Building the service checklist is much easier if you’ve kept a log of what’s been added to the machine as it was added. For example, on a UNIX system, simply keep a record of changes in a file called /var/adm/CHANGES. The easier it is to edit the file, the more likely people are to update it, so consider creating a shell alias or short script that simply brings up that file in a text editor.
Of course, if the machine goes down, the change log may be inaccessible. Keeping the change log on a wiki or shared file server solves that problem, but may lead to confusion if someone tries to start a new change log on the host. Set a policy on where the change log will be kept and follow it.