How can you balance comprehensive documentation and efficient communication?

Extensive, long documentation gathers very little interest, I have seen documents run into so many pages that the reader loses track of it. An ideal one should be clear and concise with an indexing for users to navigate to topics relevant to their role. Example : Functional overviews are great for the whole team, however technical analysis will be used by the engineering teams. If there is an agreed template, try and stick with it. For formal communications , email would be the best choice ,chats, discussion boards and calls would work well for more collaborative needs. With agile, daily stand ups, scrum boards are very effective for quick feedback. In a very focussed 1x1 discussion in-person, I vote for a regular white board and a marker

Some strategies for achieving this balance include: 1. Using templates or standardized formats for documentation. (make sure all are trained) 2. Utilizing tools for collaboration and real-time updates (think, one source of truth) 3. Regularly reviewing and updating documentation and relying on clear and concise communication methods such as bullet points or summaries. (again, one source of truth) Finding the right balance can lead to better understanding, improved efficiency, and stronger teamwork. #comunication #process #tech

It is important to define and develop your documentation keeping the user's perspective in mind. Avoid creating a system-centered or product-center documentation, but make it user-centered. The communication should be tailored from outside-in, that is from a customer need, and not from a system capability.

I like the idea of using agile methodologies, such as Scrum (quoted on the article), to promote regular communication and collaboration. Short, focused meetings (stand-ups) and iterative development cycles can reduce the need for extensive upfront documentation

The old and traditional way to do documentation is to manually write everything from scratch. The new and massively easier and better way is to never open up a word processor and use an app that has large language models embedded within it so that you can use AI to rapidly create documentation in seconds. In addition, don't forget the power of photos and video screencasts when it comes to documentation. A picture really is worth a thousand words. This means anything involving a traditional word processor is just doomed to be ineffective from day one. One of the really interesting needs we've seen in our product is the ability to measure engagement on reading via Google Analytics - to know exactly what was read, how and when.

User interface and user interactions are areas that require excellent communication and documentation from the UI/UX team to the Dev team. For sure, Figma is a great tool, and click-throughs in Figma are also great for seeing the flow. A pro tip I suggest to the companies I coach is to have the UI/UX team create a loom Video with their voice-over. So, the full intent of the designer is communicated. Also, each dev member from FE to BE can watch the video as needed and make sure they bring to life the experience the design team created.

In the days of waterfall design, it was critical to develop excruciating detailed specs for the teams to implement. Once we adopted continuous innovation and got on the Agile methodology, did that mean we could abandon specs? Not at all, but the purpose and makeup of the spec evolved. Let's make sure we are documenting appropriately, which largely means BE concise!

Documentation and communication are essential aspects of any enterprise software project. They help you keep track of the project's scope, progress, and quality, as well as align the expectations and feedback of the stakeholders and the team members. However, too much or too little of either can lead to confusion, inefficiency, and frustration. How can you balance comprehensive documentation and efficient communication in your enterprise software projects? Here are some tips to help you find the optimal balance.

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