Tag: SharePoint governance

Document Strategy vs Document Plan: Why Most Organisations Get It Wrong

Introduction

In the world of technical authoring and information management, people often use two terms interchangeably, but understanding your document strategy is key to approaching both effectively.

      1. Document strategy
      2. Document plan

They are not the same.

Confusing them is one of the main reasons documentation becomes reactive, inconsistent, and vulnerable to managerial interference.

If management treats documentation as administrative output rather than a governed asset, it will always sit at the whim of whoever speaks loudest.

This article explains:

      1. What a document strategy actually is
      2. What a document plan does
      3. Why governance matters?
      4. What must senior technical authors implement to protect documentation assets?

What is a document strategy?

A document strategy defines how documentation supports organisational objectives. It is not:

      • a list of deliverables.
      • a collection of templates.
      • a SharePoint structure.

It answers fundamental questions:

      • Why does documentation exist in this organisation?
      • What risk does it mitigate?
      • What decisions must it support?
      • What compliance obligations must it satisfy?
      • Who owns it?

In regulated environments, document strategy connects directly to standards such as

      • ISO 9001 (Control of Documented Information)
      • ISO/IEC 27001 (information security controls)
      • ITIL (service documentation and knowledge control)

If documentation is required for audit, certification, or regulatory compliance, you must govern it strategically.

What a proper document strategy includes

A credible document strategy defines:

1. Governance Model

      • Clear document ownership
      • Defined author vs reviewer vs approver roles
      • RACI alignment
      • Escalation routes

2. Lifecycle Control

      • Create → Review → Approve → Publish → Maintain → Retire
      • Mandatory review cycles
      • Version control standards
      • Archiving criteria

3. Classification and Security

      • Controlled vs uncontrolled documents
      • Public vs restricted
      • Security classification tiers

4. Architecture and Structure

      • Taxonomy
      • Metadata standards
      • Naming conventions
      • Document numbering schemas

5. Decision Framework

      • What qualifies as controlled documentation?
      • What does not?
      • When documentation is proportionate
      • When a knowledge article is sufficient

Without these elements, documentation becomes personality-driven rather than policy-driven.

What is a document plan?

A document plan is operational.

It applies the strategy to a specific project, programme or service.

Where strategy defines governance, the plan defines delivery.

It answers:

      • What documents are required?
      • Who is writing them?
      • When are they due?
      • What reviews are mandatory?
      • What approvals are needed?
      • How do they align with stage gates?

In complex programmes — such as digital transformation, DMS rollout, or security accreditation — a document plan ensures traceability and sequencing.

Without a document plan, documentation is:

      • Rushed at the end
      • Inconsistent across work streams
      • Duplicated across teams
      • Politically rewritten

Why Documentation Falls “at the whim of managers”

Documentation becomes unstable when:

      • There is no documentation policy
      • Templates are uncontrolled
      • Metadata is optional
      • No audit mechanism exists
      • No one owns lifecycle enforcement

In that vacuum, managers step in.

They introduce:

      • New templates
      • Personal preferences
      • Structural changes
      • Ad hoc requirements

The result is entropy.

Governance prevents that.

What technical authors must do beyond writing

Senior technical authors must move beyond content production.

They must act as:

      • Information architects
      • Governance stewards
      • Lifecycle controllers
      • Risk mitigators

Below are the controls that protect documentation assets.

1. Establish documentation governance

Create:

      • Documentation Policy
      • Document Control Procedure
      • RACI matrix
      • Change management workflow for templates

Ensure:

      • Template changes require approval
      • New document types require justification
      • eliminate uncontrolled versions

2. Enforce metadata and taxonomy

Metadata is not optional in mature environments.

Define mandatory fields such as:

      • Document Owner
      • Service Area
      • Security Classification
      • Review Date
      • Version Number

Implement enforcement within:

      • SharePoint libraries
      • Asite or DMS platforms
      • Controlled repositories

If you do not enforce metadata, the structure collapses.

3. Institute review discipline

Set:

      • Annual review cycles (minimum)
      • Risk-based review frequency
      • Automated reminders
      • Expiry flags

Outdated documentation creates audit exposure.

4. Run documentation audits

Introduction:

      • Quarterly sampling
      • Annual full audit
      • Traceability verification
      • Redundancy elimination

Without an audit, decay is inevitable.

5. Design templates that enforce structure

Most engineers and technicians do not read style guides.

They follow structure.

Well-designed templates:

      • Force styles
      • Control numbering
      • Embed guidance
      • Reduce formatting drift
      • Prevent structural inconsistency

Templates are governance tools disguised as formatting aids.

6. Define what not to document

Over-documentation creates noise.

A strong document strategy specifies:

      • What must you control?
      • What belongs in a knowledge base?
      • What remains in the service tools?
      • What is transient and disposable?
      • Clarity reduces clutter.

Document strategy maturity model

Organisations typically sit at one of these levels:

Level Description
Level 1 Ad hoc and personality-driven
Level 2 Template-based but uncontrolled
Level 3 Defined lifecycle and metadata
Level 4 Audited and measured
Level 5 Strategically aligned to risk and performance

Most organisations sit between Level 1 and Level 2.

A mature technical author moves them to Level 3 and beyond.

The critical distinction

      • Document Strategy = Governance + Risk Alignment + Structure
      • Document Plan = Delivery + Scheduling + Accountability
      • Ongoing Stewardship = Control + Audit + Discipline

Writing is only part of technical writing.

Control is the real work.

Final Thought

If A.N. Other can alter documentation at will, it is neither governed nor strategic.

And if it is not strategic, the user will not treat it as a corporate asset.