--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A unit of documentation. There are always…" description: "\"A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The information you need is in th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfc/raymond-simard-70369_data_a-unit-of-documentation-there-are-always_1470474.png" --- # A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on… ![“A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The information you need is in the others.” quote by Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfc/raymond-simard-70369_data_a-unit-of-documentation-there-are-always_1470474.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfc/raymond-simard-70369_data_a-unit-of-documentation-there-are-always_1470474.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfc/raymond-simard-70369_data_a-unit-of-documentation-there-are-always_1470474.png) > “A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The information you need is in the others.” [Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Documentation often exists in multiple places; the most useful information may be stored elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Key info can be hidden in other docs. Key Takeaway Check all related sources for complete info. Themes documentation information retrieval knowledge management systems thinking Mood analytical pragmatic Type practical informative When to use this quote - software development - research - library science - project management Key Concepts archival theory information architecture contextual awareness Questions to Reflect On - Where might the missing details be? - How can you centralize critical info? A Different Perspective Relying on scattered docs can cause delays. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Documentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentation/) [Documentation Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentation-given-5334365/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Item Shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/item-shelf-5334364/) [Items](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/items/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Shelf Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-information-5334363/) [Shelves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelves/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Unit Documentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unit-documentation-5334362/) [Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units/) ## Related quotes > [Once you realize that documentation should be laughed at, peed upon, put on fire, and just ridiculed in general, then, and only then, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/once-you-realize-that-documentation-should-be-laughed-at-peed-upon/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Documentation is not understanding, process is not discipline, formality is not skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/documentation-is-not-understanding-process-is-not-discipline/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [“Behind every text footnote is a file folder with all the hardcopy documentation needed to document every sentence in this book at a moment’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-black/behind-every-text-footnote-is-a-file-folder-with-all-the-hardcopy/) [Edwin Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-black/) > [I think that the richer and deeper documentation is on the web, the better off we all are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/i-think-that-the-richer-and-deeper-documentation-is-on-the-web-the/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-need-a-receipt-for-a-doughnut-i-ll-just-give-you-the-money/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I've always written songs to use music as a form of therapy or as a way to look at my obstacles or my memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-ragan/i-ve-always-written-songs-to-use-music-as-a-form-of-therapy-or-as-a/) [Chuck Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-ragan/) > [“There were waves of genocide that overcame indigenous populations of Oceania and do we have a library of books or films to tell our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-b-dallocchio/there-were-waves-of-genocide-that-overcame-indigenous-populations-of/) [M.B. Dallocchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-b-dallocchio/) > [It is deeply shocking and incomprehensible to me that despite volumes of documentation and living witnesses who can attest to the horrors of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-udall/it-is-deeply-shocking-and-incomprehensible-to-me-that-despite-volumes/) [Mark Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-udall/) > [Our reasons for believing Jesus existed and also that He was who He claimed to be - the God who came down - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-koukl/our-reasons-for-believing-jesus-existed-and-also-that-he-was-who-he/) [Greg Koukl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-koukl/) > [Nowhere are prejudices more mistaken for truth, passion for reason and invective for documentation than in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/nowhere-are-prejudices-more-mistaken-for-truth-passion-for-reason-and/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [I think that people are constantly thinking about capturing things that they're not actually present for the moment they're trying to capture. I'm quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/i-think-that-people-are-constantly-thinking-about-capturing-things/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [The obsessive documentation is itself adjacent to hyper-consumption in our society. The desire to just have everything all the time and adjacent to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-leo/the-obsessive-documentation-is-itself-adjacent-to-hyper-consumption/) [Ted Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-leo/) > [Developing fewer features allows you to conserve development resources and spend more time refining those features that users really need. Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I think it's important to have some documentation of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-think-it-s-important-to-have-some-documentation-of-the-past/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) ## More by Raymond Simard > [Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-simard/fortunately-the-second-to-last-bug-has-just-been-fixed/) [Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) > [A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-simard/a-programming-language-that-is-sort-of-like-pascal-except-more-like/) [Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) > [GOTO, n.: A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers to complain about unstructured programmers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-simard/goto-n-a-programming-tool-that-exists-to-allow-structured-programmers/) [Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) [Explore all 4 Raymond Simard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) ## More Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) [Angela Llama-Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-llama-butler/) > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) [SebastianMax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastianmax/) > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) [Ebbe Skovdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebbe-skovdahl/) > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. 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