Seriously, there are major disadvantages to getting busy people with other important roles to do something as time-consuming as documentation.

• They generally resent doing it.
• They may not be very good at it (after all, it's not usually what they're trained for).
• It holds up progress by diverting their efforts from the tasks they do best.
• They frequently struggle (or fail) to have documentation ready when it's needed.

Many clients are surprised at just how little of their time we need!

Typically, our only requirements are:

• an initial walkthrough – similar in level to a demonstration that you might provide to a prospective purchaser.
• access to working software or hardware – neither of which need to be in their finished state, as we routinely document systems while still in development. Indeed, this is usually the best approach since it means that the system and its documentation can be ready for release at the same time.
• periodic access to relevant members of your staff throughout the project to answer specific queries.