Document Your Decisions, Not Your Code

Your code explains what it does. The hard part — the part that actually matters — is knowing why it does it that way and not another way.

The problem with documenting code

Code comments go stale. Architecture decisions don't. "What" is obvious from the code. "Why" disappears the moment the person who made the decision leaves.

What to document instead

Architecture Decision Records (ADRs): one document per significant decision. Format: Context → Decision → Consequences.

The Quild practice

Every cohort member maintains a decision log. It's not formal — a Notion doc with bullet points is fine.

The compound effect

After 8 weeks: a record of how you think, not just what you built. This is the most valuable artifact of any project — more than the code itself.

Code is the output. Decisions are the work. Document the work.