Summary

Innovative technologies need explaining, even when the audience is technical or very technical.

I have written enough code to know what information a developer needs to effectively use a technology packaged as an API, SDK, or framework, and I have delivered documentation for such technologies using a wide range of publication tools and media.

I’m technical enough to build rapport and a good working relationship with the developing engineers, but I remain a writer who most of all enjoys the challenges of learning a new technology, thinking hard about it, and deciding how to filter what I’ve learned into readable and usable documentation.

I have worked almost exclusively with product-oriented teams, which have typically included marketing, technical product management, and technical subject matter experts. In some cases the company had a well-defined documentation strategy in place, and I worked within it; more often, I came in at the beginning of a project that represented a new direction for the company, and my responsibilities included developing a documentation strategy, presenting it to the overall product team, and obtaining approval for it.

Some of the tasks I have performed as a technical writer:

  • Analyzing user/customer needs
  • Collaborating with other team members to develop documentation strategies and architectures to meet customer needs
  • Providing usability feedback, particularly with respect to the product’s user interface, to other team members
  • Working closely with developers and development management to ensure flow of information
  • Adapting to changes in schedules and product feature sets
  • Working with documentation tools, including developing templates for online content
  • Writing the actual documentation content, while maintaining standards
  • Editing the work of other writers on the documentation team
  • Working with Q/A team and hands-on use of the product to ensure the documentation is accurate
  • Delivering the content, in such formats as online HTML, electronic format (e.g. PDF), or print

I recently completed a four-year stint with Sabre Airline Solutions, a major provider of software as a service. New to Sabre was making their technology available in the form of a RESTful, JSON-based web service API, and I was instrumental in convincing Sabre to move to a modern, online help and documentation system for this technology.