Documentation is a dynamic skill stack

A “talent stack” is a term concept coined by Dilbert comic creator, Scott Adams. It is the idea that you can combine normal talents to be extraordinary. Scott Adams refers to his own talents where he has used some business knowledge, basic drawing skills, humor, and a strong work ethic to build a world-famous comic series empire.

You too can “stack” your talents for exceptional documentation. If you are an IT professional but happen to be an excellent writer (a rare combination I might add), you can “stack” these talents to create IT documentation that puts you leagues ahead of your teammates. You might have exceptional organizational skills but also are gifted at visual design techniques. In this case, stack your talents to design documentation systems that are engaging and fun to use and navigate.

While I agree with stacking “talent” when it comes to documentation, no one is born knowing how to document. No one enters the work world, for that matter either, really knowing how to document. Documentation is much more of a “skill” stack than a “talent” stack. Unfortunately, many Managers see the ability to document somewhat like the ability to breathe. (That is, it isn’t exactly unique or special.) But this is far from the truth. Documentation takes work to do well.

Looking for ideas for which skills to develop? Here are some of the key documentation skills to put in your skill stack!

Capturing and Note-Taking Skills

While these skills may seem so straightforward, it is surprising how few people do them well. Capturing information is the first step in the documentation process. You need skills for getting notes, information, materials, etc. into or onto something to start the documentation process.

Time Management, Calendar Planning, To-Do List Management

These are the skills where documentation strategy, self-help and personal productivity intersect. There is a strong tie between time management and documentation skills as applied to the exercise of getting more done. There are a lot of good books in your bookstore’s self-help section on managing your time, but I would recommend the master David Allen, made famous by bestseller Getting Things Done. His philosophy is a perfect match for documentation practices: organizing your life depends on a strong foundation of capturing and structuring all of the to-dos in your life.

Writing Skills

Writing skills are essential for your career, no matter what your profession. There are some courses to improve your technical writing skills, but these courses won’t do a lot to improve your ability, comfort, and speed at writing effectively. The only way to become a proficient and effective writer is to write a lot. Volunteer to do more writing at work, write more emails, write a letter to your aunt, write a blog, write a book—the key here is that you need to write!

Formatting, Visual Documentation and Process Modeling

An understanding of some basic formatting skills can really help you ensure your documents “pop” to a reader. Process modeling is highly effective for improving the quality of your documentation. However, I don’t recommend you over-invest in formal training. Process modeling can be learned through practice – just start adding diagrams to processes you are working on, draw diagrams in your meeting on the whiteboard, or you can even diagram your strategy for putting the kids to bed.

Basic Storage and Information Management Skills

Even if you aren’t looking to become an Information Management or Information Governance expert, basic Storage and Information Management skills are becoming more important as organizations are faced with increasing data and documents. Managing information is really everyone’s job even if it isn’t in your job title. I would recommend learning the basic principles of Information Governance, document workflow, metadata, and storage systems.

Human Psychology

?Documentation requires a degree of intuition into knowing what people want to see and hear. You can be “right” all you want about how lousy the new point-of-sale system is, but you need tact to write a memo to tell your boss what you are really thinking. You can pump out the strongest reports and repositories all you want, but they will be useless without having true connection with your audience. Documentation demands connection and engagement with people to make it effective. The skills of understanding human psychology is a skill that takes effort, thinking, and practice to develop to its fullest.

Here are some skills to get your documentation skill stack started! Have fun stacking. If you have any questions about how to develop documentation skills in your team or for yourself, please contact me at adrienne@riskoversight.ca. I look forward to hearing from you.