I recently introduced a topic into a project management discussion forum I belong to: the topic was on using blogs as a way to support project communication. The discussion quickly became a discussion of project documentation, e.g., how a blog could -- or could not -- support requirements for project documentation. While project documentation is not the same as code documentation, allowing a lack of coding documentation to exist is increasing risk to he company, for obvious reasons, especially when staff turnover is so high.
I am wondering if documentation of the communications associated with coding and testing (emails, archiving of successive release of code, meeting recordings, archiving of test results, etc.) can in any way replace purpose-built documentation?
Probably not. If you are going to demand documentation -- even from your "skunk works" projects -- don't you also have to state a basic model for what the documentation should include?
Commenting by HaloScan
