚

Terms that confused me:

• "frontmatter" - Used in Quick Start, defined later in "How It Works"
• "MCP" - Acronym not expanded on first use (Model Context Protocol)
• "trial mode" - What makes it "safe"? Not explained
• "workflow lock" - Referenced but not defined

Impact: Creates unnecessary cognitive load for beginners

Recommendation:

• Define terms on first use
• Add glossary or tooltips
• Use plain language: "configuration section" instead of "frontmatter"

3. API Key Setup Assumes Too Much Knowledge 🔑

Page: Quick Start - Step 3

Issues:

• Multiple API options presented without guidance on which to choose
• GitHub PAT creation assumes familiarity with:
  • "Resource owner" concept
  • Why organizations can't be used
  • Fine-grained tokens vs classic tokens
• Error message "If you are not finding this option, review steps 2 and 3" is unclear

Recommendation:

• Add decision tree: "Which API should I use?"
• Include screenshots of token creation UI
• Explain why each option matters

4. Examples Lack Consistent Structure 📝

Issue: Example pages don't follow a predictable pattern

Missing from examples:

• ❌ Clear "How to use this" section
• ❌ Expected output or results
• ❌ Full workflow code shown inline
• ❌ Screenshots of what to expect

Recommended Template:

## [Example Name]

### What It Does
[1-2 sentence description]

### Quick Install
gh aw add githubnext/agentics/example-name

### What To Expect
[What happens when this runs]

### Full Code
[Complete workflow with annotations]

### How It Works
[Technical details]

### Customize It
[Adaptation ideas]

5. Missing "What Happens Next" Guidance 🤔

After Quick Start completion, I don't know:

• ✓ Install successful - but now what?
• How do I verify it's working?
• Where do I see results?
• What should I try first?

Recommendation:
Add "Verify Your Setup" section with:

• Commands to check installation
• How to trigger a test run
• Where to view results (with screenshots)
• Next steps suggestions

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🔴 Critical Issues

None found! All essential pages load, prerequisites exist, and installation steps are present.

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📊 Pages Tested

✅ Home page - Clear value prop
⚠️ Quick Start - Needs cost/time context
✅ CLI Commands - Excellent examples
⚠️ Creating Workflows - Jargon issues
✅ Overview - Good introduction
✅ How It Works - Helpful mental model
⚠️ Examples (various) - Structure inconsistent

---

🎯 Prioritized Recommendations

🚀 Quick Wins (1-2 hours each)

1. Add cost/time to Prerequisites - HIGH IMPACT
2. Define jargon on first use - HIGH IMPACT
3. Add "Verify Setup" section - HIGH IMPACT

🔧 Medium-Term (Half day each)

4. Standardize example page structure
5. Add API selection decision tree
6. Add screenshots for token creation

🔮 Long-Term (Multiple days)

7. Interactive setup wizard
8. Comprehensive troubleshooting guide
9. Video walkthrough

---

🧪 Testing Methodology

• Navigated docs as complete beginner
• Used automated scripts to analyze content
• Checked for jargon, missing prerequisites, unclear steps
• Evaluated 10+ pages across setup, examples, and reference sections

Limitations: Could not capture screenshots due to environment restrictions; analysis based on text content.

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💡 Bottom Line

The documentation successfully enables getting started, but beginners will have more questions than answers initially. The structure is solid; the main gaps are in context (costs, time, expectations) and terminology (jargon before definitions).

Most impactful fix: Add cost/time estimates and "what to expect" guidance to Quick Start. This removes the biggest barrier to entry for new users.

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Test Environment: Local docs build, localhost:4321
Date: November 18, 2025
Persona: Complete beginner, no AI workflow experience

Full detailed report with 342 lines of analysis available at /tmp/noob-test-findings.md

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Labels: documentation, user-experience, automated-testing

AI generated by Documentation Noob Tester

[pelikhan]

/plan

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This discussion was automatically closed because it was created by an agentic workflow more than 1 week ago.