← The Builder
The Builder · № 18

Documented It

Produced full build documentation for something you made, plans, code, photos, materials list, good enough that someone else actually rebuilt it from your docs alone, and their version works.

The idea

Documentation is brutal because someone else has to rebuild from it alone. Hand your kid's docs to a friend who didn't see the build and watch where they get stuck. Every place they stop is a step the kid skipped, assumed, or explained badly. The first round of docs is always too thin. The second is closer. The third is the milestone.

Steps
  1. Write the build steps from memory first. Surface the gaps now.
  2. Photograph each major step. One too many beats one too few.
  3. Hand the docs to a friend who didn't see the build. Watch where they get stuck.
  4. Revise based on where they stopped. Repeat until they can build it cold.
What counts

Documentation good enough that someone else rebuilt the project from it and their version works. A photo of their version is plenty.