Recently, we attended a meeting about the need to add usability research and design early in the software development process. The speaker said the phrase she hears most is: “We should have done that six months ago.”
As technical content writers, we hear this, too. Unfortunately, documenting a company’s knowledge is viewed as a necessary evil. And many people put it off as long as possible. Often, they pay the price for the delay.
Hey, we get it. Over here at Writing Connections it is possible that we might have procrastinated on one or two tasks. 😉
However, failing to document your company’s knowledge can have serious consequences that affect efficiency, compliance, and even profitability.
The 9 key risks are:
1. Decreased Customer/Employee Satisfaction
Incomplete or delayed technical writing can lead to poor customer/employee experiences. For example, if a user manual or troubleshooting guide isn’t ready when a product is launched, customers might struggle to understand or use the product, leading to frustration, support tickets, and negative reviews. Or if onboarding guides and training are not available, new employees can become frustrated with simply being new to the work environment even before beginning the work at hand, leading to a high employee turnover rate.
2. Loss of Critical Knowledge
When employees retire, change roles, or leave unexpectedly, their expertise often goes with them. Without documentation, institutional memory disappears, leaving gaps that are hard to fill. This can stall projects and force teams to “reinvent the wheel.”
3. Reduced Efficiency
Procrastination in technical writing can impact internal processes as well. Teams may need to operate without up-to-date documentation, causing confusion and inefficiency. Developers, engineers, and other staff may waste time answering repetitive questions that could be addressed in a manual or knowledge base.
4. Compliance and Legal Risks
In industries that require documentation for regulatory or legal reasons (e.g., healthcare, finance, aerospace), procrastinating on writing and updating manuals can lead to compliance violations or legal risks. Proper documentation is often a necessity to prove due diligence or adherence to standards.
5. Higher Support Costs
Without clear user guides or troubleshooting steps, customers and employees rely heavily on support teams, increasing workload and costs. Inadequate documentation often leads to more customer support inquiries, as users may not find the answers they need in written materials. Procrastinating on creating clear, effective documentation can result in an increase in support team workload and costs. For more information, refer to our blog post The Hidden Cost of Unclear Documentation and How to Fix It.
6. Delayed Product Launches
If technical documentation (such as user manuals, release notes, or API documentation) is not completed on time, it can delay the entire product or service launch. This delay can cause businesses to miss key market windows or lose customer confidence.
7. Damaged Brand Reputation
When customers encounter poorly written, incomplete, or outdated documentation, it can damage the business’s reputation. Quality documentation is often seen as a reflection of the overall quality of the company’s products or services.
8. Lost Revenue Opportunities
Delays in completing documentation can impact the sales and marketing process. For example, without updated product documentation or technical specs, sales teams might struggle to convince potential customers of the product’s value, hindering sales and revenue growth.
9. Team Frustration
Lack of documentation can create a backlog of work, leading to stress and burnout among team members. The technical writers themselves might feel overwhelmed, and other teams (like product management or engineering) may be frustrated by the delays or the lack of clarity in the documentation.
These 9 key risks can greatly impact a project’s success. Whatever knowledge deliverable that you need, remember to get started now!
Contact Writing Connections to learn how we can help you create content that adds value to your organization.