Documentation for Governmental Projects

No one likes writing documentation, but everyone needs it—especially in government projects. Balancing the fast-paced world of innovation with the formal demands of government documentation is not easy for startups. Let’s explore common challenges on both sides—what organizations face and what government teams expect—and offers best practices on how to tackle them, keeping things agile and manageable.

Why is Documentation Important in Government Projects?

Documentation may not be glamorous, but in projects with ministries and authorities, it's as critical as the product or software itself. Government agencies need clear, accessible, and detailed documentation to meet legal requirements, ensure the project’s longevity as well as having the ability to keep citizens informed to a certain extend. For startups, the shift from quick, iterative work to long, formal documents is a challenge. Ever feel like you’re trying to hit a moving target with documentation? You’re not alone!

Here’s a funny (and slightly humbling) story: 
After putting significant effort into refining a user manual, we submitted it, feeling pretty proud of ourselves. The feedback we got? “This looks great, but could you adjust the tone so it matches the more formal style of the other documents?” We had to laugh—sometimes clarity isn’t the only priority when it comes to documentation!

Challenges and How We Overcame Them

Challenge A: Getting people to actually work on documentation

For agile startups, documentation can feel like an afterthought. With tight deadlines and feature-building, who wants to stop and write a 30-page document?

How we tackled it:

We integrated documentation into our sprint cycles. By creating incremental updates throughout the project, writing became part of the workflow rather than a dreaded final task. We also re-assigned the “documentation champion” regularly, spreading the responsibility and keeping things fresh.

Challenge B: Understanding government requirements

Members in startups work fast, but government requirements often come in long, formal documents that can be difficult to digest.

How we tackled it:

Instead of jumping straight into formal feedback, we first wanted to get informal insights. We would share a draft early on, allowing government partners to give us a sense of what they expected and how they would approach reviewing the document. This helped us make adjustments early and align better with their standards before diving into official reviews.

Challenge C: Keeping documentation up-to-date (before anyone complaints)

Agile environments are fast-moving, and by the time you’ve written something down, it may already be outdated.

How we tackled it:

Consistency was key. We set aside dedicated time during each sprint for updating documents, ensuring that information remained current. We also ensured to get feedback from the government side regularly, so changes didn’t pile up. Keeping things small and manageable helped avoid last-minute scrambles.

Challenge D: Lack of user feedback

Often, the people reviewing the documentation aren’t the people using the product. So, this feedback might not reflect how people use Wire and the supporting documents.

How we tackled it:

Working closely with our government partners, we realized the benefit of adding a simplified “quick-start guide” alongside the manual. Their feedback helped us see that people — who might not be technical experts — would benefit from a shorter, more digestible guide. This collaboration led to a solution that both parties felt would improve user experience without compromising on the required details.

Best Practices – What to Do and What to Avoid

What to do

• Break down documentation tasks into manageable parts during each sprint

• Get informal feedback before formal reviews to spot major issues early

• Keep documentation updated, rather than waiting until the end

• Stay in communication with the government to avoid misalignment
  
  

What to avoid

• Don’t start documenting at the last minute

• Don’t assume government reviewers are the people using the product daily—tailor it accordingly

• Don’t forget that accessibility and clarity are as important as content

Closing – What We Learned

Government documentation is rarely fun, but it can be manageable. Through good communication, planning, and gathering informal feedback early, we balanced flexibility with formality. Next time, we’ll start documentation earlier and ensure we’re more proactive with feedback.

Because, in the end, no one wants to write documentation—but everyone, especially governments, needs it!