From Jenga Foundation to Solid Base for Technical Documentation
Why Restructuring is Now Strategically Necessary
Many manufacturing companies have organized their technical documentation and publications like a Jenga tower: it appears solid, but any change, a software patch, a safety update, a product variant, can cause the tower to collapse. The consequences are well-known at the top: unpredictable costs, compliance stress, delayed releases, and missed AI opportunities.
The problem is not a lack of tools or personnel, but fragmented ownership and missing a solid foundation: a single operational model with a clear information architecture. This article shows how to transition from a shaky tower to a structure that adapts to your product lifecycle, and why this is a strategic choice, not an operational one.
When Does the Jenga Tower Start to Wobble?
Release week. The product manager gives the green light, R&D delivers the latest firmware, Security reports an urgent patch, Service requests an additional safety instruction, and Quality is waiting for the risk file update. Someone pulls out one block from the tower, a small change in a component,0020and suddenly manuals, the CE file, and service procedures shift. The team fills gaps, corrects links, and harmonizes versions.
The tower wobbles but holds steady, until the next change.
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Why Did It Work Before, but Collides Now?
Historically, documentation has been treated as a project deliverable: complete it at market introduction and be done. Work was divided among R&D, software, quality, service, IT/security, and local publication teams. Each had their own tools, storage, and formats. This approach worked as long as products were developed linearly and changed little.
Today, products are software-driven, connected, and continuously updated. Additionally, upcoming changes in European legislation raise the bar for traceability, version control, digital documentation, and demonstrable cybersecurity. What was once “practical” no longer works: without a cohesive information architecture and clear ownership, every change becomes a risk for delays, rework, and non-compliance.
The Invisible Forces on the Jenga Tower
Continuously changing load
Frequent software and security updates, shorter iterations, regionalization, language variants.
Multiple outputs
Digital manuals, safety instructions, maintenance instructions, service content, and much more.
Lifecycle chain
Everything is interconnected; every change in design, validation, release, and service impacts the entire chain.
Without a stable supporting structure, minor changes trigger chain reactions in time, quality, and compliance.
Examples of How This Works in Practice
Scenario A: Security Patch
A vulnerability requires a patch. Not only the software changes; the risk assessment, safety instructions, and the CE file must also be updated. Without a standardized chain, rework, search time, and audit risks arise.
Scenario B: Variant Release
New variant, minor differences. Without modular content and metadata, document packages have to be redeveloped completely. Result: duplicate content that later proves unmaintainable.
Scenario C: Feedback from Operations
Service discovers an unclear procedure. The correction must flow through all channels, languages, and media. Without traceability, an old version remains “alive” somewhere.
In short, without design principles for information architecture, every seemingly small intervention leads to a disproportionate impact.
What’s Really at Stake
A fragmented approach to technical documentation affects much more than just internal efficiency: it undermines the agility and reliability of the entire organization. When information does not move in sync with product and software changes, delays, errors, and costly remediation occur. Service operates with outdated instructions, audits stall, and innovations falter because the foundational information is incorrect.
On top of that, there is an increasing external risk: non-compliance, fines, mandatory correction actions, and even the risk that products may not be allowed on the market temporarily.
An unstable information base makes every change a risk, while a well-organized structure provides speed, certainty, and predictability.
What Does a Stable Information Base Offer the Teams That Work with It?
- A stable information base allows R&D and engineers to develop faster without losing time searching or correcting errors.
- Quality and Compliance always receive consistent, audit-ready documentation.
- Service teams work more efficiently with up-to-date instructions and fewer mistakes.
- IT and security teams address vulnerabilities promptly thanks to traceable changes.
Prerequisites for a Strong Documentation Chain
- 1
Single Source of Truth (SSOT)
One source for product, safety, and service information.
- 2
Modular, Reusable Content
Write in building blocks with clear boundaries and semantics. Reuse instead of copy.
- 3
Metadata, Taxonomy, and Version Control
Let systems “know” what a block is, where it is used, which version/language variant it has, and what its status is.
- 4
End-to-End Governance (RACI)
Appoint a single owner for the operational model and assign clear responsibilities to the involved departments.
- 5
Automation as a Connecting Force
Seamless information flows through tools that automatically implement changes, prevent inconsistencies, and thus ensure a stable, error-free, and scalable information base.
Together, these prerequisites form the supporting structure for the desired speed, quality, and compliance.
The KPIs That Reveal if Your Information Architecture is Working
- Time-to-Update Document after product/software changes.
- % Modular Content (reuse rate compared to total output).
- First Time Right rate (number of correction rounds per release).
- Traceability coverage (from change to all affected artifacts).
- Backlog post-launch updates (size & duration).
- Audit finding rate (severity, origin, and resolution time).
- Service impact (TTR/FTF, escalations due to incorrect information).
- Cost per Release (doc/compliance component as % of total release costs).
Our advice? Choose the 4 to 5 most important KPIs for your company, embed them in MBR/QBR rhythms, and act on them.
Stop playing Jenga and build for stability
Without a solid foundation, every update becomes a gamble. With one operational model and a consistent information architecture, documentation shifts from a cost item to a strategic accelerator with faster releases, lower risks, and predictable costs.
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VP TCS Service Solutions