IT Documentation software inside Microsoft 365

Are you struggling with insufficient IT documentation?

We are here to help and offer proven tool features for working with IT documentation.

Working with IT documentation

We have the IT documentation tooling and proven method for you

Even the best tool can not help you with the documentation alone; you need to define a structure that will support your industry and align you with possible compliance requirements.

We have a practical, proven tool, including a method that will guide you and make it easy to maintain your IT documentation.

What can the IT documentation tool do for you?

The essential part of a tool for IT documentation is handling relationships – or hyperlinks – between elements (content and components).

There are elements in your IT documentation used for several IT systems and CIs; you must reuse them and link them together.

If not, rest assured that your IT documentation will become outdated quickly and highly costly in maintenance efforts.

Controlling IT Documentation

Your high-level IT documentation includes policies, guidelines, standard operating procedures, and similar categories.

The categories are often determined based on your industry, complexity, regulations, etc.

We offer you in GRC360 a Documentation Manager. The module contains document features that enable you to create and maintain your controlling documentation + linking the documentation to CI classes, Services, or even service desk/change processes.

Specific IT-Documentation

Specific IT documentation is documentation related to specific systems and services.

ITSM360 integrates the CMDB/Service Portfolio with a SharePoint document library. With the library in place, you have excellent tools for handling office files as well as other files such as configurations, JSON objects, or similar related to services and CIs.

CONTROLLING IT DOCUMENTATION

Documentation Manager

The Documentation Manager is executed as a Microsoft Teams app or inside a SharePoint page and is a part of the ITSM360/GRC360 app portfolio:

Controlling areas/classes supported
Collaboration features incl. e-mail
Embedded SharePoint document library services and features
Dynamic link to IT Services and other CMDB components
Roles and Responsibilities
Review feature

SPECIFIC IT DOCUMENTATION

Embedded SharePoint for specific documentation

The ITSM360 tool is one of the most robust ITSM solutions for handling IT documentation due to the Microsoft 365 architecture with SharePoint as a data source.

You can use embedded SharePoint document/files features for your IT documentation practices, as well as predefined documentation fields for services and CI, including roles and responsibilities.

Shared document folder across Services and CI with linking to each component
Single document folder for each Service and CI
Documentation templates
Link functions
Central list for roles and responsibilities
Link to IT contracts from Services and CIs

BEST-PRACTICE

How do you ensure that all of your team members are on the same page when it comes to IT documentation?

As an IT executive, you’re not alone in your struggle with IT documentation. Many other IT organizations face the same challenges.

The new EU NIS2 regulation mandates documentation of your compliance level. Simply purchasing security devices and providing awareness training is no longer sufficient – documentation is now a necessity.

Read more about our proven IT documentation method/practice and IT documentation tool here.

Introduction

Experience optimal results with our recommended approach, seamlessly integrated into our cutting-edge ITSM360 tool.

Leverage the exceptional capabilities of the CMS or CMDB features within our ITSM platform to streamline your IT documentation practices.

Structure

Structure, with the IT documentation structure, lays the groundwork for your investment in improved IT services, enhanced compliance, and secure operations.

We recommend implementing a component-based model for your IT documentation. The component-based approach will make a red line in your entire IT documentation landscape and make it easy to maintain/update and more practical for users.

Example – don’t:

We see many starting the IT documentation process of a new IT system with a blank Word file and mixing specific configuration details, backup schedules, and a policy for user administration for this system.

Example – what to do:

See backup as an object documented in a separate item and linked to your system. The same goes for the user administration process, etc.

Advantages of the component-based approach:

Implementing correctly means you have two ways of working with the IT documentation. From the backup component item, it will be visible to you, in how many relations this backup is used, and from the system, a single click to the backup items gives you the documentation needed.

Divide your components into two types

When deciding your structure, you need to divide it into two categories:

Operational IT components, which are dynamic
Static documentation components, such as policies and standards.

The purpose of this categorization is a better system implementation and updating schedule (approval sequence).

Sufficiency

Sufficiency: while the term “sufficiency” may have a negative connotation, it should not be underestimated regarding IT documentation.

Finding the right balance is critical to success – not too much or too little.

Sufficiency guide:

Assume that the reader possesses extensive knowledge of the professional domain, hence keeping the documentation concise and precise. IT documentation is designed for professionals, not the general public.
Technical interfaces for administration are subject to frequent changes. Therefore, including numerous screenshots of how to set up a cloud service can rapidly become outdated. As a result, briefly explain the objectives and configuration process in the documentation alongside screen captures.
The 5 Ws questions (who, what, when, where, why) are essential in reading the sufficiency level. Quite often, details like why we created this virtual server are unknown for many – and capacity is running idle due to unknown 5 Ws. So, it’s not enough to document the configuration of the server!
Your industry also governs the sufficiency level. If you must comply with legislation, ISO standards, or industry-related frameworks, these will point you in the right direction.

Build templates and standards that guide your staff to the right sufficiency level.

Accessibility

Efficiently accessing IT documentation requires quick and effortless sharing & creating capabilities, ensuring the right people can easily find what they need.

You need a system that can operate with templates (preferably Office templates), permission, and workflow for your IT documentation.

Reporting showing what is obsolete, what needs review, etc., is also an essential requirement for your IT documentation system.