Practices

• Docs are written in plain text formats such as Markdown or reStructured Text.
• Docs are stored as flat files, not database entries.
• Docs are authored in a code editor of the writer's choice, not a monolithic authoring application.
• Docs are kept under version control.
• Doc versions are organized in parallel to product versions.
• Docs are built and deployed from source in an automated process that mirrors product deployment.
• Docs are automatically tested for internal consistency and compliance to style guides.
• Whenever reasonable, writers use the same tools and processes as developers.
• Writers are integrated into the development team.

Benefits

• Writers have more control over their authoring environment.
• Less friction in the authoring process.
• Elimination of inconsistencies between docs and product.
• Less need for human proofreading.
• Coordinated releases of docs with product.
• Developers are more likely to contribute to docs.
• Writers and developers have more awareness of and respect for each others' work.
• Authoring and deployment tools are mostly free; hosting requires less overhead.