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Process Documentation. Necessary evil or waste of time?

So I asked each of the senders: 1) Why did you create these docs, 2) Are they being followed, 3) Are they delivering business value such as cost savings or automation, and 4) Are they accurate, up-to-date, and how are they kept that way? Not surprisingly, the general answers were: 1) Because my boss told me to document the process. We're doing ITIL. We need a document to "prove" we have a process (else no one believes us). 2) Followed? Hah, "in theory" they are, but not really. Everyone can circumvent the process and everyone does. It's what we "hope" happens. 3) What do you mean? How would I measure that? (Uh oh), and 4) Yes, I try to keep them up to date but it's a constant challenge. Thoughts anyone?

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I always find it interesting when I see someone create a process, document the process, and then not follow it.
What gets me is that there is almost always a process already in place yet the person writing the process decides to invent their own. Process documentation should be nothing more than writing down the process employees already use. Once that process is well documented you can then look for ways to improve it. Usually the best improvement ideas come from the people who actually do the work.

As far as it being a necessary evil or waste of time, I would say neither. It's definitely not a waste of time and I wouldn't call it evil. It's not a hard job and keeping it up to date takes a few hours per year. A well documented business process is the cornerstone of a well run business. They are also life savers. The first time you loose an employee who is the sole person responsible for any business functions, you learn how important that documentation really is.

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Archive Category: Solve Problems
Keyword Tags:  service catalog   ITIL   process documentation   problem management   workflow

Andrew Kramer is a self- described IT junkie, a frequent presenter on IT Service Management, ITIL, network, systems, and ... more
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