Purpose

• Explain the importance of including a “Purpose” section within documents.

• Provide guidance and best practices for crafting helpful Purpose sections.

• Use this document as a tool to help explain the value of including a Purpose in document to others.

What is a “Document Purpose”?

• The first definition of “Purpose” according to Merriam-Webster is “the reason why something is done or used: the aim or intention of something” (Purpose Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster). A “Document Purpose” is a declaration of why the document was created and why/how it should be used.

Why Include a Purpose in Every Document?

• Since the invention of writing, society has been documenting various forms of information. When I refer to the noun “Document”, I mean a singular, clearly encapsulated entity of text and/or other media form created to extract thoughts for some desired outcome. The author of the document often has a clear intention for what the document is aimed to do. In my experience, those aims are often not self-explanatory. Without an explanation, it is our gift as humans to interpret meaning in the way that best serves our psyche.

  • Bias is a prevalent problem in society that can be reduced through clear definition of the purpose of a document.

  • Unintended treatment of ideas as facts is another problem that can be reduced by clarifying the purpose.

• Additionally, the transmission of directives between people benefits from the inclusion of the “why”. People, especially employees, tend to ignore information they don’t see as immediately relevant to them (for good reason…they don’t want to waste their time). Including a Purpose section helps the audience to quickly understand how and why this document may be relevant to them. It gives them the correct prescription for reviewing the document.

• Even if a document is intended only to be used by the creator, it is often helpful to take the time to consider closely why you, as a creator, are making this document. Documenting the “why” helps to illuminate unforeseen concerns regarding the documentation that can threaten the value of the time spent documenting. You don’t want to waste time documenting poorly or without true value. Additionally, opportunities to improve the value of documentation may be illuminating while drafting the purpose.

  • Additionally, it may become apparent that this documentation may be helpful to others, at which time the creator can consider whether to share with others.

• Finally, our memory as individuals is very fallible. In order to maximize the value of our time spent documenting, it is helpful to clarify the purpose of our document before drafting it and keep it at the beginning of the document so it’s easy to review and recall at a later time. This can help us to avoid re-doing past documentation as well.

Best Practices

1. Include a “Purpose” section at the beginning of ALL documents.

   • Sometimes it may seem mundane but it’s a good habit to get into.

2. Write up the Purpose and make it as clear and concise as possible.

   • Take time to really think about what value this document brings.

   • Does it make more sense to modify or append to an existing document?

   • How should this document be structured to serve its purpose?

3. If using Laddice, include it as a Level 1 Heading so it’s easy to refer back to.

   • See this documents Purpose (Why Include a "Purpose" in Documents? @ Purpose) as an example

Why Not Include a Purpose?

• The only reason to not include a purpose is to obfuscate the purpose of the document:

  1. For confidentiality reasons

  2. For privacy reasons

Why Do People Not Include Purposes?

• When unintentionally not including a purpose, it’s usually for the following reasons:

  1. Unawareness of the value of adding a purpose

  2. Laziness

  3. Fear of judgment, regarding sharing their thought process