Document as you go
A simple method to manage the messy madness
As you build systems for your business, things get complex fast. There is a lot of unavoidable detail, and a lot of interplay between them.
But we suck it up and do the best we can. This, however is a big limitation we impose upon ourselves and the system. None of us can remember every single details and all the reasoning behind it. We manage quiet a bit, especially the stuff learned from hard experiences. But this always falls short on at least the following points:
We may easily loose track of detail and reasoning
Difficult to share it all with everyone
Any changes have too many implications, many unknown
So, here is a simple technique to solve all of this — documentation. It simply means describing the most essential details in simple and clear ways.
As you create your systems, take a moment to write down exactly how it's being built. Do this in the moment, when it's still fresh. Here are the advantages:
Forces you to become clear on what you are creating. This happens automatically when you have to crystalize your thoughts into logical sentences
Once it's written, you can simply share it with others, rather than explaining it again and again
Once it's in black and white, you can easily read and infinitely improve it
Any changes can have a clear cut history, making sure you minimise repetitive mistakes
Now, we can even give it to AI for feedback and ideas
So, try it out. You'll not want to go back.