Documentation is Key

Documentation in today’s work environment is just as important, if not more than the actual work done.  Documentation not only explains to the customer what was completed but it also provides a historical look back at problems and possible solutions.  In this way your team is not continually reinventing the wheel and wasting that time.

The most important reason for documentation is to record steps taken to solve the issue that is being worked on.  This is the most important reason for documentation, should you need to revisit the customer should the issue not fully be resolved or, should a solution not provide the expected results, the documentation provides a change log to know what to change back to original state should you need to revert back to the original condition.

Another important reason to have good documentation is to have reference material for not only yourself but your team that you work with, also known as a Knowledge base.  By developing site specific documentation you can create a very robust knowledge base for not only yourself but the remaining members of your team, as well as team members to come after you.  This will drastically cut down on problem solve time, as well as provide a standard solution to ensure that further modifications to equipment at your site will be uniform and consistently implemented.  Not only the customer, but the support team will have a less stressful work day.

Another reason but just as important type of documentation is for security incidents that may involve violations of facility policy, local, state, or federal laws.  As a lone desktop tech, you will need to be very familiar with documentation for this, but as a desktop tech in a team, you normally also have a security group that should definitely be brought in to run point on any incidences that may have breached local, state or federal laws.  The key to this documentation is to preserve the equipment in question not changing, clearing, modifying anything to the system, but taking screenshots, data captures, and to track any and all steps done on the equipment while investigating the incident.  It is also very important to have a chain of custody when dealing with this type of documentation.  This tracks who has had their hands on the equipment should any question come up to the preservation of the evidence of the incident.

Documentation of what you do on a call is important and should not be overlooked.  A method I’ve developed over the years is to take notes for myself, and transcribe them at the end of the day into universally understandable documentation so that anyone in the group can understand, and repeat or undo the steps taken.  This will allow the tech on the next shift, to know what happened should they get called back to the same system, or should they need to replicate what you have done because another system is showing similar symptoms.

I hope this helps you understand why documentation is important in your daily life as a desktop technician.  It’s not just something to do because your manager or supervisor tells you to do so, it really is a tool that can make your overall career easier.  Not only is it an excellent tool and skill to have in your own ability set, but it also helps your whole team in the long term as well.