Knowledge Sharing Handbook

Purpose

Distributed squads move faster when playbooks, decisions, and lessons are written down in predictable ways. This handbook outlines how we capture knowledge so onboarding stays smooth, context is never trapped in DMs, and post-mortems can be reused as future guardrails.

Writing principles

• Clarity first. Aim for language that a new teammate can follow in one read-through. Break jargon by adding clarifying footnotes or glossary entries.
• Accuracy over speed. Verify data, links, and owners. A wrong config snippet wastes more time than a delayed update.
• Concise structure. Keep paragraphs short, prefer bullet lists, and use callouts for critical warnings or tips.
• Audience-aware. Tailor docs to the intended role. A facilitator guide should highlight tools, timings, and failure modes, while a runbook should surface commands and rollback steps.
• Versioned and owned. Every page lists an “Updated” date and an owner responsible for keeping it alive.

Documentation lifecycle

Treat documentation as a continuous loop that shadows your SDLC. A lightweight documentation development life cycle (DDLC) keeps content current:

graph TD
    A[Planning] --> B(Analysis)
    B --> C{Content Development}
    C --> D[Review & Editing]
    D --> E(Publishing)
    E --> F[Maintenance & Updates]
    F --> A

1. Planning: Define scope, audience, and publish channel. Pair a doc with a measurable outcome (e.g., reduce onboarding time).
2. Analysis: Interview subject-matter experts, review metrics, and gather screenshots or data exports.
3. Content development: Draft the document using the shared templates. Embed diagrams with Mermaid where flow clarity matters.
4. Review & editing: Route drafts through at least one peer and one accountable owner for accuracy and tone.
5. Publishing: Ship via the shared documentation site, tagging the page so it surfaces in search and sidebar navigation.
6. Maintenance: Schedule quarterly reviews. Archive or merge stale pages to prevent knowledge drift.

Tools in our stack

• Markdown-first authoring: Write in VS Code or the docs portal, keeping formatting simple and diff-friendly.
• Static publishing: Astro + Starlight render fast, searchable pages with built-in navigation.
• Diagramming: Prefer Mermaid for architecture, workflows, and decision trees so updates stay in version control.
• Version control: All docs sit alongside code in Git to reuse familiar review workflows.

Rolling it out

1. Introduce the handbook during team onboarding and sprint retros.
2. Pair the standards with templates for runbooks, decisions, and incident reviews.
3. Track “time-to-context” (how long a teammate needs to ramp) and update the handbook when friction surfaces.
4. Celebrate contributions publicly so documentation work is valued alongside shipping features.