How do you keep engineering context alive when requirements change? Post:

Source: Dev.to

Scenario

• We document requirements thoroughly.
• Engineering builds the feature.
• Three months later, a modification is needed.

Problem

• No one remembers why certain decisions were made.
• Engineering must reverse‑engineer the “why” before making changes.
• The documentation exists, but it doesn’t capture the discussions, debates, and trade‑offs that occurred during the build.
• When asking “why is it built this way?”, the typical answers are “let me check Slack” or “I think we discussed this in a meeting, but I’m not sure which one.”

Question

Is this an accepted cost of product development, or are there processes, rituals, or habits that can keep this context alive?

Note: I’m not looking for specific tools—just effective processes or practices.