Documentation from the live estate | Firemind
Documentation

Documentation that cannot go stale.It is produced from what is running.

Generated from your infrastructure code, your templates and the live estate, and regenerated as the estate changes.

Generated from the live estate
Architecture and inventory
Security posture
Evidence as a by-product
Versioned and regenerated
First set within days
The problem

Most estate documentation does more harm than good.

It describes what was true when someone last had time to write it down, and nobody trusts it enough to act on it.

The IT Operations Engine generates documentation from the infrastructure code, the templates and the live estate, and regenerates it as the estate changes.

What documentation has to be to be worth having

  • Produced from the sources of truth, not from someone's recollection of them
  • Regenerated as the estate changes, rather than reviewed when there is time
  • Covering architecture, inventory and security posture, not just a diagram
  • Carrying the reasoning behind each change and the evidence that it worked
  • Curated for the audiences who actually read it, from security to finance
What we do

Read the code, the templates and the estate. Generate from all three.

Documentation is produced from the sources of truth rather than written alongside them, so it stays current as a consequence of operating rather than as a separate task. Where a repository is built from a blueprint, the README explains how to run it, what it costs and how to tear it down.

Infrastructure code
Templates
Live estate
Architecture and inventory
Security posture

Find, fix, keep green

    • Find - The engine reads your infrastructure code, your templates and the running estate. Those are the three sources, and nothing is written from anything else.
    • Fix - It produces the documentation from those sources. Architecture, inventory, security posture, the reasoning behind each change it has made, and the evidence that the change worked. Where a repository is built from a blueprint, the README explains how to run it, what it costs and how to tear it down.
    • Keep green - Every run produces its own evidence as a by-product. Onboarding artefacts are versioned and regenerated, so documentation stays current as a consequence of operating rather than as a separate task.

Want to see the first generated set?

Read-only access to the accounts and repositories in scope is enough. It is usually available within days.

Scope a pilot →
How it starts

Read-only access. A first set within days.

Nothing in the estate or the repositories is changed to produce it.

  • Read-only access

    Access to the accounts and repositories in scope. The engine reads the infrastructure code, the templates and the running estate.

    • Three sources, read directly
    • No changes made to produce the documentation
    • First generated set usually available within days
  • The first generated set

    Architecture, inventory and security posture, plus the reasoning behind each change made and the evidence that it worked.

    • Architecture and inventory from what exists
    • Security posture from what is configured
    • READMEs that state cost and teardown for blueprint-built repositories
  • Regenerated, not maintained

    Every run produces its own evidence as a by-product. Onboarding artefacts are versioned and regenerated as the estate changes.

    • Current as a consequence of operating
    • Versioned artefacts, not overwritten files
    • No separate documentation task to fall behind on
What stays with you

What the documentation is for, and who reads it.

The engine produces it for the audiences you name, from security to finance.

You gain:

  • The same discovery output can be curated for different readers, including an auditor.
  • Every run produces its own evidence as a by-product, so the record is not a separate exercise.
  • Where a repository is built from a blueprint, the README explains how to run it, what it costs and how to tear it down.

FAQ

Questions.

Yes. The same discovery output can be curated for different readers.

Start with read-only access to the accounts and repositories in scope.

The first generated set is usually available within days, produced from your infrastructure code, your templates and the live estate.

Your benefits:

  • Three sources - code, templates and the running estate.
  • Cannot go stale - regenerated as the estate changes.
  • Evidence included - the reasoning and the proof it worked.
  • Your audiences - curated for security, finance or an auditor.

What happens next?

Talk.

A focused discussion about who reads your documentation and what for.

Generate.

Read-only access, and a first generated set within days.

Regenerate.

Versioned artefacts that stay current as a consequence of operating.

No obligation. Just a focused discussion about the documentation you cannot trust.

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