How Do We Judge Documentation?
Many people judge documentation by:
• Fancy formatting
• Difficult English
• Number of pages
• Attractive design
These things may help.
But they do not determine quality.
A beautifully designed document can be useless.
A simple notebook can be extremely valuable.
The real question is:
Did the documentation achieve its purpose?
________________________________________
The 12 Tests of Good Documentation
1. Clarity; Can people understand it easily?
2. Accuracy; Is the information correct?
3. Relevance; Does it serve its intended purpose?
4. Organization; Is information arranged properly?
5. Logic; Does the document flow naturally?
6. Precision; Does it avoid unnecessary ambiguity?
7. Consistency; Does it avoid contradictions?
8. Completeness; Is important information missing?
9. Actionability; Can somebody act on it?
10. Recall Value; Can it help us remember later?
11. Transferability; Can another person use it?
12. Reusability; Can it create value again in future?
The more tests a document passes, the stronger it becomes.
________________________________________
Good Documentation Creates Assets
Poor documentation creates archives.
Good documentation creates assets.
There is a difference.
An archive stores information.
An asset creates value.
Examples:
• A forgotten report is an archive.
• A training manual is an asset.
• A useful checklist is an asset.
• A framework is an asset.
• A case study is an asset.
The best documentation continues helping people long after it is created.
________________________________________
Documentation and Professional Success
Every profession depends upon documentation.
Doctors maintain patient records.
Scientists document experiments.
Lawyers document evidence.
Journalists document facts.
Engineers document designs.
Consultants document learning.
Founders document decisions.
Without documentation, most professional knowledge disappears.
That is why accomplished professionals are often excellent documenters.
________________________________________
A Simple Exercise
Choose one activity from your day.
It could be:
• A class attended
• A meeting joined
• A field visit
• A discussion with a customer
• An internship activity
Now document it in one page.
Then ask:
• Is it clear?
• Is it accurate?
• Can someone else understand it?
• Can somebody act on it?
• Will it still be useful after six months?
The answers will tell you whether your documentation is weak, average, or strong.
________________________________________
Final Thought
Most people think documentation is about preserving information.
The best professionals understand something deeper.
Documentation is about preserving learning.
Information tells us what happened.
Documentation helps ensure that the learning from what happened is not lost.
That is why documentation is not an administrative activity.
It is one of the most powerful tools for personal growth, professional excellence, and organizational learning.
Documentation Is Not Always Writing
Many people think documentation means writing.
Not necessarily.
Documentation can happen through:
• Notes
• Reports
• Photographs
• Videos
• Drawings
• Maps
• Demonstrations
• Stories
• Rituals
• Practices
• Behaviour
For thousands of years, human beings documented knowledge long before books existed.
A grandmother teaching recipe is documentation.
A farmer teaching cultivation method is documentation.
A carpenter teaching an apprentice is documentation.
Documentation is not the format.
Documentation is the preservation of knowledge.
________________________________________
What Does Documentation also Capture?
A good documentation system captures many things.
Decisions
Why was a particular decision taken?
Processes
How is a task performed?
Learning
What worked?
What failed?
Knowledge
What do we know today?
Relationships
Who knows whom?
Who helped whom?
History
How did we reach this stage?
Intellectual Capital
What new ideas, methods, frameworks, or solutions have been created?
Good documentation preserves not only information but also understanding.
