Dokumentoituvan

Dokumentoituvan is a term used in information management and digital archiving to describe objects, processes, or events that should be documented comprehensively throughout their lifecycle to assure traceability and accountability. The word is formed from dokumentoida, meaning “to document,” and a participial suffix that yields roughly “that which is to be documented.”

Usage of the term is most common in Finnish-language discussions of documentation standards, provenance tracking, and governance. In English-language discourse, it is sometimes treated as a loanword or translated according to context, e.g., as “documentable” or “to-be-documented.”

Scope and applications include records, datasets, software, and operational processes that require formal documentation and audit trails. The concept supports rigorous metadata, version control, and traceable changes, aiding compliance with legal, regulatory, or organizational requirements. For example, a project plan or a data pipeline may be described as dokumentoituvan to emphasize the need for complete documentation.

Management considerations include balancing thorough documentation with overhead and privacy concerns. Proponents argue that documenting dokumentoituvan elements enhances accountability, reproducibility, and interoperability, while critics warn of over-documentation and potential information overload.

See also: provenance, data governance, archival science, documentation standards.