Chapter 27 — Documentation and handover
Lesson map
Lesson 27 published. Map, example, EX079.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["27.1 What to document"]
N2["27.2 Handover practice"]
N3["27.3 Reducing dependence"]
N4["27.4 Keeping documentation alive"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX079"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["27.1 What to document"]
N2["27.2 Handover practice"]
N3["27.3 Reducing dependence"]
N4["27.4 Keeping documentation alive"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX079"]
[Learning outcomes]
|
v
[27.1 What to document]
|
v
[27.2 Handover practice]
|
v
[27.3 Reducing dependence]
|
v
[27.4 Keeping documentation alive]
|
v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX079]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) document technical governance work; (2) prepare handover for colleagues; (3) reduce dependence on individuals.
27.1 What to document
Ravi lists what others would need if he left: the repository with scripts and tests, the check library with purposes, the schedule, procedures, dictionary, lineage notes, dashboards and their owners, and known issues. He writes a short overview page linking to each item. Ms. Moreau explains that documentation is a governance control, because organisations depend on technical work that nobody can maintain if only one person understands it. Mrs. Okonjo asks him to present the overview to the whole data team, so that everyone knows where to find it.
27.2 Handover practice
To test documentation, Ravi takes a week of leave while a classmate on placement at Calder Valley covers his work using only the documentation. She manages most tasks but struggles with a held contractor file, because the procedure does not explain how to release a file after the contractor resends it. Ravi adds the missing steps when he returns. He notes that real handover tests reveal gaps that self-review misses. His classmate also suggests an index of common tasks, which he adds to the overview page.
27.3 Reducing dependence
Ravi pairs with a colleague on monthly tasks, such as disposal runs and access reviews, so that two people can do each. He also records short screen recordings showing complex steps. Mrs. Okonjo adds technical governance tasks to the team's skills matrix to track who can do what. He notes that dependence on one person is a risk that governance should manage, like any other risk to data. By the end of the placement, every monthly task has at least two people who can carry it out.
27.4 Keeping documentation alive
Documentation decays as systems change. Ravi links each document to the scripts or processes it describes and adds a reminder to update documentation as part of every change. He schedules a quarterly review where the team checks a sample of documents against reality. Ms. Moreau notes that small, regular updates keep documentation useful, whereas large rewrites happen rarely and leave documents outdated for long periods between them. The first quarterly review finds three documents that need small changes, which are made the same week.
Worked example
Ravi documents his work with an overview page, tests it through a week's handover that exposes a missing release step, pairs on monthly tasks and keeps documentation current through change reminders and quarterly reviews.
Synthetic case. Documentation is synthetic.
Errors and limits
Untested documentation hides gaps until someone needs it urgently.
Exercises
- EX079 — Handover gap. What gap did the handover reveal? Rubric: 3 = how to release a held file after resend;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX080 — Skills tracking. How does Mrs. Okonjo track who can do tasks? Rubric: 3 = a skills matrix;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX081 — Documentation review. How often is a sample of documents checked? Rubric: 3 = quarterly;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 27 (chapter 27 of 30)
← Chapter 26 · Course chapter index · Chapter 28 →
Continue to the next authored lesson.