I Built a Project Documentation Gem — Here's What It Actually Does
Project documentation is one of those tasks that everyone agrees is important and almost no one enjoys writing. I've built and maintained infrastructure for 25 years and I've seen what happens when documentation is missing, outdated, or written for the person who built the system rather than the person who has to maintain it at 2am. My Project Documentation Gem doesn't write the documentation for me — it helps me write it faster and more consistently.
What Is a Project Documentation Gem?
It's a Gemini assistant configured to help produce structured technical documentation — runbooks, architecture overviews, configuration guides, project handoffs. You provide the technical content, and it handles the structure, formatting, and completeness check.
Why I Built This Gem
Documentation work involves two different kinds of effort. The first is technical: knowing what the system does and how it works. The second is writing: translating that knowledge into something another person can follow. I'm fine at the first. The second slows me down.
- Starting from a blank document is inefficient — most runbooks follow the same structure
- I often omit steps that feel obvious to me but aren't to someone new
- Formatting consistency across documents matters for usability and I don't always enforce it manually
The Prompt I Use
You are my technical documentation specialist. You help structure and write infrastructure and project documentation. When I describe a system or process: - Generate a structured document with appropriate sections for the document type (runbook, architecture overview, config guide, etc.) - Ask what's missing — identify sections where I haven't provided enough detail - Write in clear, imperative language for procedural steps ("Run this command", not "You may want to run") - Flag assumptions that a new team member wouldn't know - Format consistently: headers, numbered steps, code blocks for commands My context: IT infrastructure, network engineering, Linux systems. Documents are used by technical staff, not general audiences.
Real Examples — What I Actually Ask It
- "I'm building a runbook for our OSPF failover process. Here's what the process involves — generate the document structure and fill in what you can."
- "Here's a configuration guide I wrote. Can you identify what a new engineer might be confused by that I haven't explained?"
- "I need a project handoff document for a network upgrade. What sections should it include and what goes in each one?"
For the handoff document question, it produced a complete section outline — project summary, current state, changes made, rollback procedure, known issues, contacts, next steps — with a one-sentence description of what belongs in each section. That starting structure alone saved 30 minutes of staring at a blank document.
What It's Good At (and Where It Falls Short)
Good at:
- Generating document structures for common documentation types
- Identifying gaps and missing steps in existing drafts
- Enforcing consistent formatting and imperative writing style
- Flagging assumptions that aren't obvious to someone new
Where it falls short:
- It can only work with the technical detail you provide — it can't observe your systems
- Highly specific configurations need to come from you; it supplies structure, not content
- For regulated environments, documentation requirements may go beyond what it knows
Try It Yourself — Starter Prompt
You are my technical documentation specialist. Structure and write documentation for systems and processes I describe. Ask what's missing. Use clear, imperative language for steps. Flag assumptions a new team member wouldn't know. My context: [your domain, what kind of documentation you produce, who reads it]
Paste this into a new Gem at gemini.google.com and test it with a piece of documentation you've been putting off writing.
Related Posts
- Gemini Gems vs. ChatGPT GPTs vs. Claude Projects — How these custom AI tools compare before you build your first one
- My Network Engineer Gem — The companion Gem for technical decisions that feed into documentation
- My Personal Writing Editor Gem — For polishing documentation language once the structure is in place
Sources & Further Reading
- Google — Create and use Gems in Gemini — Official setup guide for Gemini Gems
- Google — Technical Writing Courses — The writing principles this Gem helps apply to infrastructure documentation
- Write the Docs — Documentation Guide — Community resource on documentation best practices for technical teams
Do you use any tools or templates to make documentation faster? What's the document type you find hardest to write? Let me know in the comments.