Some time ago, I came across a post on LinkedIn by a professional named Felipe Ramos, whom I don't know personally, but his insights caught my attention. He addresses a point that is often overlooked in companies. As you can see below, he talks about the importance of technical documentation:
Technical documentation is not a luxury
As crucial as keeping an ICT infrastructure operational, the technical documentation of a computer network allows your team to comprehend the designed environment, facilitates swift troubleshooting processes, and encourages a continuous culture of knowledge sharing.
Building on Felipe's insights, we can confidently assert that documenting Policies, Standards, Procedures, and Processes, whether technical or not, should become a routine practice in companies. The practice of documentation is so crucial that it's not by chance that every management system standard has the requirement for "Documented Information." In the case of ISO/IEC 27001:2022, this requirement is outlined in section 7.5.
While the practice of documentation might seem bureaucratic, it brings fundamental benefits, such as:
Centralizing information in one place: When documentation is a practice, there's a tendency to make it available in a centralized location, making it easy for everyone to find the desired information. Whether in a folder, a shared repository, or an intranet, centralization facilitates access.
Avoiding duplicate work: If something is already documented, you won't need to start from scratch. Instead, you have the opportunity to analyze what's recorded and perhaps suggest improvements.
Knowledge base: As Felipe has already highlighted, documentation encourages a continuous culture of knowledge sharing. Consulting the documentation helps everyone understand how a process, task, or project functions.
Preventing information retention: Imagine a scenario where a team has a professional who exclusively understands a particular topic. If this professional leaves, and a specific procedure they knew how to do hasn't been documented, the team will face challenges. No one is irreplaceable, but without documentation, the team would certainly struggle.
So, are we ready to document what we do, now that we see the positive side of things?
=]