The Order of the Documentation

The rarest form of valor in IT: writing things down so the next person doesn't have to suffer.

Award it to someone today. Your own email app sends it.

Choose a format Metal challenge coin Coming soon 1.75" antique-bronze coin with a 3D high-relief front, raised rim lettering and a beaded edge. Ships in a clear capsule with a backing card. Plastic challenge coin Coming soon 1.75" soft PVC (rubber) coin with 2-3 levels of relief, painted in antique-bronze tones. Lighter and lower-cost than metal. Ships in a clear capsule with a backing card.Available once the artwork is finished. Die-cut vinyl sticker Coming soon 3" die-cut vinyl sticker of the coin artwork with a UV- and water-resistant laminate. Laptop and water-bottle grade.Available once the artwork is finished.

Physical coins and stickers are coming soon. Until then, you can email this coin for free.

Meaning

The rarest form of valor in IT: writing things down so the next person doesn't have to suffer.

Design

Front (Obverse)

Top rim: THE ORDER OF THE DOCUMENTATION
Bottom rim: WRITE IT DOWN DIVISION
Center: A calm scribe sits at a desk writing README.md in a large open book, while chaos (fires, falling servers, panicking figures) swirls in the background.

Back (Reverse)

An open book with the inscription "IF IT'S NOT WRITTEN DOWN, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN".

Finish & Style

Antique bronze challenge coin, ~1.75" diameter, high-relief center scene, raised rim lettering, beaded outer edge. Matches the existing ITChallengeCoins series.

How to Earn It

Write documentation that a teammate used to solve a problem without asking you.
Or write the runbook for a system that previously had none.
Or update documentation that was more than two years out of date.

Citation

For the quiet heroism of writing it down, so that others would not have to dig it up.