First time managers who are accustomed to succeeding based on their understanding of ‘how’ will initially struggle to define ‘why’. Nowhere is this more evident than in how new managers commonly dismiss the importance of formal documentation. However, when it comes to running large projects, documentation is often proof for what is going well and can be the first indicator of trouble for what is about to go awry.
A formal document forces the writer to make the hundreds of previously ignored decisions that must be perfectly clear for clean documentation. This task demands discipline and focus. If done correctly, a formal document clarifies policy and brings clarity to uncertain areas. A manager who can document understands the plan and knows how to communicate it. Since a manager's role in general is to keep everyone going in the same direction on a project, the task of creating formal documents should fall to the manager.
The documentation process is also critical for how it forces managers to question designers and ask them to defend their decisions. This process might reveal important information that would otherwise have remained hidden from the manager. If project participants are reluctant to assist with documentation, for example, it suggests that decisions are tentative or that the organization itself is threatening some feature of the project. These are sure signs of impending failure because projects with tentative direction are in danger of becoming uncoordinated - the manager should use this information to take on a larger role in any of the project's coordination tasks.
If the project is run by an organization prone to sudden changes in vision, perhaps the reluctance of participants to help the manager is a signal that the organization will never maintain the focus, discipline, or patience needed to resolve every small issue that arises in the course of the project. A manager armed with this knowledge will be in better position to help guide the team around upcoming obstacles and keep progress on track despite any outside pressure, inertia, or impulse from the organization.
