Explore the power of proper documentation in this comprehensive guide. Understand how documentation serves as a secret weapon for CTOs, eliminating guesswork, speeding up onboarding, and enhancing productivity in startups. We delve into the importance of documentation in knowledge sharing, reducing the need for meetings, and fostering a documentation-first culture. I provide practical tips on creating clear, concise, and accessible documents, and addresses potential pushbacks. Whether you're a CTO or an engineering manager, this article underscores the mantra: Document to empower, document to grow.
  • @thesporkeffect
    4•7 months ago

    Everyone talks a big documentation game and then hoards their personal notes like state secrets

  • @RedditWanderer
    1•7 months ago

    The problem is most software evolves. The code you wrote is immediately legacy because you technically could have gone further/did more. It’s always a balance that is inevitably at odds with maximizing profits.

    Documentation is no good when it’s not accurate, and keeping it accurate costs a big chunk of money for which investors (or companies) see no value.

    Sure, if you are releasing a product for people to use, it should have documentation. For documenting internal projects and workflows, an up to date readme costs a lot less, and provides more value. I’ll write good documentation for products when the company sees the monetary value of it. If they’re going to fire experienced people, spend enormous amounts ramping them up, having documentation or not becomes meaningless.