Project Critique for Django

Anshu Pathak, Logan Butler, Brandon Ladakos

November 5, 2025

Project critique for Django

Django overview

Django is a Python tool that helps you build websites quickly and safely. It keeps your work organized by separating your data, what the website does, and how it looks to users.

First Steps in Django documentation

  • Designed for beginners new to Django or programming.
  • Includes setup and installation guidance.
  • Provides an 8-part step-by-step tutorial covering core concepts.
  • Offers advanced tutorials on reusable apps and contributing to Django.
  • Links to help resources like FAQ, index, and bug tracker.

Organization of Django documentation

  • Tutorials: Step-by-step guides for building web applications; ideal for beginners.
  • Topic Guides: Explain key concepts at a high level and provide background information.
  • Reference Guides: Technical API references; assume basic understanding of Django.
  • How-to Guides: Practical recipes for solving specific problems; more advanced than tutorials.

Django in relation to Diátaxis

  • Django utilizes Tutorials/Learning-oriented documentation.
  • Django utilizes How-To Guides/Goal-oriented documentation.
  • Django utilizes References/Information-oriented documentation.
  • Django separates documentation types.
  • Django documentation achieves Functional Quality under Diataxis standards (accurate, complete, useful, consistent).
  • Django documentation does not achieve Deep Quality under Diataxis Standards (poor flow, low anticipation of user needs, and an unsatisfying user experience).
  • Django documentation somewhat writes with user goal in mind (installing and using Django).

Strengths of Django documentation

  • Offers a wide variety of types of documentation to use such as Tutorials, How-To-Guides, and References.
  • Separates its documentation into different subsections for easier use.
  • Provides beginner and advanced documentation for each category.
  • Provides well-presented code examples for each document in the documentation.
  • Has an FAQ to answer commonly asked questions.
  • Django provides extensive documentation on every aspect of the framework.

Weaknesses of Django Documentation

  • Docs Are Extensive: Long and detailed documentation can intimidate beginners.
  • Limited Practical Examples: Focuses more on describing features than showing real-world applications.
  • Lacks Visual Examples: Makes understanding complex processes more difficult.
  • Does Not Provide Best Practices: Explains how, but not when or where to use certain approaches.

Suggestions for Improvement

  • Simplify Documentation: Create more clear beginner-friendly sections to make the docs easier to navigate.
  • Add Use Cases: Include practical use cases and complete project examples to demonstrate real applications.
  • Add Visual Aids: Add diagrams or flowcharts to explain how data flows through Django components.
  • Add Best Practice Guidelines: Provide official guidance on common design patterns, project organization, and performance optimization.

Questions?