Good documents go through three phases.
The first phase is when we put down our unstructured thoughts. At this stage, we can parse the flow – but it isn’t yet ready for anyone else.
The second phase is when we structure it well enough that the core team working on it understands where we’re going.
The third phase is when we frame it in a way that anyone outside the team gets it.
There’s a chasm between the final two phases. Most docs never make it to phase three because it generally requires us to completely rewrite or reframe a doc that seems to be working just fine.
But this is what experienced writers do well. They focus on the end outcome instead of getting overly attached or comfortable with any version along the way. The end result is almost always simple – especially compared to prior versions. It is why most docs don’t make it to phase three.
Simple is hard.
