documentfocused

Documentfocused is a design and information-management paradigm that treats documents as the primary unit of content and interaction. In a documentfocused approach, user workflows, data models, and interfaces are organized around discrete documents rather than pages, screens, or tasks alone.

Key characteristics include first-class documents, explicit document lifecycle management, rich metadata, versioning, provenance, search and retrieval across documents, and permissions at the document level. Collaboration features such as annotation and commenting, simultaneous editing, and change tracking are common.

Common contexts include document management systems, knowledge bases, content management systems, and collaborative editors; legal, regulatory, and archival settings benefit from version history and document lineage.

Relation to standards: Many documentfocused systems leverage structured formats (XML, JSON-based schemas, Markdown) and metadata standards (Dublin Core, schema.org). Document-oriented databases and indexers are common. The term is related to, but distinct from, page-focused, task-focused, or form-based design.

Limitations and criticisms: can introduce complexity, overhead, and rigidity; not all tasks map naturally to documents; effective governance of metadata and documents is often required to realize the full benefits of a documentfocused approach.