Write the Docs Lightning Talks meetup

1. A TRIBE CALLED TECH*
*WRITERS
MARY SWIFT

2. “If you want to build a ship, then don’t drum
up [people] to gather wood, give orders, and
divide the work. Rather, teach them to yearn
for the far and endless sea.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

3. In this metaphor, the ship is the product (obviously) -- which
includes the integral component of great documentation.
And the far and endless sea is a happy, informed, empowered
user.
Our tribe, the tech writing community at large, is uniquely
qualified to teach cross-functional teams to yearn for the
far and endless sea.

4. In our role as communicators, collaborators, and
disseminators of tribal knowledge, we can:
• Cross the chasm between internal cross-functional
teams
(developers, UX, QA, PM, services/implementation,
and support)
• Provide a link between those teams and the customer
• Inspire each of these teams to yearn for the far and
endless sea

5. To do that we must:
• Build trust with all stakeholders by understanding our
audience and delivering great documentation
• Improve our efficiency to keep pace with rapid
development
• Just enough right on time – minimalist approach
• Single sourcing/XML publishing
• Automation

6. • Communicate the value of our tribe -- the Tribe
Called Tech (Writers) -- across our organizations and
the wider software development community
• Communicate the ROI of providing great
documentation
• Higher quality documentation > fewer calls to
support > lower cost of overhead > more profits >
happy/empowered users > the far and endless sea!