\Gsection{A3 Essentials}

An A3 contains a ``human friendly'' amount of information.
The size permits some depth and facts in the information,
while at the same time the size forces the author of the A3 to select
and process the information carefully.

We have the following guidelines when using A3's
as the unit of documentation and communication:
\begin{description}
\item[Capture ``hot'' topics] that are currently under discussion.
when topics are under discussion, then explicit diagrams facilitate the discussion.
The active use of the A3 will stimulate the evolution of the A3 itself.
\item[One topic per A3] so that every A3 is homogeneous.
The requirements for documents, defined in~\ref{sec:DGrequirements} also apply 
for A3 documents.
\item[Show multiple related views.]
The strength of the A3 format is that several diagrams can be shown at the same time.
These diagrams are different views on the same topic.
These views will be related.
These relations should be present in supportive, non-dominating, way, e.g. by the use of colors,
shapes, lines, labels, or naming conventions.
\item[Make the A3 digestable] by limiting the amount of content.
Note that the size limitation forces the authors to limit the amount of information.
\item[Make the diagrams and information specific,] for example by quantification.
Note that the risk of the size limitation is that too ``empty'' or
too glossy posters are made.
Good A3's have substance; specific information helps to make the A3 substantial.
\item[Practical visualizations] close to the experience of the stakeholders.
Good A3 documents engage the stakeholders helped by instant recognition of the
visualizations.
\end{description}

Note that the granularity and structuring guidelines
of~\ref{chapter:DocumentationGranularity} are applicable on A3 based documentation
as well, where the pay load size is limited by the A3 dimensions.
