There are tons of articles and suggestions on how to improve your work and career. But most tips or suggestions are hard to remember and some difficult to implement.
But if you could remember this one rule (even if you forget all the others) this will be guaranteed to improve your working style and further your career. And you already know this and you think “what’s the big deal?” “I already do it”. But trust me if you are in the 95% of the software population, you might think that you do it but you don’t. Even worse you might think this doesn’t help.
So what’s that one Golden rule?
It is to “Write it down!” or in software terms (Document it)
Huh! you might say. But document what and why?
Most issues that happen during project development are not technical. They are because of the difference in understanding, wrong assumptions, forgetting key points. These issues regularly happen between different team members, with the client and the management. And you know this happens but you have never given enough thought to it. And the one solution to all these problems is to “Write it down!“.
But What should you Document?
Meeting Minutes:- Meeting minutes and action items out of the meeting should always be documented. There might be a decision taken during one of your regular meetings that can have impact a year down the line. You might not remember the when and the why? Meeting Minutes can help you trace and understand it.
Also, clearly documented action items with the assignee & dates have more chances of getting addressed.
Business Requirements:- Even in a process-oriented organization, you can find many projects where the business requirements are not documented. Doing development without written (and preferably signed off) requirements is a sin. The source of most software bugs is usually this one issue. It has an adverse effect to project schedules and costs.
Even if you are getting work from your lead or manager, it’s important to get a written confirmation of your understanding of the task.
Key Decisions:- In a running project, there are many decisions that are taken every day at every level. But key decisions come out of anywhere. It could be in a formal meeting, one on one discussion, or even during a chat by the water cooler. But any decision that can have a bigger impact or is key to the project should always be documented. Such decisions should also be communicated in writing to all the relevant stakeholders.
HR Discussions:- You should always have a written copy of the discussions about performance, salary, terms of employment, etc.
Even if the other party fails to send written communication, you should send one and get a confirmation.
A verbal discussion or commitment doesn’t hold much water in such matters.
Reporting:- Never do verbal reporting. Reporting should always be through written communication. Written communication is proof that you have updated. With verbal communication, you are never sure if the other party has properly listened and understood.
Also, written reporting can serve as a work log and can be used to send any details many times. Additionally, with written reporting, you can clear off any wrong assumptions, address any potential issues.
When it comes to documenting, more is always less but you can’t spend all the time writing things down and there are tons of discussions every day that can’t always be documented. You need to find a good balance of what to document. Start with the above few suggestions. And with experience, you will figure out what else you should start documenting.
There will be moments where you would realize “Ah! if only I had written confirmation from the client, I would have convinced the management that the issue isn’t caused by us.” and then you will know instances like these should also be documented.
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