I've worked in various teams focused on complex DevOps operations and pipelines, and it seems like I'm one of the only ones who takes the time to document our processes. I know that documenting might be time-consuming, but I do it for my own sake—I can't expect to remember what I did or the decisions I made months down the line. It's honestly like shooting myself in the foot if I don't document. What I don't understand is why others don't see the value in it. They benefit from existing documentation and understand it saves time, yet they still choose not to do it. Can anyone shed some light on why this happens?
5 Answers
Let’s be honest; everyone prioritizes their time based on what’s seen as valuable or urgent work. Documentation often gets relegated to the bottom of the list—especially when there’s a pressure to push features or fix bugs immediately. It’s a cycle that’s tough to break unless management starts valuing documentation as part of the process.
Yes! I love documenting my work, but between urgent requests and the need to deliver, it becomes a chore.
There's also this perception that if you’re not coding, you’re not working. This leads to neglecting documentation because it's not viewed as a ‘real’ job task, even though it should be. Until that mindset changes, we’ll keep seeing those documents overlooked.
Exactly! No one gets accolades for good documentation, but we all appreciate the folks doing it behind the scenes.
Right? It needs to be recognized as valuable work, not just extra fluff.
People treat documentation like gym workouts—everybody knows it's good for you, but it's hard to do when distractions are everywhere. We want immediate results, not future benefits that documentation brings. This culture also sees quick fixes over taking time to solidify concepts through documentation.
So true! Eating healthy and exercising are hard too—it’s all about discipline and prioritizing. Documentation is similar.
I totally get that mentality. When you’re in the flow, stopping to document feels like hitting a wall.
In my experience, even if you put hours into documentation, most people don’t bother reading it. They seem to prefer reaching out directly for answers instead. It's a cycle—no one reads the docs, so people stop writing them.
That’s spot on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve explained things to folks just for someone later to ask for the documentation!
Agreed! It makes writing useful docs feel pointless when they just get ignored.
A lot of us are pushed to deliver features quickly, so when management only cares about immediate results, documentation tends to drop off the radar. It’s frustrating because I’ve been in similar shoes—juggling multiple projects without enough time to pause for documentation. You end up prioritizing shipping something over writing about it.
Exactly! It’s painful but true. If management only rewards feature delivery, then documentation takes a back seat.
Right? It's disheartening, but we all know it’s about the bottom line, which often overlooks the importance of documentation.
Exactly! When you’re fighting fires daily, who has the time for documentation?