Why programmers don’t write documentation | Kislay Verma
▻https://kislayverma.com/programming/why-programmers-dont-write-documentation
Writing is a tough, demanding task. It requires organizing our thoughts clearly, examining them critically, and expressing them clearly. While the expressing part can be simplified to some extent (depending on the quality of writing required), all three steps are taxing when done properly.
In the world of programming, where “it depends” is often the best answer and everything is based on trade-offs, writing becomes that much harder. It needs to set the context, justify the decisions, and then power the low-level thinking leading into the code. This type of writing is only useful if done well, and since doing it well is tough, it often doesn’t get done at all. Bad code will still fly, bad documentation won’t.
Not documenting doesn’t block shipping
If a developer doesn’t write documentation, their work still gets done. Not writing doesn’t block shipping (at least not right away). The damage done by not documenting technical decisions is cumulative. Much like tech debt, it doesn’t cause damage in the here and now.
Like I said above, writing is primarily a matter of thinking and analyzing. In most places, coding can be done by the seat of your pants. A disorganized pile of classes and methods in code may work – a pile of work of words and paragraphs won’t work. Writing HAS to be clear if it is to be of any use. Code will be accepted (to some extent) as long as it does its job. And since most organizations focus only on getting the product shipped, that which doesn’t block shipping gets ignored.
