Documentation for Nimble I.T.

This article is aimed more for the I.T. Professional than for the layperson, however the fundamentals can be applied to many areas outside of Information Technology.

There are many areas in I.T. where poor documentation is a pain point. Most often the first experience people have with this problem is in programming; code that is poorly annotated can be fine if you’re the only one working on a program and you know all the ins-and-outs of what you’re doing (though some would argue that even in this situation good notes will make things easier in the long run), however when you begin to work in a team environment where more than one pair of eyes has to look at the code, good notes become imperative to the success of the team.

This is not a phenomenon that is limited to programming. I have witnessed huge numbers of hours lost trying to reverse-engineer a system that was poorly (or not at all) documented. Occasionally some of these systems have to be completely rebuilt from the ground up in order to resolve some issue that can’t be tracked down, resulting in large expenses of both time and money. I have also often been called in to address issues left behind by an employee who has left an organization suddenly and there is little or no clue as to what said employee was actually doing (either through laziness, or in a misguided attempt to attain job security by being the only one who understands the systems they support).

In all of the above situations, it is fairly obvious how good documentation would help. However, in my experience many I.T. professionals and managers don’t realize that good documentation can also make a more nimble and efficient I.T. organization, especially in lean environments.

When systems are properly documented, organizations aren’t stuck with resources that can’t be reassigned because they are the only ones who can maintain their area of responsibility. Good documentation allows you to cherry pick your best talent for important projects without worrying about the “hole” that will be made in the organization by that personnel being reassigned. Training new hires becomes a lot easier when there is a good set of documented policies and procedures in place for any duties a trainee will be learning.

Getting there can be a challenge; leadership has to cultivate a culture of documentation. Projects cannot be signed off as completed without good documentation being in place. Documenting becomes a part of implementation, and not something done after the fact.

This can be made easier by getting the staff to buy in and understand that documentation works to everyone’s advantage. One of the biggest hurdles is overcoming the all too common belief that hording information about processes and systems is a way to obtain “job security”, it should be pointed out that this behavior has a side-effect of getting one stuck on the corporate ladder.
Good documentation can make all the difference in your I.T. environment, it’s not just for coders anymore!