Documenting decisions and enforcing standards

Documentation helps teams understand how the design system works and how they should use it. Governance sources highlight the value of clear guidelines that cover design principles, usage rules, accessibility details, and code standards. When this information is easy to find, teams can make confident decisions without guessing or relying on memory.

Good documentation also supports quality. Shared standards help teams build components that look and behave the same way across products. This includes rules for colors, typography, spacing, and technical expectations in code. Clear standards reduce confusion, speed up onboarding, and make it easier to maintain consistency as the system grows and changes.

Strong documentation also improves communication. When updates or changes happen, teams can quickly understand what was added, removed, or adjusted. This helps the design system team share decisions with the whole organization and keeps everyone informed without extra meetings or long explanations.