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Documenting IT (continued)
The rest is really only the legwork to compile the
information and fill in each section with the appropriate content.
Finally, you need to make a decision on the document format
and where to keep it. Well, if you use standard word processing software,
you have the choice to either create one huge document
that needs updating every time something changes or a collection of
smaller, subject oriented documents. The most flexible approach, however,
is to produce an HTML formatted document package that links components in
more manageable chunks and allows you to maintain pages of information
separately. This is specifically useful when you think about combining
static information like the Overviews with frequently changing information
for configuration data. Modern HTML authoring tools work very similar to
Word processors and are quite inexpensive if not free. You want to store
the latest version (and only the latest version) of this information in a
protected, access controlled location accessible only form your local
network. You also want to keep a non-volatile copy of this information off
site to support your Disaster recovery processes (i.e. on CD or DVD
media). Apply version control and archive or destroy any outdated versions
of the documentation. And do yourself a favor and include the
documentation in your standard backups.
Good documentation does not mean lots of pages but rather
information that is accurate, well structured, purpose oriented and
available where and when it is needed. And think about it this way: How
can you understand the value of a proposed improvement if you don’t have
a reference that lets you understand the status quo?
(read
on ...)
Copyright (c) 2008 by In Scope-Solutions,
Inc.
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