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Journals by EmailHave you reached the point where you have forgotten more about the products you document than most people will ever know about them?
I find myself having to check my own help content or other materials for information that I wrote myself to answer my question or someone else’s. That’s not so bad, except I look less like an expert.
The worse situation would come if someone were to ask me where I got a piece of information about a certain application screen or business process. “Who told you that?” the analyst or a stakeholder may ask. In a number of cases I wouldn’t have an answer. I usually have a pretty good idea who told me something, especially if it came out in a content review process, but I don’t always know for sure.
It’s similar to someone asking you where you learned to count to one hundred. You probably can’t remember if you learned it from your parents or from your kindergarten teacher. All you know is that you learned it somewhere.
This has made me wonder if I should keep track of the facts I learn about the applications I document. My sources vary:
- Designers
- Prototype notes
- Testers
- Business analysts
- Other SMEs
- Stakeholders
If I were to keep track of everything, especially as I gain tidbits here and there, in conversations and meetings, my archive of assembled information could become quite large.
It’s also not necessary because the documentation itself becomes the repository of the information. It’s not so important that anyone knows which individual provided the information to me. There’s just a part of me that wants to be able to connect pieces of information with sources so that, if there’s a breakdown in understanding, we know where the breakdown is and where to go to make sure we’re on the same page.
That, and I don’t want to look like I make things up if I don’t know the answer to a question. Not a good reputation to acquire. I’d rather people know I actually am trying to get accurate information.
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