How to Keep Your Process Documentation Up to Date

Here's a horror story from my past.

At Simpo (my first startup), we had an SOP for our refund process. Beautiful when we first wrote it. Detailed screenshots, clear steps, everything you'd want.

The problem? Six months later, we'd completely redesigned our billing system. The SOP still pointed to the old one. New customer success reps followed those outdated instructions and got completely lost. Some gave incorrect refunds. It was a mess.

Outdated documentation isn't just useless. It's actively harmful. People trust it, follow it, and get burned.

I'm Yuval, founder of Glitter AI. After learning this lesson the hard way, I've put together systems for keeping documentation current. Here's what actually works.

Why Documentation Goes Stale

Before we fix anything, it helps to understand why this happens in the first place.

Processes Change

Software gets updated. Tools get swapped out. Someone discovers a better way to do things. The process you documented six months ago might not be the process you use today.

Nobody Owns It

Documentation without an owner is documentation waiting to die. When it's "everyone's responsibility," it ends up being nobody's responsibility.

Creating Is Fun, Maintaining Is Not

There's something satisfying about creating new documentation. Updating existing docs? Not so much. Human nature means maintenance gets pushed to the back burner.

No Trigger to Review

Without scheduled reviews, they simply don't happen. You might notice outdated documentation when someone complains. By then, the damage is already done.

The Pain Isn't Immediate

Unlike broken code that fails loudly, outdated documentation fails quietly. People work around it, ask colleagues, or just figure things out themselves. The pain is spread out and hard to quantify.

The Real Cost of Outdated Documentation

It's tempting to dismiss stale docs as a minor annoyance. It's not.

Time waste: People follow wrong steps, hit dead ends, then have to start over or ask someone for help.

Errors: Outdated instructions lead to mistakes. In some industries, those mistakes carry serious consequences.

Trust erosion: When people find outdated documentation, they stop trusting your docs altogether. They'll skip them entirely and just ask someone directly, which defeats the whole purpose.

Onboarding slowdown: New hires lean heavily on documentation. If it's wrong, their ramp-up takes longer and they feel less sure of themselves.

Compliance risk: For regulated industries, outdated SOPs can mean failed audits or worse.

One Reddit user described their company's documentation as "a hodgepodge" of outdated files scattered across multiple systems. The result? People spent 8-12 hours per week frustrated by unclear processes and outdated information.

That's not a documentation problem. That's a business problem.

Strategy 1: Assign Owners to Every Document

This is probably the single most important thing you can do.

Every document needs an owner. Not a team. A person. Someone whose name is on it and who's accountable for keeping it current.

What Document Owners Do

• Review the document on a set schedule
• Update it when the process changes
• Respond to questions and feedback
• Archive or delete it when it's no longer needed

How to Assign Owners

The owner should typically be someone who:

• Uses or manages the process regularly
• Will notice when things change
• Has the authority to make updates

Often this is a team lead or whoever originally created the document. But it doesn't have to be. Just make sure ownership is explicitly assigned.

What If the Owner Leaves?

Offboarding should include reassigning document ownership. If this gets missed, run regular audits to find orphaned documents.

Strategy 2: Schedule Regular Reviews

Don't wait for documentation to become obviously outdated. Schedule reviews before that happens.

Recommended Review Frequencies

• Quarterly: Most business processes, software workflows, general SOPs
• Monthly: Fast-changing processes, new products, areas with frequent updates
• Annually: Stable processes, reference documentation, policies that rarely change

How to Make Reviews Happen

Put it on the calendar. Seriously. If it's not scheduled, it won't happen.

A few approaches:

• Individual reminders: Each document owner gets a recurring calendar reminder
• Team review day: Monthly meeting where the team reviews assigned documents together
• Automated reminders: Some documentation tools send review reminders automatically

What a Review Includes

1. Read through the document
2. Verify each step is still accurate
3. Check that screenshots match current UI
4. Update any changed information
5. Note the review date on the document

If the process hasn't changed, a review might take 5 minutes. If it has, you'll catch the issues before they cause problems.

Strategy 3: Build Updates Into Process Changes

The best time to update documentation is when the process changes. Not weeks later when someone notices something's off.

Create a Documentation Checkpoint

Whenever a process changes, make updating documentation part of that change:

• Rolling out new software? Update affected docs before or during rollout.
• Changing a workflow? The change isn't "complete" until documentation is updated.
• Training new team members? Have them flag anything in docs that doesn't match reality.

Use a Simple Change Log

For important documents, keep a change log at the bottom:

REVISION HISTORY
| Version | Date | Changes | Updated By |
|---------|------|---------|------------|
| 1.2 | 2025-01-15 | Updated screenshots for new UI | J. Smith |
| 1.1 | 2024-10-03 | Added troubleshooting section | Y. Karmi |
| 1.0 | 2024-07-01 | Initial release | Y. Karmi |

This creates accountability and makes it easy to see when a document was last reviewed.

Strategy 4: Make Updating Easy

If updating documentation is a hassle, it won't happen. Remove friction wherever you can.

Keep Documents Editable

PDFs look professional but they're a pain to update. Keep working documents in editable formats. Export to PDF only when you need a locked version for compliance.

Use Tools That Make Screenshots Easy

Screenshots are often what goes outdated fastest. If updating them requires opening Photoshop and manually cropping, people just won't bother.

This is actually one reason I built Glitter AI. You can update documentation by simply re-recording the process. New screenshots, updated steps, done in minutes.

Allow Comments and Feedback

Make it easy for users to flag issues. A simple "This seems outdated" comment is valuable feedback.

Empower More People to Update

If only one person can edit a document, updates will bottleneck. Give appropriate editing permissions to people who actually use the documentation.

Strategy 5: Archive Instead of Delete

When a process is discontinued or significantly changed, don't delete the old documentation right away.

Why Keep Old Versions

• Someone might need to understand how things used to work
• Audits may require historical documentation
• Rollbacks happen

How to Archive

Create an "Archive" folder or tag. Move outdated documents there with a note about when they were archived and why.

Set a policy for permanent deletion (like deleting archived docs after 2 years).

Strategy 6: Use Documentation Analytics

If your documentation tool offers analytics, put them to use.

What to Look For

• Low view counts: If nobody's reading a document, do you actually need it?
• High view counts + feedback: Popular documents getting "this is wrong" comments need immediate attention
• Declining usage: Documents that used to be popular but aren't anymore might be outdated
• Search failures: What are people searching for and not finding?

Analytics help you figure out where to focus your documentation maintenance efforts.

Strategy 7: Conduct Periodic Audits

Even with owners and schedules, run broader audits from time to time.

What to Check

• Are all documents assigned owners?
• Have all documents been reviewed within their scheduled cycle?
• Are there duplicate or contradictory documents?
• Is the organization structure still working?
• Are archived documents being properly managed?

Frequency

Quarterly or every six months works for most organizations.

Red Flags That Your Documentation Is Going Stale

Watch for these warning signs:

• People asking questions that docs should answer: If documentation exists but people are asking anyway, the docs might be outdated or hard to find.
• "That's not how we do it anymore": When someone says this about a documented procedure, flag it for immediate update.
• Screenshots that don't match: UI changes constantly. If screenshots show an old interface, users will get confused.
• Tribal knowledge creeping back: If experienced team members are filling in gaps with verbal instructions, the docs aren't complete or current.
• New hires struggling despite documentation: If onboarding isn't smooth even with existing docs, something's probably out of date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you know when documentation is outdated?

Watch for specific red flags: people asking questions that the documentation should answer, team members saying "that's not how we do it anymore," screenshots showing old interfaces, and new hires struggling despite having access to documentation. The most reliable approach is scheduling regular reviews before issues become visible—quarterly for most business processes, monthly for fast-changing areas, and annually for stable policies. During reviews, verify each step is still accurate, check that screenshots match the current UI, and update any changed information.

Who is responsible for keeping process documentation updated?

Every document needs a single owner—not a team, but a specific person whose name is on it and who's accountable for maintenance. The owner should be someone who uses or manages the process regularly, will notice when things change, and has the authority to make updates. Document owners review on a set schedule, update when processes change, respond to questions and feedback, and archive documents when they're no longer needed. While anyone should be able to flag issues or suggest edits, clear individual ownership prevents the "everyone's responsibility becomes nobody's responsibility" problem.

What is the biggest reason documentation becomes outdated?

The fundamental issue is that creating documentation is satisfying while maintaining it feels like a chore, so updates get pushed to the back burner. Without scheduled reviews or assigned owners, documentation only gets updated when someone complains—meaning the damage is already done. Unlike broken code that fails loudly, outdated documentation fails quietly as people work around it, ask colleagues directly, or just figure things out themselves. This makes the pain spread out and hard to quantify, so the problem grows unnoticed until it becomes significant.

Should you delete or archive outdated documentation?

Always archive instead of deleting immediately. Create an "Archive" folder or tag, move outdated documents there with a note about when they were archived and why, then set a policy for permanent deletion after a specific period like two years. Keeping old versions matters because someone might need to understand how things used to work, audits may require historical documentation, and rollbacks do happen. This approach maintains institutional knowledge while keeping your active documentation clean and current.

How can you make documentation easier to update?

Remove friction at every step. Keep documents in editable formats rather than PDFs, use tools that make updating screenshots simple instead of requiring manual editing, allow comments so users can easily flag issues, and give editing permissions to more people who actually use the documentation instead of creating bottlenecks. Build documentation updates directly into your process change workflow—when you roll out new software or change a workflow, updating affected documentation should be part of that change, not something that happens weeks later. Small, frequent updates are far easier than major overhauls of completely outdated documents.

A Sustainable System

Here's a straightforward system you can start today:

1. Assign owners to every document
2. Schedule reviews based on how frequently each process changes
3. Add a documentation checkpoint to your process change workflow
4. Use analytics to spot documents that need attention
5. Conduct quarterly audits to catch anything that slipped through

This isn't glamorous work. But it's the difference between documentation that helps and documentation that frustrates.

And if you want to make the whole thing easier, both creating and updating, try Glitter AI. When you can update documentation by simply re-recording the process, maintenance becomes much less daunting.