Documentatieprotocols

Documentatieprotocols, or documentation protocols, are formal procedures for producing, organizing, reviewing, and preserving documentation within a given domain. They outline who is responsible, what content to capture, how to structure it, and how to control versions and access.

Key components include purpose and scope, roles and responsibilities, templates and metadata standards, version control, review and approval workflows, access controls, and retention and archival plans. Metadata standards help ensure discoverability and interoperability across systems.

Lifecycle: documents are created using approved templates, go through review and approval, are published or distributed, and are periodically updated or retired. Provenance records capture authorship, changes, and decision history. A document management system (DMS) or repository is typically used to enforce these controls.

Practices vary by sector but common standards include information governance frameworks, ISO 15489 for information and documentation, and metadata schemes such as Dublin Core. Tools range from document management systems and wikis to version control systems and API documentation platforms.

Benefits include consistency, accountability, regulatory compliance, and improved information retrieval. Challenges include keeping documentation up to date, managing access across organizations, and balancing detail with readability.

See also information governance, data provenance, metadata, and version control.