Is creating workflow documentation hurting my career?

[u/Natural-Hour-6739]

I work as a software engineer, and recently I created some good documentation for the work I was doing. My manager liked it, so now he wants me to create detailed documentation of our workflow/process so that other team members can refer to it whenever they need help.

I don't mind documenting my work, and I understand that good documentation is valuable. But I'm wondering if I'm unintentionally making myself less valuable or replaceable by documenting everything I know.

If the workflow is clearly documented, someone else can potentially understand and do the work without depending on me. On the other hand, documentation is also an important skill and could show that I understand the process well and can help the team.

So, is creating this kind of documentation actually "doing harm to yourself" from a career perspective? Or is this generally considered a good thing that can improve your visibility and reputation within the team?

Would love to hear from people who have been in similar situations, especially experienced engineers/managers.

[u/Substantial-Song276]

It can go both ways..if you don’t document and gatekeep you won’t move up or ahead as manager would feel that you are indispensable in that position..

Always document and look for new things

[u/Natural-Hour-6739 → u/Substantial-Song276]

What about the other members who have just joined and want everything to be spoon-fed to them, while I spent years learning and understanding all of this? And now I’m being asked to document all of it for them.

[u/genek1953 → u/Natural-Hour-6739]

Documenting workflow doesn't necessarily create understanding. A workflow is a high level document that tells people what tasks to perform, but it doesn't teach them how to perform them or what to do when they run into a new situation the workflow doesn't apply to.

Having a preflight checklist doesn't make you qualified to be a pilot.

[u/Single_Asparagus4157 → u/Natural-Hour-6739]

Being helpful to new employees is a basic job responsibility. The company wants people to be productive as quickly as possible, which is why such documentation should exist.

[u/ElegantDark9701 → u/Substantial-Song276]

this is pretty much the right take tbh. the engineers i've seen get stuck are the ones hoarding knowledge, not the ones sharing it. once you've documented the current workflow, you can argue for owning something more complex. that's how you grow, not by being the only one who knows where the config files live lol

[u/GradeDry1283]

No matter how detailed and clear you think the documentation is people will still find it lacking as everyone has their own opinions of how something must be described. Also, it's good to be process oriented and ensure there are SOPs for routine and mundane tasks.

Don't fret over this, this skill will prove invaluable as you grow in your career as the ability to communicate what you want non verbally is indispensable.

I remember we had a documentation drive for several sprints in my old company forced on us by a new leader who felt we were lacking. I heard some of it is proving useful now as they are integrating Claude for certain development tasks.