Documentation as a Decision-Making Tool
In software projects, documentation is much more than a record of what exists — it is a vital tool for guiding and supporting decisions throughout the development lifecycle. Well-crafted documentation helps you understand why certain choices were made, clarifies requirements, and provides a clear reference for evaluating options.
How Documentation Captures Decisions and Guides Teams
Design Choices
- Documents record the reasons behind selecting a particular architecture, such as choosing a microservices approach over a monolithic design;
- Teams can refer to the documentation to understand why certain frameworks (like
Spring Boot) were chosen for a Java project; - New developers quickly grasp past decisions without needing to ask the original team members.
Trade-Offs
- Documentation details what was gained and lost in each decision, such as prioritizing performance over readability in a critical module;
- Teams can review documented trade-offs, like why a synchronous API was selected instead of an asynchronous one, to avoid revisiting the same debates;
- Clear records help teams balance project needs and stakeholder expectations.
Reasoning and Rationale
- Teams document the reasoning behind rejecting certain solutions, such as avoiding a third-party library due to licensing or support concerns;
- By reviewing past rationale, you can prevent repeating mistakes, like implementing a feature that previously led to maintenance issues;
- Rationales help justify choices to stakeholders and maintain organizational learning.
Real-World Example: Preventing Mistakes
- A team documents why they avoided using a specific database due to previous scaling issues. When a new member proposes the same database, the documentation provides context, saving time and preventing repeated errors.
Real-World Example: Onboarding and Consistency
- When onboarding, new developers review documentation to understand why RESTful APIs were used instead of GraphQL. This ensures consistent decision-making and reduces onboarding time.
By capturing decisions, trade-offs, and rationales, documentation becomes a living resource that guides teams, preserves organizational knowledge, and supports better, faster decision-making.
Tak for dine kommentarer!
Spørg AI
Spørg AI
Spørg om hvad som helst eller prøv et af de foreslåede spørgsmål for at starte vores chat
Fantastisk!
Completion rate forbedret til 8.33Documentation as a Decision-Making Tool
Stryg for at vise menuen
In software projects, documentation is much more than a record of what exists — it is a vital tool for guiding and supporting decisions throughout the development lifecycle. Well-crafted documentation helps you understand why certain choices were made, clarifies requirements, and provides a clear reference for evaluating options.
How Documentation Captures Decisions and Guides Teams
Design Choices
- Documents record the reasons behind selecting a particular architecture, such as choosing a microservices approach over a monolithic design;
- Teams can refer to the documentation to understand why certain frameworks (like
Spring Boot) were chosen for a Java project; - New developers quickly grasp past decisions without needing to ask the original team members.
Trade-Offs
- Documentation details what was gained and lost in each decision, such as prioritizing performance over readability in a critical module;
- Teams can review documented trade-offs, like why a synchronous API was selected instead of an asynchronous one, to avoid revisiting the same debates;
- Clear records help teams balance project needs and stakeholder expectations.
Reasoning and Rationale
- Teams document the reasoning behind rejecting certain solutions, such as avoiding a third-party library due to licensing or support concerns;
- By reviewing past rationale, you can prevent repeating mistakes, like implementing a feature that previously led to maintenance issues;
- Rationales help justify choices to stakeholders and maintain organizational learning.
Real-World Example: Preventing Mistakes
- A team documents why they avoided using a specific database due to previous scaling issues. When a new member proposes the same database, the documentation provides context, saving time and preventing repeated errors.
Real-World Example: Onboarding and Consistency
- When onboarding, new developers review documentation to understand why RESTful APIs were used instead of GraphQL. This ensures consistent decision-making and reduces onboarding time.
By capturing decisions, trade-offs, and rationales, documentation becomes a living resource that guides teams, preserves organizational knowledge, and supports better, faster decision-making.
Tak for dine kommentarer!
