updating internal process documentation

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How often have you painstakingly

documented company processes,

only to have your co-workers ask

you questions that the documentation

addresses? For technical writers workingon cross-functional teams, documenting

internal processes can save many hours

or waste them. Whether team mem-

bers actually use process documentation

determines whether creating it was

worth our time and effort.

Working at a small business with an

active research and development depart-

ment, I serve as the technical writer on a

team with several engineers and a mar-

keting liaison. This team collaborates

wi th fi ve de pa rt me nt ma nage rs todevelop grant proposals. With so many

people selecting, researching, writing,

and submitting grants, its vital for every-

one to follow a detailed internal process.

Periodically updating process docu-

mentation is one key to ensuring that

my team members use it. Its tempting

to expect them to use it continually, but

as companies change, the users and

processes change tooand so should

the documentation.

When to Update

Changing useful process documenta-

tion is a waste of time, but so is trying to

use incomplete or ill-designed docu-

mentation. So how can you know whento update? First, it is necessary to look

for three indicators: changes to

processes, changes among your users,

and an increasing number of internal

problems.

Changes to Processes

The most obvious time to update

your process documentation is when

the process itself has changed. Last

spring our team reassigned one of the

tasks in our grant-writing process fromthe lead engineer to the sales manager.

Some of us manually marked this

change on our documentation. Others

didnt. Because we did not update the

official version, new team members

received documentation reflecting the

old task distribution. This disparity

caused great confusion, which we

could have prevented by updating the

documentation when the process

changed.

Changes among Users

Similarly, if your users have changed,

your documentation may be out of date.

The process or end goal may be the

same, but different users need different

documentation.

When I led a team to develop our

companys first grant-writing process,most of my teammates had been writing

these grants longer than I. When I was

hired, the entire engineering group was

composed of six engineers, and the only

manager involved with grants was our

vice president. The process documenta-

tion we developed for this group was a

one-page flowchart.

Three and a half years later, the com-

pany employs more than three times as

many engineers, most of whom lack

experience writing grants. More man-agers review the grants as well. In addi-

tion to the vice president, our sales

manager, marketing director, engineer-

ing director, and business manager

review the grants. The process docu-

mentation for these employees has

expanded significantly: They receive a

tabbed manual of 120-plus pages, includ-

ing brief, job-specific checklists, detailed

process descriptions, and sample docu-

ments, as well as a corresponding elec-

tronic version that links to documents

on our network and on the Internet.The end productgrant proposals

remains the same. But the producers of

those proposals have changed. Our cur-

rent team requires different process

documentation.

Internal Problems

Internal problems can also indicate a

need for updated process documenta-

tion. If team members duplicate the work

of others, fail to perform certain tasks,

or miss their goals, the root of theseproblems may be unclear, incomplete, or

unavailable process documentation.

When our team added a new task to

the grant-writing process last year, we

failed to update the documentation.

Team members quickly became confused

about who was responsible for complet-

ing the task, so no one addressed it until

the day before our deadline. Our efforts

were inefficient, and teamwork suffered.

Then we updated the process documen-

20 March 2005

writing & editing

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT


















Updating

InternalProcess

Documentation

BY REBECCAW.WALTON, Student Member, Lone Star Chapter

7/25/2019 Updating Internal Process Documentation

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tation, pinpointing who was to accom-

plish each task, when, and how. The new

documentation improved our efficiency,

productivity, and teamwork.

If internal problems consistently

impede your teams efforts, consider

updating your process documentation.

New documentation may eliminateinconsistencies or provide additional

information for improving your team.

How to Update

The following tips can help you save

time when updating process documen-

tation, and can ensure that your team

members use the new documentation.

Review Existing Documents

Begin your revision by reviewing exist-

ing process documentation. Even if theold process is flawed, you may salvage

some of the material for your new ver-

sion. Never toss out existing material

without thoroughly examining its word-

ing, content, and design. Doing so will

not only save time but may also highlight

problems in existing documents and

imply solutions for your new version.

When gathering documents for review,

be creative. Examine your own checklist,

cheat sheet, or contact list. Ask your team-

mates if they have created a to-do list for

their role within the process. Perhaps youcould use the process documentation for

a different project as a template, even if

the content isnt relevant. When updat-

ing process documentation, avoid creat-

ing the new version entirely from scratch.

Interview Users

To ensure that your teammates will use

the new documentation, ask them what

they need and how they use the informa-

tion (or why they dont). Ask about pre-

ferred format and colors. Consider wherethey will keep iton their desk, in a fil-

ing cabinet, or in a common area such as

a library or lab. Do they prefer to read on

the computer or on paper? Do they pre-

fer brief checklists or extensive explana-

tions? Interview a variety of team

members to get the best overview of their

needs and suggestions. If your team

members differ greatly, you may develop

several process documentation tools.

Before creating our current version of

the grant-writing process, I interviewed

nine users from four departments. At

first, I was convinced that I already knew

what they needed; I was just asking for

confirmation. However, my teammates

used process documentation quite dif-

ferently from the way Id imagined. They

also suggested several additions thatgreatly increased the documentations

usability: electronic documents with Web

links, information about organizations

issuing the grants, a network map

describing document naming conven-

tions and locations. I also discovered that

two of the engineers had developed a

detailed spreadsheet to create the bud-

get that accompanies the grants.

If I hadnt interviewed my teammates,

I would have spent days creating incom-

plete process documentation that failedto address their needs. Instead, I spent

weeks creating useful documentation.

Creating documentation your team

members will use often takes longer, but

it provides great benefits.

Train Users

Once you have sifted through all avail-

able materials, interviewed your team-

mates, and slaved to create useful

process documentation, train your team

members. Even if they have helped

develop this documentation, walk themthrough it. Schedule a meeting to offi-

cially distribute the documentation. Dis-

cuss the content and its use. Give credit

to team members who shaped the docu-

ment, and allow them to describe the

portions relevant to their role in the

process. Most important, invite your

teammates to ask questions and make

suggestions. Its painful to consider mod-

ifying a newly minted document, but

your teammates may suggest a change

you can include in the next version.

Benefits of Updating

By initiating timely, user-focused process

documentation updates, you can greatly

benefit your team by improving teamwork,

increasing efficiency, and inspiring confi-

dence in the documentation.

Improving Teamwork

Useful, relevant process documenta-

tion improves teamwork. With each

team members responsibilities defined,

the team can ensure that work does not

fall through the cracks and that team

members do not duplicate each others

efforts. Further, team members do not

step on each others toes by performing

their tasks out of order and disrupting

others work. When team members per-form their responsibilities out of sync

with the overall process, they can appear

thoughtless and disrespectful. However,

they may be unaware of the overall

process or performing tasks that are not

detailed in the process documentation.

Ensuring that every team member has

complete, accurate process documenta-

tion can prevent this disruption and sup-

port a sense of teamwork.

Increasing EfficiencySimilarly, process documentation

increases efficiency, as it establishes and

communicates an organized way to coor-

dinate the efforts of multiple team mem-

bers. Periodically updating this docu-

mentation can further increase efficiency

by addressing shortcomings in the old ver-

sion, current team members needs, and

new steps, contributors, or rules. If docu-

mentation fails to address these issues,

team members often disregard it, as it

does not meet their needs. Encourage

your teammates to use documentation byensuring that its up to date.

Inspiring Confidence

Periodically updating your process

documentation can greatly increase your

teams confidence in it. Team members

will use the documentation if they have

helped shape it. Interviewing users and

incorporating their suggestions enables

you to create documentation specifically

suited to their needs. And because it is

easy to use, theyll use it.

Rebecca Walton is the senior technical writer

at Williams-Pyro, Inc., a small business in

Fort Worth, Texas. She is also a graduate

student in the technical writing program at

the University of North Texas. Her previous

experience includes writing and editing in

a variety of fields, including print journal-

ism, marketing, publishing, multimedia

development, and nonprofit fundraising. She

can be reached at [email protected].

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