The Fine Line of Process Documentation

It’s likely that someday someone else will be doing the job you currently do today. They will thank you if you leave them a legacy of good process documentation. The person who will fill your void must learn how to do your job. That’s a tough process in itself because training people is often easier said than done.

The human mind tends to group tasks together once they are mastered. This can be a problem for someone learning the process for the first time. They must see each step individually, without your shortcuts, to fully understand what they need to do.

When you first start the documentation process you will be amazed at how many steps are in a simple daily procedure. Use something like filling in your time sheet as an example. You would think, “How would I explain filling in my time sheet?” Most likely your first answer would be a generic statement: I go to my computer, open up the file and fill it in. Though this statement is true, it is not the slightest bit helpful to someone who doesn’t already know where the file is located or how to fill out the form.

More information is needed. I sit down in my chair, breathe once, blink twice and use my right index finger to double click the right mouse button. More informative? Yes. Helpful? Not so much. When documenting a process one must find the “happy medium” between these two examples. You need to write something informative enough to help but not so detailed that it causes confusion.

When you are finished documenting the steps of the process you must then test them to make sure that what you have created is useful. To do this you need to find someone who doesn’t know anything about the process. Have them sit down with your document and see if they can complete the process. If they can complete it correctly and with minimal coaching, you have done a good job. If they cannot, not so good. All is not lost, however. Go back and revise the steps that caused the confusion. Try the test again, and if necessary repeat these steps until your test co-worker can complete the process with ease.

The main issue with process documentation is making it informative but concise. Write it so any average Joe can do your job. This is very important because the person who takes over your job will never be as smart as you, right?

===== Andrew Everett, Intern, Documentation Strategies