WHAT ELSE?

We have seen how certain Groups-Of-Influence, within and beyond your control, and Guidelines-Of-Business oblige that specific documentation be created, controlled and maintained. There is an added bonus too: pertinent product and project documentation adds visibility, team cohesion, control and direction to your project. Here's how:

• Team building and Ownership:
  When team members sit down at the beginning of the project and define which documents they need to create, control and maintain, they will become more familiar with the overall project. This familiarity usually is positive, since it will outline each other's roles, the overall project goals, where they fit within the overall project, what their contribution will be and with whom they can discuss cross-discipline issues. Enjoining of various factions in the beginning is always a positive factor.
  
  
• Mentoring:
  A good Product Engineer (PE) is the person who's knowledge and skill are able to weave together all of the design, development and production activities that many designers & Developers seldom think about. These important issues will become more apparent to the team members during this up-front effort and will act as a mentoring technique for less experienced people - thus further enhancing the team knowledge of the product processes and business.
  
  
• Culture:
  A culture based on overall business knowledge usually motivates team members, since they 'know' why they are doing particular tasks - the documentation effort in particular needs such support, since it is usually the 'bastard child' of product development.
  
  
• Project Road Map:
  Potholes & risks can be exposed and the team knows where it is to travel. Such precognition enables development of risk management, contingencies and development of trust in the budgets, schedules and ultimately quality of the product.