Alistair Q Vermaak | I Build Scalable Systems
Document the process you're about to repeat for the second time, not the one that feels most important. Second-time repetition is the signal a task is now a system candidate. Capture it in plain language while you're doing it — a rough written process beats a polished one you never get around to writing.
Prioritise by repetition and risk, not by whatever feels most important today.
Pick the format that matches how the work actually happens — not a template that sounds impressive.
A running, dated log you fill in as you do the task the first time, in the order you actually did it. Rewrite as steps afterward.
One line per decision — what you chose, why, and what you'd need to see to change your mind. Prevents re-litigating settled calls.
Trigger → Steps → Output → Who's responsible. Four sections, nothing more, until the process proves it needs more.
For anything visual or click-heavy, a five-minute unedited recording captures more accurately than a written description — transcribe later if needed.
Over-engineered documentation fails for a specific reason: it takes more effort to update than it saves you in the moment. A ten-page SOP for a process that changes every quarter isn't an asset, it's a maintenance debt you'll eventually stop paying — and once one document goes stale, you stop trusting all of them, which quietly kills the whole system.
The fix isn't writing less. It's writing at the right weight: light enough that updating it takes minutes, specific enough that it's still useful. Build a habit of touching a document the moment the process changes, not on a quarterly review you'll skip when things get busy. A living, slightly rough document beats a polished one nobody's opened since the day it was written.
Right Fit?
Common Questions
Detailed enough that a version of you with less context could follow it without guessing. That's usually far less detail than it feels like in your head — you already know the parts you'd skip explaining to yourself.
Document the current version anyway. A slightly outdated document you update in two minutes beats no document while you wait for the process to stabilise — it rarely does on its own.
No. A plain doc, a notes app, or a shared folder is enough to start. The structure matters more than the tool — you can migrate the content once you know what you actually need.
Business Knowledge Foundation · $3,800–$7,500
The Business Knowledge Foundation takes your undocumented processes and turns them into a structured, maintained knowledge base — built with you, not handed to you as a template.
Explore the Knowledge Capture Kit