Analysis Documentation

When to use

• Finalising an analysis before sharing it with stakeholders
• Handing off an analysis to another team member or to a future self
• Archiving recurring analyses so they can be run again consistently
• Preparing for peer review or a formal audit
• Converting an exploratory notebook into a reference document

Process

1. Confirm audience and scope — determine whether the primary reader is technical (data team), business (stakeholders), or both. For mixed audiences, use a tiered structure. See references/audience_depth_guide.md for calibration.
2. Write the business context section — state the business question, the stakeholders who requested the analysis, the decisions it informs, and the success criteria.
3. Document data sources — for each source, record the table or file, date range, row count, key columns, and any known quality issues or exclusions applied.
4. Write the methodology section — describe the analytical approach, tools and library versions, key assumptions, and important decisions made (and alternatives considered). Reference the assumptions log if one exists.
5. Record results — include key metrics and statistics, embed or link visualisations with descriptive captions, and present findings in order of importance.
6. Write the insights, recommendations, and reproducibility section — connect each finding to a business implication and a next action. Document the steps required to reproduce the analysis (data access, environment, execution order). Use assets/analysis_doc_template.md as the structure.