Docs-as-Ecosystem: The Community Approach to Engineering Documentation

by Alejandra Quetzalli

Overview

Investing in engineering documentation (Docs) means investing in community user experience. This book teaches readers how mastering the docs-as-code ecosystem empowers communities to understand better their favorite products and Open-Source (OSS) technologies better.

Author Alejandra Quetzalli believes that “docs-as-ecosystem” represents a more comprehensive and collaborative approach to documentation development than “docsas- code” because it recognizes that documentation is more than just code. Docs involve technical writing, design, community feedback, community management, accessibility, SEO, UX, and today… even Artificial Intelligence tools! The word ecosystem promotes a paradigm where we treat documentation as a complex and dynamic system that must be managed and nurtured.

In this book, you’ll acquire practical skills such as creating public style guides, incorporating responsive and accessible design, designing user flows and information architecture, retrieving user feedback, and setting up Docs analytics. You’ll learn to identify the difference in work processes between maintaining Docs for a product versus an OSS technology. You’ll discover the secrets to managing technical writers and OSS contributions, all while building a thriving Docs community. To end on a futuristic note, you’ll discover why technical writers who harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (i.e., ChatGPT) need not fear a robot uprising anytime soon.

What You'll Learn

• Examine accessibility and the user experience
• Understand Information architecture
• Review docs-as-ecosystem processes
• Manage technical writers
• Oversee OSS Docs contributions
• Retrieve and integrate user feedback
• Build Docs and Education communities

Who This Book is For

Developers of all levels, VPs of Product/Engineering, Product Managers, and Designers,

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484293270
Publisher:	Apress
Publication date:	08/09/2023
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alejandra Quetzalli is a Latina from México with 10 years of experience in the tech industry and a devoted autism service dog, Canela. Canela works side-by-side with Alejandra, even joining her traveling and speaking engagements at tech conferences worldwide. Throughout her career, Alejandra has worked in SEO, Paid Search, Full-Stack development, UX, Developer Relations, Technical Writing (Engineering Documentation), AWS Cloud Advocacy, startups, and Open-Source (OSS). She's currently a core maintainer at AsyncAPI Initiative, leading OSS initiatives for AsyncAPI Docs and Education. In 2022, she became a member of the AsyncAPI Technical Steering Committee (TSC).

In 2016, she founded sheCodesNow.org to provide accessible programming workshops for women and minorities transitioning into tech. Today, sheCodesNow has grown to develop technical courses in technical writing, developer relations, and tech community building.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Accessibility.- Chapter 2: Information Architecture.- Chapter 3: SEO.- Chapter 4: UI Design.- Chapter 5: Documenting APIs.- Chapter 6: Documenting SDKs.- Chapter 7: Integrating your Docs into CI/CD pipelines.- Chapter 8: Make your style guide public.- Chapter 9: Open Source contributions.- Chapter 10: Retrieve customer feedback and analytics.- Chapter 11: Prioritize documentation requests.- Chapter 12: Open community communication channels.- Chapter 13 - ChatGPT and AI.- Appendix A: Engineering Documentation Templates.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“My dear and esteemed colleague Alejandra Quetzalli is proposing the approach of treating technical documentation as an ecosystem and is writing a book about it. I completely agree with this approach. In order for documentation to be useful (which involves being correct, accessible, extendable, searchable, up to date, and many more things) we need to manage it as an ecosystem.” (Pedro Galvan, Head of Content & Technology, Software Guru)

“As a Documentation Engineer, I firmly believe that documentation is an essential part of software development, and adopting a "docs-as-ecosystem" approach can benefit the entire tech community, regardless of skill level. The "docs-as-ecosystem" approach emphasizes the importance of documentation throughout the software development lifecycle, creating an inclusive and collaborative way of creating and maintaining documentation. By prioritizing documentation, developers can improve the usability, maintainability, and scalability of software products, making it easier for everyone to build upon and contribute to them. Alejandra's approach to "docs-as-ecosystem" fosters a culture of learning and knowledge sharing, making it easier for beginners to learn from more experienced developers and quickly become proficient in the industry. I believe that adopting a "docs-as-ecosystem" approach is a critical step towards creating a more inclusive and supportive tech community that encourages growth, innovation, and collaboration.” (Brittney Ball, Featured in NYT, Documentation Engineer, META)

“Having worked with her at AWS, I can attest to her exceptional ability to create high-quality developer docs. With years of specialization under her belt, Alejandra's expertise in this field is unmatched, and her insights on how to create documentation that is clear, concise, and user-friendly are invaluable. This book will be an excellent resource for any team looking to improve their documentation, and I have no doubt that it will become a go-to guide in the software development community. I highly recommend Alejandra's book to anyone looking to create exceptional software documentation.” (Nader Dabit - Director of Developer Relations at AAVE & Lens Prool)

“I've found my new go-to reference for all things documentation. This book provides a fresh perspective on docs and why treating them as an ecosystem is so vital. Not only does it cover the documentation process, but it also delves into the critical aspects of SEO, accessibility, UX/UI design, and more. Its comprehensive approach and wealth of helpful knowledge really set this book apart. Whether you're a technical writer, product manager, or OSS contributor, this book is an essential guide to mastering documentation.” (Kurt Kemple - Sr. Director, Developer Growth & Engagement, Slack)