# Documentation By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-09-12 Analysts like to figure things out. The function of analytics, as practiced by analysts, tends to be the exploration of data toward resolution. Documentation is often neglected along the way. Like weeding a garden, documentation can be a rather tedious task. It is easy to tell oneself that one will remember all the key decisions at the end of a project and write them up then. Seldom does one remember. Consequently, the documentation of analytic projects is often inadequate. Documentation of one’s analysis serves a variety of important functions. Traditionally, in the applied sciences, documentation serves as the basis for replication. If you want people to be able to generate the same results as one produced, the documentation must be adequately developed so others can collect and normalize the data similarly and generate the same results. This is a foundational element of science. Whereas this is certainly important, it is not necessarily the most useful aspect of documentation from an organizational sense. Organizationally, documentation provides one with a basis for [[understanding]] what was done, why it was undertaken, what the results were, along with any implications. In short, documentation provides context and understanding. In the go-go-go pace of business, taking the time to write a report or to read one might seem like a luxury. It isn’t. Robust documentation allows for progress. Through documentation one can understand what came before, its rationales and its limitations, and build on those findings. Without sufficient documentation, one will invariably repeat studies due to a lack of [[confidence]] in the previous work. In the long run, documentation is efficient. Developing coherent and compelling documentation can be a drag for those who prefer solving [[Understanding What One Likes|technical problems analytically]]. While not always the case, it could be that those who are very good at applied analytics have underdeveloped writing skills. This could contribute to the lack of robust documentation as people tend to focus on those things at which they are proficient. Writing skills can be developed. Taking the time to do so requires that analysts and managers see its organizational value. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[Organizational Analytics]] [[Science]] [[Writing]] [[Thinking]]