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# Documentation - Not What You Think It Is
- URL: https://www.darlison.com/documentation-not-what-you-think-it-is/
- Published: 2017-05-29T13:43:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-01T10:14:42.000Z
- Description: 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 co...
- Author: Byron Darlison
- Tags: #Migrated-1760990770760, #sqs, #Import 2025-10-20 16:06

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.