In my early days at Automattic, I was struck by a simple yet profound comment from a colleague: "Documentation is an act of love." At first, it seemed like typical tech company idealism. But after years of working in distributed teams, I've come to understand the deep truth in those words. Great documentation isn't just about knowledge transfer—it's about caring for your teammates, your future self, and your organization's success.
The True Cost of Tribal Knowledge
Every organization has its share of "tribal knowledge"—information that lives exclusively in people's heads. In traditional offices, this creates inefficiencies. In remote teams, it creates chaos. I've watched talented remote workers struggle unnecessarily because critical information was locked away in someone else's brain, in a different time zone, fast asleep.
The cost isn't just lost productivity. It's:
Decreased psychological safety ("Am I the only one who doesn't know this?")
Repeated interruptions for the same questions
Knowledge gaps that widen as teams scale
Slower onboarding for new team members
Bottlenecks when key people are unavailable
Documentation as Empowerment
Great documentation democratizes knowledge. It transforms "I'll show you how to do this" into "Here's where you can find this information." This shift is subtle but revolutionary. It moves teams from dependency to autonomy.
Here's what this looks like in practice:
1. Decision Logs
Every significant decision gets documented with:
Context: What problem were we solving?
Options considered
Final decision and rationale
Expected outcomes
Future review triggers
This isn't just record-keeping. It's respect for future team members who'll need to understand why things are the way they are.
2. Process Playbooks
Rather than vague guidelines, we create detailed playbooks for common processes:
## Deploying to Production 1. Run pre-deploy checklist - Verify staging tests passed - Check monitoring dashboards - Alert #team-ops channel 2. Execute deployment steps...
3. Knowledge Base Structure
Our documentation follows a clear pattern:
Now: Quick reference for common tasks
How: Detailed processes and procedures
Why: Context, decisions, and background
What If: Troubleshooting and edge cases
Making Documentation a Team Sport
The hardest part isn't creating documentation—it's creating a culture that values it. Here's what works:
1. Documentation First
Before scheduling a meeting or jumping on a call, we ask: "Is there documentation for this?" If not, we create it. This isn't about avoiding communication; it's about making it more purposeful.
2. Reward the Writers
We explicitly recognize and celebrate great documentation:
Highlighting exemplary docs in team meetings
Including documentation quality in performance reviews
Celebrating when documentation prevents problems
3. Make It Easy
We remove friction from the documentation process:
Templates for common doc types
Clear guidelines on what needs documentation
Regular time allocated for documentation
Easy-to-use tools and clear ownership
4. Living Documents
Documentation isn't a "write once, read many" affair. We treat it as living content:
Regular review cycles
Clear update ownership
Version history and change logs
Easy paths for suggesting improvements
The ROI of Written Culture
The benefits of strong documentation compound over time:
Faster onboarding: New team members can self-serve answers
Better decisions: Context is always available
Reduced interruptions: Common questions have written answers
More inclusive collaboration: Async-first communication levels the playing field
Institutional memory: Knowledge survives team changes
Getting Started: Small Steps, Big Impact
You don't need a documentation overhaul to start seeing benefits. Begin with:
Document your next decision: Write down the context and reasoning
Create one process playbook: Pick a common task and document it thoroughly
Set up a simple knowledge base: Even a shared document is better than nothing
Lead by example: Make your own work visible through documentation
Documentation as Care
When we document well, we're saying:
"I care about your time"
"I want you to succeed independently"
"I respect your need to understand why"
"I value your ability to contribute"
In remote teams, where we can't rely on casual conversations and shoulder-tapping, comprehensive documentation isn't just good practice—it's an essential act of caring for our colleagues.
Remember: Every time you write clear documentation, you're making life better for someone else on your team. That's why documentation truly is an act of love.
What documentation practices have you found most valuable in your remote teams? Share your experiences in the comments below.
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