[SI Developer Story] 10. What is Documentation in an SI Project?

SI Developer Story
#10. What is Documentation in an SI Project?

In an SI project, you need to submit documents to the client as proof that the project has been successfully developed.

Starting from the proposal, there are documents that need to be written for each project stage, including screen definition documents, design documents, user manuals, etc., from project proposal to design, development, testing, and post-opening operations. Newbie developers usually end up taking on this responsibility.

While writing documents, you might sometimes wonder if this is what you envisioned when you became a developer, feeling like you're in an office job instead. In South Korea, it's common to pile up all the documentation required for each stage right before the project's end. Here's why:

• Project timelines are short, so the priority is to build the product as fast as possible, then create presentable documents to meet the deadline.
• Even if you create documents step-by-step, requirements will likely change and be added. Therefore, it's often faster to create everything first and then adjust the documents to match.

Ironically, even though the order is wrong, this approach has become a natural evolution (or perhaps, devolution) in South Korea's SI culture.

There are many tools for creating screen definition documents, but you might witness the miraculous scene of someone creating a screen definition document by capturing screenshots of the completed operating screen.

Developers generally despise document writing, but hey, you're a newbie.

The most readily available and easiest target, new employees, get assigned the task of documentation. The rationale is that you can't immediately assign development tasks to them, so you might as well have them write documents.

Since you'll likely pass the task on to your successor, try your best to create high-quality documentation while you have the chance.