Planning Project Structure Before Document Authoring

Defining the Project Scope Before You Create It

Before you click Create project in Atloria, decide exactly what the new workspace is meant to hold. This step matters because the project name, description, page organization, and contributor access should all reflect the documentation scope you agreed on earlier in Managing Project Setup Decisions After Onboarding.

Start by confirming the basics with your stakeholders:

• The documentation set name that should appear in the project list and workspace
• The main audience for the content
• Whether the project covers one product, one release, or several ongoing content streams
• What content belongs inside this project and what should stay outside it
• Who owns the project after setup
• Who reviews content before it is considered ready
• What “ready for authoring” means for your team

It helps to gather the planning inputs before opening the project setup flow. In practice, that usually means collecting:

• The approved project name
• A short project description
• Expected top-level sections such as guides, references, release notes, or internal review pages
• The first contributor list
• Any required templates or starter pages
• Naming patterns your team wants writers to follow

These early choices shape what users see right away in Atloria. If your team plans to separate guides from reference content, the opening page tree should reflect that from day one. If only a small group should edit early drafts, assign access accordingly during setup instead of fixing it later. If the project will support multiple content streams, plan a structure that makes those streams easy to recognize in the left navigation.

A well-scoped project feels organized the first time a writer opens it. A loosely defined project usually leads to misplaced pages, unclear ownership, and rework before drafting can begin.

Aligning Documentation Goals with Team Roles

Once the scope is clear, match the project goals to the people who will work in the Atloria workspace. The goal is not just to create a project, but to make sure everyone knows who decides the structure, who writes the pages, and who signs off before content moves forward.

For most teams, these responsibilities break down into three working roles:

At kickoff, record the project goals in a way that can guide setup decisions inside Atloria. Useful goals include:

• Publishing deadlines
• Content quality expectations
• Review checkpoints
• Maintenance expectations after launch
• The first content types to produce

Those goals should turn into visible workspace decisions. For example, if release notes are a launch requirement, they should appear as a clear top-level section. If only certain pages need formal review, those pages should be easy to identify in the structure and handoff notes. If multiple contributors will draft content, they need edit access from the start.

The handoff between setup and writing should also be agreed early. Decide:

• Who confirms the workspace is ready
• Who reviews the page structure before writers begin
• How writers are told that drafting can start
• Which first pages or milestones are assigned immediately

When these role decisions are made up front, Atloria becomes a working space for coordinated writing rather than a blank project waiting for direction.

Setting Up the Workspace for the First Writing Cycle

After planning is approved, create the project workspace in Atloria using the agreed project name and description. These details are more than labels—they help everyone recognize the project in the project list and understand its purpose as soon as they open it.

1. Open the project creation flow and enter the approved project name and description.
2. Create the starting structure based on the planned content model.
3. Add the first contributors who need access for setup, writing, and review.
4. Prepare the starter content your team expects to see on day one.

The starting structure should match how your team plans to write. If the project will begin with user guides, reference pages, and release notes, those sections should appear clearly in the page tree. If internal review content needs to stay separate from public-facing pages, create a distinct area for that from the beginning. Writers work faster when they can tell where each page belongs just by looking at the navigation.

Contributor setup is just as important. Give writers access to the areas where they will draft content, make sure reviewers can open the pages they need to check, and keep project-level setup access with the people responsible for maintaining the workspace. It is much easier to assign the right access before drafting starts than to pause writing later because someone cannot open or edit the correct section.

Starter assets should also be visible immediately. Depending on your plan, that may include:

• Template pages
• Placeholder pages for priority topics
• Writing guidance pages
• A location for review tracking
• Shared content planning notes

A good first-writing setup in Atloria should feel ready for action. When a writer enters the workspace, they should see where to start, what to use, and who else is involved.

Confirming Authoring Standards Before Writers Begin

Before anyone writes the first draft, make the project rules visible inside Atloria. A project can be technically created and still not be usable if writers do not know how to title pages, where to place drafts, or how to signal that a page is ready for review.

Set the page-level standards first. At minimum, your team should agree on:

• How page titles should be written
• What metadata needs to be completed
• Which section pattern each page should follow
• Which terms, product names, and voice rules writers must use consistently

These standards should not live only in meeting notes. Put them somewhere writers can find as soon as they enter the workspace, such as a guidance page or a clearly named starter page in the project tree.

Next, define how the workspace should be used during drafting. Writers need to know:

• Which area is for draft pages
• Where final or review-ready pages should appear
• Where shared assets are stored
• How in-progress content is labeled
• How ownership is shown for each content area

Visible naming patterns help a lot here. If your team uses a specific label for draft content or a consistent naming style for release pages, apply that pattern from the start. If each section has an owner, make sure that ownership is documented where contributors can see it.

A practical authoring-readiness check should confirm that the workspace includes:

• A usable page tree
• At least one starter template
• Clear page naming rules
• Shared writing guidance
• A visible review path
• Assigned owners for the first content areas

When these standards are visible in Atloria at launch, writers spend less time asking where things go and more time producing consistent content.

Handing Off the Project from Setup to Ongoing Writing

The handoff from setup to writing is the point where the project stops being an administrative task and becomes an active documentation workspace. In Atloria, that handoff should happen only after the structure, access, and writing rules are confirmed.

1. Review the final project structure with the people who approved the scope.
2. Confirm that contributors can enter the workspace and reach the sections they need.
3. Check that templates, starter pages, and writing guidance are already in place.
4. Approve the workspace for drafting and notify the writing team.
5. Assign the first pages or milestones so work begins with clear direction.

The Documentation Manager should verify that the workspace still matches the agreed documentation goals. That includes checking whether the top-level sections reflect the approved scope, whether the first writing priorities are visible, and whether the review approach is clear enough for writers and reviewers to follow.

The Project Administrator should confirm the setup details inside Atloria: project name, description, page structure, contributor access, and any shared planning pages or review locations. If writers are expected to begin immediately, nothing essential should still be “coming soon” inside the workspace.

At handoff, the Technical Writer should receive a clear starting package inside the project itself:

• Confirmed page locations
• The template or starter page to use
• Review process expectations
• Any project-specific writing constraints
• The first assigned topics or milestones

A short kickoff note in the workspace can make this transition much smoother. It can point writers to the correct sections, identify owners, and state which pages should be drafted first.

After this handoff, the project should feel active and writable—not merely created.

Verifying the Project Is Ready for Content Creation

Before drafting begins, do one final readiness check in Atloria. This is where you confirm that the workspace is not only present in the project list, but actually prepared for sustained content creation.

Start with the structure. Open the project and compare the visible page tree to the approved scope. Make sure no top-level section is missing. If your team planned separate areas for guides, references, release notes, or internal review pages, those areas should already exist and be clearly named.

Then verify access by role. Each person should be able to reach the part of the workspace they need:

• Writers need edit access in their assigned sections
• Reviewers need visibility into the pages they will check
• Administrators need access to maintain project setup and contributor controls

Also confirm that the handoff materials are complete. Writers should not need to search across messages or meetings to understand how to begin. The workspace should already show the documented goals, ownership, writing standards, and first priorities.

Common readiness problems usually show up in a few predictable ways:

• The scope is still unclear, so pages do not fit neatly into the structure
• Contributors can open the project but cannot edit the right sections
• Starter pages or templates are missing
• No review path has been agreed
• Ownership for major sections is not visible

Correct these issues before anyone starts drafting. It is better to pause for a short cleanup than to let writers create pages in the wrong place or follow different standards.

Once this check is complete, continue with Managing Project Creation Choices and Setup Readiness to confirm the workspace is fully prepared for the next stage of project work.

Overview

This stage of project setup in Atloria focuses on planning the workspace before active writing begins. You are not repeating onboarding choices here—you are turning those earlier decisions into a practical project structure that writers and reviewers can use immediately. If you still need to revisit the earlier decision stage, return to Managing Project Setup Decisions After Onboarding.

The main goal is to make sure the new project is organized around real documentation work. That includes confirming the project name and purpose, deciding what belongs in the workspace, preparing the page tree, assigning the right contributors, and making writing standards visible from the start. In Atloria, these choices affect what users see in the project list, how they move through the workspace, and whether drafting can begin without confusion.

This planning step is especially useful when:

• A new documentation project is about to be created
• Multiple contributors will write or review content
• The team needs clear separation between content types
• The first writing cycle must begin quickly after setup
• Stakeholders want approval and ownership defined before drafting starts

By the end of this process, the project workspace should have a clear structure, known owners, visible standards, and an agreed handoff into authoring. That means writers can open Atloria, find the right section, use the correct starter materials, and begin drafting without waiting for more setup decisions.

Prerequisites

Before you work through this planning stage in Atloria, make sure the earlier setup decisions are already settled. This document assumes the project idea has been approved and that your team is ready to turn that idea into a usable workspace.

You should have the following ready:

• A confirmed project purpose
• An approved project name
• A clear understanding of the intended audience
• Agreement on whether the project covers one product, one release, or multiple content streams
• A first list of contributors who need access
• A draft of the top-level content areas the workspace should include
• Any required templates, starter pages, or writing guidance
• Agreement on who approves content and who maintains the workspace

It also helps if the team has already discussed:

• Which pages need formal review
• Which content types should be written first
• How ownership will be shown for each section
• What “ready for authoring” means for this project

If account access or sign-in is still being sorted out, use Accessing and Registering Your Atloria Account or Signing In to Atloria and Solving Access Problems before continuing. If the project itself has not yet been created, review Creating Projects and Completing Onboarding and Choosing Between Manual and Connected Project Setup.

Having these items ready will make the setup screens in Atloria much easier to complete and will reduce rework once your writers begin using the workspace.