Revealing actual documentation usage in software maintenance through war stories

War stories are a form of qualitative data that capture informants’ specific accounts of surmounting great challenges. The rich contextual detail afforded by this approach warrants its inclusion in the methodological arsenal of empirical software engineering research. We ground this assertion in an exemplar field study that examined the use of documentation in software maintenance environments. Specific examples are unpacked to reveal a depth of insight that would not have been possible using standard interviews. This afforded a better understanding of the complex relationship between project personnel and documentation, including individuals’ roles as pointers, gatekeepers, or barriers to documentation.