Good quality documentation helps you to visualise the project you're about to start and mentally go through the steps involved in completing it.

If it's a complex job, you should always document the steps in some form of work plan, such as a project schedule.

This will let you work through all the preparations required and determine how you will tackle the various tasks involved and what sequence you'll do them in.

But even the simplest of jobs require planning, because you still need to know in advance what tools, materials and people will be needed, and what sequence you'll follow.

The only difference is that you don't have to think as carefully about all the possible variables or potential problems, and you may not need to draw up a formal work plan.

Good quality documents also allow you to check your work at various stages throughout the project to make sure everything is on track and in accordance with the job specifications.

This helps to avoid the problem of a small mistake turning into a big problem as the error starts to throw everything out of alignment.

Click on the links below to see some of the things you should consider when you're reading and checking work documents at different stages of a job.