5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Documentation in Tech.

Your contributions will disappear if you don't document them.

Not because people are malicious. But because your work isn't their top priority to remember.

Over two decades, I've watched brilliant women complete major projects and get zero credit. I've seen ideas get stolen. I've seen conversations get "remembered differently." I've experienced it myself.

So I built the Documentation System, a complete toolkit for protecting your work and your reputation.

But before I share the system, here are the 5 things I wish someone had told me about documentation when I started in tech.

Thing 1: Your Work WILL Disappear If You Don't Document It.

I've been thinking about why women's contributions disappear. It's not one dramatic moment. It's a thousand small erasures.

Your work gets completed. Your manager presents it to leadership. Your name never comes up.

Your idea gets dismissed in a meeting. Five minutes later, a male colleague suggests the same thing. Everyone loves it.

You deliver work on time. Someone else delays. You get blamed for the timeline slip.

This happens constantly. Not because people are malicious (usually). But because your contributions aren't their top priority to remember.

If you don't document your work, it disappears.

Performance review time comes. Your manager says: "What did you accomplish this quarter?"

And you're stuck trying to remember. Hoping they remember. Relying on their memory of your contributions.

That's a losing strategy. Because their memory is selective. Their priorities are different. And you'll always lose.

Documentation changes this dynamic entirely.

Thing 2: The Contribution Log Is Your Most Powerful Tool.

The Contribution Log is the simplest part of documentation. And also the most powerful.

Here's how it works:

At the end of each day (or week), you log:

• What you completed or contributed
• When you did it
• Who knows about it
• What the impact was
• Current status

That's it. Takes 2-5 minutes.

Six months from now at performance review time, your manager won't remember half of what you did.

But you will. Because you have receipts.

Instead of walking in with: "I think I did some good work?"

You walk in with: "Here are 47 contributions I made this year, with dates, measurable impact, and stakeholder confirmation."

Different conversation. Different outcome.

I've seen women get passed over for promotions because they couldn't articulate their impact in the moment. Not because they didn't have impact. But because they didn't document it as it happened.

The Contribution Log fixes this.

Start today. Log one thing you did this week. Then tomorrow, do it again. Over time, you build an undeniable record of your value.

Thing 3: Verbal Agreements Mean Nothing Without Documentation.

Here's a pattern I see constantly:

You have a conversation with your manager. Something important gets agreed to. Flexible hours. New project scope. Timeline adjustment. Resource allocation. Promotion timeline.

Six weeks later: "I never agreed to that."

You have no proof. Just your memory vs. theirs.

This is why Conversation Documentation matters.

After every important conversation (meetings, decisions, assignments, agreements), you document:

• Who said what
• What was decided
• Who's responsible for next steps
• Any deadlines or timelines

Then you follow up in writing:

Then you screenshot that email and log it.

When someone later claims they "never agreed" or "remembers the meeting differently," you don't argue.

You pull up the documentation.

Not your memory vs. theirs. Actual record of what was said, when, and who agreed.

Thing 4: Screenshots Are Your Best Defense.

Screenshots are the most underrated career protection tool.

Messages get deleted. Channels get archived. Email threads disappear. People claim they never said things.

Screenshots don't lie.

What to screenshot:

• Work you completed (with timestamp visible)
• Requests you made that went unanswered
• Approval requests and their responses (or lack thereof)
• Positive feedback from stakeholders
• Assignments you received
• Important decisions made in Slack/Teams/email
• Anything that could be questioned later

Takes 30 seconds per screenshot. Protects you forever.

Pro tip: Screenshot immediately, not later. You'll forget. And channels get archived. Screenshot while the conversation is still accessible.

Thing 5: Documentation Isn't Paranoia. It's Protection.

Let me tell you about a woman I know. Let's call her Sarah.

Sarah is a senior designer at a major tech company. Brilliant work. Years of experience. Always delivers.

Performance review time came.

Her manager said: "You've done good work, but I don't see evidence of major impact this year."

Sarah was stunned. She'd launched three major features. She'd mentored two junior designers. She'd led the complete design system overhaul.

But her manager "didn't remember" most of it.

She had no receipts.

So she got a "meets expectations" rating instead of "exceeds." No promotion. Minimal raise. Another year of being undervalued.

This wasn't Sarah's fault. She did the work. She delivered impact. She was excellent at her job.

But she didn't document any of it. And without documentation, excellent work disappears.

Documentation isn't paranoia. It's not assuming the worst of people. It's not being difficult or untrusting. It's protection.

Protection from faulty memory. Protection from shifting priorities. Protection from bias (conscious or unconscious) that makes women's work more likely to be forgotten or minimized.

You're not documenting because you expect people to steal your credit.

You're documenting because you've learned that contributions disappear unless you actively protect them.

That's not paranoia. That's pattern recognition.