When new clients (or even some old ones) approach me with a technical problem, nowadays I tend to find myself sounding like I am on repeat: "Have you written down all the tech you got?"

That seems like an easy question, but after years or decades of building business systems and processes, most all companies — mine included — have legacy systems, stuff they just started using yesterday, and other digital tools someone forgot about years ago. It's hard to keep up. A practical example is forgetting online subscriptions; it's no wonder we forget about them and keep paying for them for years.

It is not just the "hidden" subscriptions cost that we are losing out on by not documenting our tools... we are also losing out on valuable insights. Insights into where there may be gaps in our processes, ways we can organize our tech to be more efficient, or allow us to troubleshoot when something goes wrong more quickly. These are the reasons I often ask something like, "Do you have any documentation?"

Doing a technology map is important but not urgent work. It also is repetitive as you change your tech stack. So too often, it gets left behind and only done when it has must (if ever), even though the investment can pay off big down the road.

I'm curious. Hit reply and let me know:

• Do you have tech stack documentation? It is ok if it is not 100% perfect.
• Or do you have any visuals or maps of how your tech is used, how it connects, and where there may be gaps?
• What is one thing you can do today to start or improve your technology documentation?

Your tech friend,

--Joshua

P.S. I appeared on WMT600AM radio Monday morning with Doug Wagner, discussing "AI for your business: Should it be feared". You can listen to the audio here. The link also includes an AI-generated transcript, of course. =)