10 OBSERVATIONS FROM A RECENT PROJECT - #5

5. The missing link

Before a system is updated or replaced, it’s generally a good idea to know what the system does and how it does it. Your first step: Ask for the documentation. To which someone will invariably say “What documentation?” The words hang in the air as time seemingly stands still. But, you’re not concerned because you've anticipated this, right? You know what to do next: Cue the Subject Matter Experts. Of course you’ll need them from the business side and the technology side so start herding those cats now. And as this amazing journey begins, you begin to learn that neither side has all the answers you’re looking for. Face it early in the process: You will be writing the old documentation as well as the new. Look on the bright side: You will produce the best documentation that anyone has ever seen, even if it is for a system that you’re about to sunset.

Jeff Lowell

If you missed it, click here for the INTRO.  To easily see all of the current posts in contiguous reverse order (newest to oldest), click on the "10 Observations" link under the Categories heading in the sidebar on the right side of the page. Be sure to catch the next chapter:  5. Time travel is in your future.

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