Documentation, AI, and Project Success: Tinder on Customers

Episode 36 | Guarding Against IT Amnesia

The Big Themes:

• IT amnesia: Bonnie introduces the concept of IT amnesia syndrome in tech projects, where post-success, lack of documentation leads to project failures. A culture of documentation is necessary to counter challenges.
• Employee turnover: Documentation ensures knowledge continuity as team members move on post-project. Succession plans address turnover, facilitating transitions and preserving project insights. By ensuring a structured handover process, organizations can safeguard against knowledge loss and maintain continuity.
• Role of GenAI: GenAI can help with documentation since many individuals face challenges in writing. Bonnie emphasizes that while AI doesn't replace the need for accuracy checks, it significantly speeds up the documentation process. Generative AI helps people make their notes on processes grammatically correct and easily digestible documents, making documentation more efficient.

The Big Quote: "Documentation and a culture of documentation: Making sure that everybody knows that it's not good enough to check a box. You have to check the box and have the documentation to ensure that process will happen in the future as well."