Introduction
Documentation/playbook is important in almost all domains, be it in market research, insurance or banking. Furthermore, its importance becomes evident when working with data
Purpose
Why do you need documentation?
Understanding: Documentation provides a clear understanding of the processes, what the data is about, the source, and also the structure
Consistency: Documentation provides clear guidelines that organize structure, ensuring consistent outcomes.
Collaboration: Documentation helps communication among stakeholders/team members and aids in understanding and building upon existing work
Template
Below is a template/outline that I typically utilize in my workspace
Documentation Title:
[Title]
Date:
[Date of Writing]
Prepared by:
[Name/Organization]
1. Introduction
- Brief overview of the documentation. For example, this documentation provides the guidelines, processes, and challenges during the prediction of house prices using Linear Regression.
2. Goals
- List the goals of the documentation aims to achieve.
3. Scope
- Define the scope of the documentation. Presenting it in list format could also be effective
4. Rules/Prerequisites
- List any necessary conditions, rules, requirements, or pre-conditions that must be met before proceeding with the subsequent steps outlined in the documentation. For example, users must have R installed to perform the prediction of house prices.
5. Roles/Responsibilities
- To outline the roles and responsibilities assigned to team members involved in the project. While it is not mandatory, listing assignments for each team member aims to ensure effective collaboration and clarify individual contributions to the project.
6. Processes
- Step-by-step processes/instructions for each task
7. Challenges
- Common issues/challenges faced and their solutions
8. References
- List any references, files, or sources utilized during this project.