Let’s be honest.
Most of us don’t hate documentation—we just keep postponing it.
We tell ourselves:
“I’ll write it once the feature is stable.”
“I’ll add it after the release.”
“It’s obvious from the code.”
And somehow, weeks later, the feature is live, the context is gone, and the documentation never happened.
What we shipped works—but only for the people who built it.
“Good Code Documents Itself” (Until It Doesn’t)
Yes, good naming helps. Clean abstractions matter. But code only tells you what is happening, not why it had to be this way.
The moment you return to a file and ask:
- Why is this logic here?
- Why didn’t we use the simpler approach?
- Why does this break if I remove it?
You realize something important:
the explanation existed once—just not anywhere permanent.
Documentation is where that missing context is supposed to live.
Documentation Is About People, Not Just Code
We often think documentation is for “other developers,” as if that’s a different species. In reality, it’s usually for:
- a teammate joining next month
- someone on-call at 2 a.m.
- or you, six months later, staring at your own code like it belongs to a stranger
Documentation is a form of empathy.
It says: “I know someone else will have to understand this, and I don’t want to make their life harder.”
That mindset alone changes how teams work.
The Cost of Skipping Docs Shows Up Later
When documentation is missing, nothing immediately breaks. That’s why it’s easy to ignore.
But over time:
- onboarding takes longer than it should
- only one person “really understands” the system
- changes feel risky because no one knows the boundaries
The time you thought you saved by skipping docs gets repaid—with interest.
Writing Docs Exposes Weak Design
Here’s something many developers discover the hard way:
writing documentation is uncomfortable when the system itself is unclear.
If a flow is hard to explain, it’s usually hard to reason about.
If an API needs three paragraphs of warnings, something is off.
Documentation acts like a mirror. It reflects complexity you’ve learned to ignore while coding.
Sometimes, the act of documenting leads you to simplify the design—and that alone makes it worth doing.
Good Documentation Isn’t Fancy
Good documentation isn’t long.
It isn’t perfectly formatted.
It doesn’t need to impress anyone.
It just answers honest questions:
- What problem does this solve?
- How should I use it safely?
- What should I absolutely not do?
- What will surprise me if I’m not careful?
A short README written with clarity beats a massive doc no one trusts.
Treat Documentation Like You Treat Code
If documentation really is a feature, it should be treated like one:
- written alongside the code
- reviewed during pull requests
- updated when behavior changes
- questioned when it’s missing
“Docs later” quietly becomes “docs never.”
“Docs as part of delivery” becomes culture.
The Mindset Shift That Actually Matters
The shift isn’t about process or discipline.
It’s about perspective.
You’re not documenting to satisfy a checklist.
You’re documenting because someone will depend on this working and making sense.
Very often, that someone is future you—tired, rushed, and annoyed that past you didn’t leave a note.
Final Thought
Code makes software run.
Documentation makes software understandable.
One without the other works only in the short term.
Together, they build systems that survive beyond their original authors.
That’s why documentation isn’t busywork.
It isn’t a chore.
It’s part of the product.
🦖