Documentation
It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Ultimately, the design document is the common reference point for everyone on the team: technical developers, managers, artists, marketers. Like "ease of use", everyone recognizes the value of documentation, but very few actually support it completely.
The dissemination of knowledge is one of the cornerstones of civilization.
Good Documentation is not simply an Assumption
- It enables good design process
- It benefits all the members of the team
- It provides a shared reality
We often assume that marketers, coders and project managers will each provide meaningful documentation of their work and share it with others. And that's great if it happens - but sometimes it doesn't.
Remember the story of the seven blind men and the elephant? Each blind man accurately describes the part that he touches ("An elephant is like ... a wall ... a hose ... a tree ... a sheet ... a whip ..."), but none describes it totally.
Many development teams work like that. Each member can describe what they experience, but is there a common vision?
Effective Writing
Like all the other skills on the design
team,
Documentation is not just a hobby -
It's a job description
In the Team Working Environment - Shared Reality is a Necessity