Product Thinking · Published April 6, 2026
Write Product Docs for Your Future Self
Documentation is not a deliverable but team memory. Docs nobody reads are usually written for the wrong audience.
At the end of a project the team is asked to produce documentation. What emerges is either a pile of screenshots or a user manual, and six months later nobody can explain why the design was chosen.
Three kinds, three readers
Decision records, written for the future team: why this approach and what was rejected.
User guides, written for operators: clear steps, screenshots and common questions.
API and data structure notes, written for developers: field meaning, allowed values and change history.
How to write docs that get read
One page per topic where possible. Long documents are rarely finished.
Record date and author, so in three months people know whom to ask.
Keep docs in the repository or project space, not on someone's laptop.
The test is simple: can a newcomer keep the work moving using only the documentation?
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