Last updated: January 10, 2020
Why is it that documentation is not taken as seriously in IT environments as it should? This is at least my personal impression over the last years. Especially staff in IT departments, who would largely benefit from it in their daily work, often refuse to document anything at all or they don’t abide by the rules. They do it just the way they think best – they are the experts after all. Unfortunately and of course, no others have access to this information. This way, they want to prevent that anyone logs on to the system and changes the configuration.
I believe that this attitude can be found more often with admins than with help desk staff, as the latter understand more easily that documentation is good for everybody. This is mainly because they need to rely on such information in their daily work. Otherwise, they must try to obtain this information elsewhere, making their work more tedious than necessary. No doubt, staff who are only responsible for the help desk have less IT systems to document, but on the other hand, they are way ahead when it comes to change management.
Obviously, many people have a problem with structured documentation, maybe even with structured work, and this might be the reason why so many are so reluctant when it comes to this topic. But that’s another story. Vaguely defined goals are perhaps a reason why this topic is often put in second place. What is the contents of an IT documentation, and what should it look like? If the goal has not been communicated clearly and if no framework has been defined by the responsible managers, there is either proliferation or nothing happens at all. So, the responsible managers need to adopt this topic.
Is IT documentation a waste of time?
Why are people so reluctant about documentation? Why are companies so often hinging on single employees? A well-created IT documentation can minimise the risk for IT if a member of IT staff is no longer available. Is it the ill-founded fear to make a mistake? Is it the concern for their workplace if others know too much? On the corporate and management side, it is most certainly due to ignorance. As long as the IT system is operating properly, everything is OK. The problem only comes up if there is an emergency and no admin is available. In this case, the IT department will be the scapegoat. If an external service provider has to be brought in, the whole extent of the dilemma becomes obvious.
Is it the fear that others might be able to see whether all tasks are being performed properly? It is clear that nobody likes to be tracked at each and every step of their work. Of course, this is not pleasant. So what? After all, there is no reason to discuss whether to create IT documentation or not because there are enough laws and regulations stipulating it. The company must make sure that these are complied with.
If an IT documentation is available, it is much easier to check whether all substantial configuration tasks have been carried out. If check lists are used for the configuration of IT systems, it is easy to document this procedure. However, many admins seem to think it’s very uncool to use a check list when configuring an IT system. After all, they know what they are doing, so there is no need for guidelines. You can do without some configuration steps anyway, so why use a check list that reminds you of them?
Change management as the supreme discipline of IT documentation
If some tasks are very time-consuming, it easily happens that they are omitted or postponed infinitely. The main thing is that the IT system is up and running. Problem number one: What precisely must or should be configured? Problem number two: Whoever will be able to check this? An internal IT auditing department? But, who in the world has one? It is very unlikely that missing configuration work will be caught up with. In the end, the system will not work as before or more systems will need to be modified, leading to even more work. In this case, many rather resort to the old truism: “Never touch a running system.” This is often a good way of doing it, but not as early as in the implementation phase! A company cannot accept this practice. Proper change management, as described by ITIL, can be of help here. However, change management must be introduced, supported, and observed by all persons involved.
Here, decision-makers and managers should know more about the IT department in order to take the right decisions. This knowledge, however, is often missing. This is no surprise, since IT is a complex subject and a closed book to many people. Managers must trust the experts, but the experts must not take improper advantage of this situation. In addition, IT staff must be allowed the time required for this task. Unfortunately, many companies are obsessed with optimisation and staff cuts. It is understood that IT documentation will fall by the wayside in these circumstances – there is simply no time for it.
IT documentation can be fun!
When using a documentation tool such as Docusnap, you can free up your IT department and automate the creation and maintenance of your IT documentation. All members of IT staff will benefit from this, because in a well-designed IT documentation, data will not only be updated in the background, but can be made available in a targeted manner. This software is able to support you in creating the documentation of the individual IT systems so that every member of staff can access it whenever needed. This means that the required information will be available to everybody, without compelling the admins to let other persons take their place at the consoles. This way, it is possible to stick to the necessary separation of tasks and functions.
At the end, everybody will benefit. Just do it!