Project documentation can take many forms, depending on the requirements of your task and the nature of your project.
In this post, “documentation” refers to the record of your work and experiences that you present as evidence. Rather than discussing exactly what documentation should contain, I want to share a simple way to judge whether your work is complete—and become more confident in assessing it independently.
Becoming Your Own Critic
Instead of repeatedly asking your teacher whether your work is complete, you can reduce that uncertainty by learning to become your own critic.
For example, you may be required to document your construction process each week. You might photograph your progress and the tools you used, then describe the processes you followed, the challenges you encountered, and how you overcame them.
Even after doing all this, you may still wonder whether you have left something out.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to determine whether your work is ready for submission.
The Independence Test
Recall a time when you relied on instructions to build something—a small piece of furniture, a figurine, or a model. If you built it successfully on your first attempt, what made that possible? Would you have achieved the same result if the instructions or illustrations had been unclear?
Now apply the same idea to your documentation.
Your documentation should clearly communicate what you did. If someone reads it and returns with questions, what might that tell you?
We usually ask questions when the information we need is missing or unclear.
Put Your Documentation to the Test
Give your documentation, working drawings, or project records to someone else and say:
“Now you make this.”
If your documents are clear and complete, that person should have very few questions. If questions arise, use them to improve your work. Add the missing information, revise your drawings and annotations, and review the order and flow of your explanation.
The goal is not necessarily to eliminate every possible question. It is to discover whether someone can understand and reproduce your process without depending on you to fill in important gaps.
More Than a Completeness Check
By doing this, you learn to review your own work independently. You also practise collaborating with your peers and help one another develop the ability to produce clear, high-quality work.
Conclusion
This post is not about how to create documentation or how to score an A. It is about developing the initiative to reflect on and review your own work before relying on an authority figure for reassurance.
That independence is perhaps one of the most valuable qualities you can demonstrate.
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