Documentation - Not What You Think It Is

Writing documentation is about problem solving. Not the act of technically describing something. 

Who am I writing for?

What job do they need done?

What problems prevent them from getting that job done easily?

Why do I need to document how the job to be done, is “done”? Why is it so complicated that someone has to be told how to do it?

Or worst; why can’t they find the documentation?

Slightly worse; why don’t they understand the documentation?

And then how do I measure the success of my problem solving? Are the actions that I am taking effective? How do I solve this problem better?

What have I learned that I need to share? How do I share the knowledge that I have learned?

Who else do I need to motivate to help me solve the problems that I have found? How do I multiply my efforts to solve the problems that I have discovered?

Don't write for the sake of writing. Solve problems. Sometimes by writing documentation.