Design documents
Essay, memo, manifesto - all in the same category here. Writing forces clarity of thought (see Writing as thinking).
- Some notes on how to write a design document: https://grantslatton.com/how-to-design-document Hackernews discussion, many good points: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44779428
Writing is nature's way of telling us how sloppy our thinking is.
- Leslie Lamport
One of the biggest challenges that I have is a culture that doesn't value this kind of hard thinking / writing. Decisions are made in meetings, often based on vibes.