---
title: "Appraise"
description: "Discern the main qualities of the product and, if applicable, compare it to others."
doc_version: "2025-01-09"
last_updated: "2026-08-08"
canonical_url: "https://7act.org/actions/appraise/"
language: "en"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Appraise

Users of documentation are also potential customers or adopters. A software product or project thrives if its active users increase. A reader of documentation must be able to discern what are the main qualities of the product and, if applicable, compare it to others. This is a discovery process.

Two examples of docs that address appraisal somehow explicitly are [What is Databricks?](https://docs.databricks.com/en/introduction/index.html) and the [Splunk Observability Cloud Service Description](https://docs.splunk.com/observability/en/get-started/service-description.html) (which I created). They present the main strengths and positioning of the product, alongside bits that help prospects decide whether to go forward.

This dimension of understated selling is frequently neglected in documentation frameworks, letting SEO and marketing steer docs into something that isn't documentation. If docs are produced with appraisal in mind, then keeping marketing at bay is simpler, and also unlocks conversion metrics.


## What the user wants to do

Users of documentation are also potential customers or adopters. A reader must be able to discern the main qualities of the product and compare it to others. This is a discovery process.

## Signals that your docs miss it

- Support and sales answer the same 'what is this?' questions repeatedly.
- Marketing copy, not documentation, is where prospects learn what the product does.
- There is no page that states the product's positioning or main strengths.

## Two examples in the wild

- [What is Databricks?](https://docs.databricks.com/en/introduction/index.html)
- [Splunk Observability Cloud Service Description](https://docs.splunk.com/observability/en/get-started/service-description.html)

## Common content types

- DITA: <topic>, <concept>
- Diataxis: No direct equivalent (closest: Explanation)
- Good Docs Project: Overview, Landing page

## One metric

conversion — Conversion rate from docs to product adoption.

## Sitemap

- [Seven-Action Documentation Model](https://7act.org/index.md)
- [Introduction](https://7act.org/rationale/index.md)
- [Actions](https://7act.org/actions/index.md)
- [Appraise](https://7act.org/actions/appraise/index.md)
- [Understand](https://7act.org/actions/understand/index.md)
- [Explore](https://7act.org/actions/explore/index.md)
- [Practice](https://7act.org/actions/practice/index.md)
- [Remember](https://7act.org/actions/remember/index.md)
- [Develop](https://7act.org/actions/develop/index.md)
- [Troubleshoot](https://7act.org/actions/troubleshoot/index.md)
- [Glossary](https://7act.org/glossary/index.md)
- [Seven-Action Documentation skill](https://7act.org/skill/index.md)