What is Async documentation?

Async documentation

Async documentation is the body of writing that lets a distributed team decide and progress without overlapping in time. It captures the decision and the reasoning behind it, not just the conclusion, so someone arriving months later understands why it was done that way.

Its real function is to avoid meetings, not to accompany them. A well-written decision document includes the context, the alternatives rejected and why they were rejected. Without that, teams rerun the same debates every few months because nobody remembers what was already tried.

Also called: internal documentation, knowledge base, decision log

Related terms

Asynchronous workAsynchronous work is a way of coordinating teams in which replies are not expected in real time. Each person advances within their own hours using written documentation, recorded decisions and clear deadlines instead of simultaneous meetings. It is what lets a team operate across incompatible time zones.
SOPAn SOP is the written, step-by-step description of how a recurring task is carried out in a business. It lets another person, or an automation, produce the same result without depending on whoever usually did it. It is the basic unit of a business that can be delegated.
Distributed onboardingDistributed onboarding is the process of joining a remote team, where nobody learns by osmosis or by asking the person at the next desk. It relies on entry documentation, explicit goals for the first ninety days and a named person to bring questions to.