# 031: Don't Document. Help Users Decide.
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Don't Document. Help Users Decide.
Most tech writers review docs by asking: "Is this technically accurate?"
Wrong question.
Technical accuracy is merely your baseline.
What separates junior writers from senior strategic communicators is understanding that documentation exists to accelerate user decisions.
Every doc should answer one core question: "What decision will this help the reader make?"
Not "what does this feature do?" but "what can the reader DO with this information?"
Why Reframing Matters.
When you center docs around user decisions, you immediately expose structural problems.
Decision-first thinking clarifies scope.
If the goal is "choose between OAuth and API keys," you need a comparison, not two separate explanatory pages.
Reveals missing context.
A deployment guide that doesn't address "should I deploy to staging first?" is incomplete.
Readers need decision support, not only procedural steps.
Forces priority alignment.
Not all decisions are equal.
Decision-mapping helps you allocate content resources strategically.
How to implement this in your docs workflows:
During ticket triaging, ask PMs, "What decision will users need to make after reading this?" Write that down as your content goal.
During PR reviews, if you can't identify the decision a page enables, flag it."This explains the feature well, but what action should the reader take next?"
During docs audits, map every page to a user decision. Pages without clear decision outcomes are candidates for consolidation or deletion.
Your Challenge this Week.
Pick one doc on your site and ask: "What decision does this enable?"
If you can't articulate it in one sentence, rewrite that doc with that decision as your north star.
This is how you prove you're not "just a tech writer."
You're a strategic product thinker who designs information systems that drive user success.
Go forth and write documentation that drives decisions! 💪🏾
Hasta nuestra próxima aventura,
(Until our next adventure)
Quetzalli Writes
