There are so many projects on the go in local authorities in particular that require a certain amount of documentation, no matter how old school it might feel.
Often though it just doesn’t get done, and that’s largely because there’s often a gap between project document templates, which tend to be large and overblown, and just keeping a list in a notebook, which sometimes turns out to be inadequate.
Of course documentation is never the reason that work fails, but sometimes it can provide a bit of a foundation, and having reasonably nice to use and look at, lightweight documents make it all a bit easier.
So, here’s one that we use here at Localise when the need arises. It’s a simple spreadsheet, which helps you identify outcomes, put a high level plan in place, have somewhere to keep a log of actions, decisions, risks and issues. You don’t have to use every tab! Feel free to delete the ones that are overkill for your project. If you feel that documenting something doesn’t add much value, don’t document it.
The docs work best in Google Sheets, I think, but ought to be ok in Excel if you download a copy.
Of course, I would recommended people make their own copies of this thing and adapt the hell out of it to meet their needs. It’s unlikely they are the same as mine.
Go to the template and starting using it! If you have any feedback, just get in touch!