How Would You Document Your Job? 50
Q3vi1 asks: "As an support technician, there are several things I've learned about the environment I work in that would be difficult to find out without hours of research. Now I'm going to be moving and that means getting a new job. Before I do, I'd like to leave behind some of this information for the person who will replace me. How does one document all the details in an efficient manner for the next tech?"
Three (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Three (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Three (Score:1)
Instructions for My Replacement (Score:5, Insightful)
Imagine the best possible place you could work. Imagine people working together, sharing information in a timely manner, and open to constructive criticism. People working together to not only make a profit, but make a humane profit. People who care about the customer, each other, and the world in general. People who feel that the workload should be spread over all nations so that everyone can have a job, an income, and a healthy life.
Now imagine the reverse. Welcome to the team, sucka'!
Hello Communism. (Score:1)
What makes you think that if all the workload was spread evenly throughout all nations that everyone would have a job, an income, and a healthy life?
Anything at all backing that up?
Re:Hello Communism. (Score:2)
Moral capitalism (a new concept, I know) would argue that point. Anything to back it up? We've helped India tremendously so far. If others outsource to America, well, good for us all.
Re:Hello Communism. (Score:4, Insightful)
Good job, honestly.
OP: There is a saying in coding about documenting your code - 'If it was hard to write, it should be hard to read.' It is a joke, mostly, but it offers insight into your situation.
You didn't pick up everything in your job in a week by reading over someone else's notes (or you would be leaving those notes behind.) I'm guessing you have been there a while and probably invented half the stuff in your shop (procedures, protocols, naming conventions, etc.) so none of it is going to be in a book. There is just some stuff you 'just gotta know', meaning it can't be learned by the normal knowledge gleaning methods, you just gotta know (above which ceiling tiles are the switches, for example.)
The good news is that he (your replacement) doesn't have to do it 'your way' - he just has to get it done
Your company is about to learn that keeping all their tech eggs in one basket (having only one guy) is a bad idea. Even a part timer college kid to shadow you as an intern for $7.50 / hour would have been quite the safety net. Do what you can, but there is no way to safely insure the ongoing performance of all your systems in two weeks - hell it takes a week just for the new guy to figure out how the building is layed out, who is who, and what is what. After that, come up with a way to provide emergency support and price is slightly prohibitively to keep them from abusing it. Take your old hourly rate, times 1.3 and that's what they paid you 40 hours a week to be there, that's your baseline. Twice that per hour, with half an hour as the minimum charge, for all contact / questions leaves them with an emergency way to keep running and gives you a little money to keep your interest piqued.
Re:Hello Communism. (Score:1)
It's not communism. The problem is that he cares more about people across the globe, whom he's never met, than his neighbors right here. Probably never met them, either, it's America...
Re:Hello Communism. (Score:1)
Write a manual... (Score:1)
Re:Write a manual... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Write a manual... (Score:1)
why? (Score:1, Insightful)
just curious. I would just up and leave and let them figure it out (but I usually keep good ongoing documentation so I'm not really being as much of a dick as it sounds).
but it is a good question, why do something you don't have to do, especially when it comes to business?
Re:why? (Score:1)
WikiWikiWiki (Score:5, Informative)
Reinforce the point I was going to make (Score:4, Insightful)
But he's leaving now. Any "up-to-date" is already gone.
The best way to have valuable knowledge is to gather it continuously and write it down in a consistent format. This way you both have documentation for your successor when you leave with advanced notice, and when you leave due to the 26 Speed Bus to Downtown doesn't notice you crossing the intersection. Not to rag on the good intentions of the original poster of this article, but isn't this a little late to start documenting?
Perhaps leaving a consistent documentation system to start from might be one of the most valuable assets he can leave the company -- for the gal after the guy after him.
Re:Reinforce the point I was going to make (Score:1)
Re:Reinforce the point I was going to make (Score:2)
Re:Reinforce the point I was going to make (Score:2)
Quirks (Score:5, Insightful)
And the real answer (Score:5, Interesting)
Make a document with headings about each part of the company you know about (Departments, Management, Placing 1-900 Calls Unnoticed, etc.) and then, very simply, just talk about it. Such as:
Departments
Accounting tends to only make itself known when you need something critical and then they cry wolf. When this happens contact their manager, Foo B. Baz, and let him know what's happening. He'll kick someone's ass and get the PO through.
Sales lies. Repeatedly. If one of them calls you with the customer already on the line (and they will) and says something to the order of "we do X, right? Of course we do!" talk over him and explain why he's an idiot. With the customer there. It will be the last time that particular person calls you like that. Sales management will harass you, but just refer him to your manager and move on.
And so on, and so forth. Just a simple heading/topic document. Print it up and leave it in a drawer somewhere the next sucker will see it.
Just write it down (Score:2)
Don't document your job (Score:2, Insightful)
The real answer (Score:2)
Simple really (Score:3, Funny)
2 ???
3 Profit
Cookbook of job recipes (Score:2, Insightful)
The most important thing to remember is that you're writing this for someone else coming along, so tips nee
Good luck! (Score:2)
Re:Good luck! (Score:2)
If you make written instructions on how to do your job, what's stopping your job from being outsourced to India ?
Never document anything. Always remember that the corporation just wants to make money out of you and doesn't care about you beyond that, so treat it in the same manner.
Re:Good luck! (Score:2)
If you read the article you would realize he is leaving on good terms, and helping out as he leaves will help him get a good reference if he needs one later. There is no downside to him helping, and only a benifit if he does.
possibly (Score:2)
Riiiiiiiiiight (Score:3, Insightful)
Small detail. You will only ever find this kinda of documentation for obsolete projects. Nothing current will have this. Ever.
Personally I try to avoid writing documentation nowadays. In my line of work (webdevelopment) there isn't any time/budget to write documentation let alone keep it uptodate. I generally find it more usefull to tell a new person the internal details of the company then the details of the code. If they are any good they can figure out the code. Figuring out a new company is a lot harder.
For the guy I am going to replace, please document who is responsible for what, who actually takes responsibilty, who is the suckup, who is the guy/gal actually making the decisions and how much of a nutcase the boss is. Your code I can always rewrite.
Too late... (Score:3, Informative)
After that I have a wiki that is similar but a bit more organized. This is where I put the stuff that I know someone will be interested in. It's also where I create user docs and FAQs.
Finally I have some critical documents that I created with Scribus. This is the bible for my job. Anything that I have to have in an emergency goes in there.
Beyond that, I keep important code in CVS.
Since this is an afterthought at this point I would go straigt to the wiki and printed documentation.
Depends on what your goal is... (Score:2)
--
Wiki (Score:1)
Whenever you think of something that you'd like to save for the future, just type it down somewhere in the Wiki. Later when you have the time you can browse around in it and rearrange the text and improve it.
Think about how you learnt it (Score:1)
I'm in a similar situation, I am leaving my job exactly a month from now, my replacement starts on Monday, so I have 1 month to pass over every bit of knowledge I can. However, there is only so much I can do, we are heavily reliant on my replacement being able to adapt and learn things themselves. Even with a crossover period, in support work, there is no guarrantee that you will be able to cover ev
Re:Think about how you learnt it (Score:2)
"Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other" - Ben Franklin
Re:Think about how you learnt it (Score:1)
And how much did you learn from screwing it up compared with how much you learnt when you didn't!?
Re:Think about how you learnt it (Score:2)
I bet the various employers where I did the [learning|screwing up] wish I'd found another way to learn it
Too late. (Score:3, Insightful)
Do it properly in your next job and start documenting as soon as you put your fat behinf in your new chair.
DO whatever you can for the position you are leaving, most likely you will be caught doing many other things, so documentation most likely will be lacking any way.
beautiful little yellow (Score:2, Funny)
a lot of them.
do an ok of job documentation....` (Score:1)
How I've done it (Score:3, Informative)
Next, look at what scripts or macros are used on a regular basis. Make a note of them, and email copies to managers whenever possible. You never know if the person who "cleans up" behind you is going to erase every file with your username.
Don't forget the 80/20 rule. Focus on the 80% first, then the more arcane aspects of the 20%. It shouldn't need to be said, but don't make comments about individuals -- positive or negative. Just comment on the needs of various areas, and try to leave names out.
Use whatever word processor is standard in the office, and type up the directions in outline format. That makes it easier to make small notes, exceptions to the rule, etc.
Email copies to your supervisor/manager and your current account. Printouts have a habit of getting lost... Keep a copy for yourself too (but don't email it). Being able to show your writing style is a major plus in interviews.
I use Leo (Score:2, Informative)
My job (Score:1)
test (Score:2)