Patterns for maintainer and tech writer collaboration

Users and developers demand more and better documentation but, as a FOSS maintainer, you’re an expert in making software, not documentation. Technical writers are docs experts, but it can be hard to collaborate across that gap of expertise. It’s especially challenging to define and scope the work to be done, leading to misunderstandings and disappointing outcomes, for maintainers and writers alike.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have clear expectations of what your next documentation project would look like and to pull together as a team from the start? In this talk, you’ll get a preview of a new open-source resource for maintainers to help recognize archetypal documentation projects, the skills you’ll need to successfully complete them, and common pitfalls to avoid. And across documentation projects—whether you’re adopting new docs tools, rewriting tutorials, or deleting out-of-date materials—you’ll learn some important themes that will lead maintainers and tech writers to make the docs that users and developers want.

Daniel D. Beck is a documentation consultant who helps software engineering teams make tools, processes, and content that reach developer audiences. His talk draws from experience as a longtime contributor and maintainer of open source software and documentation, including as a current maintainer of Baseline, a browser compatibility tool, and a past role as technical content lead for MDN Web Docs.