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In the latest episode of the Knowledge Base Ninjas podcast, Amara Graham, Head of Developer Experience at Camunda, shares invaluable insights into the evolving role of technical writers in enhancing developer enablement. Amara delves into the transition from engineer-led to technical writer-led documentation and offers best practices for bridging gaps between technical accuracy and user experience.
Watch the full podcast episode video here:
About Amara
- Amara Graham’s LinkedIn
- Background: A career rooted in enabling developers through teaching, advocacy, and instructional content
- She joined Camunda, just as they launched their latest product Camunda 8, where they had to help developers onboard and adopt the tool.
Key Takeaways
1. The Transition to Technical Writer-Led Documentation
At Camunda, engineers initially managed documentation. While this demonstrated their commitment to thorough documentation, Amara noted key differences between how engineers and technical writers approach content creation:
- Engineers: Often produce verbose content that can lack necessary prerequisite information or miss key details.
- Technical Writers: Focus on clarity, completeness, and user-centric perspectives. They emphasize asking detailed questions upfront to ensure the documentation is accurate and reflective of the user experience.
Camunda implemented a “cheat sheet” with essential style guide elements to ease the transition. This lightweight approach helped engineers align with professional documentation standards without overwhelming them.
2. Collaboration Between Engineers and Technical Writers
Amara stresses the importance of fostering collaboration between engineers and technical writers. Some effective strategies include:
- Introducing Style Guides Gradually: Start with foundational elements and build from there.
- Leveraging Existing Resources: Camunda initially used the Google Writing Style Guide and their accompanying technical writing courses to train their engineers. This reduced the need for internally developed materials or rapidly hiring many new technical writers.
- Embedding Technical Writers: Teams that lack the capacity or interest in technical writing can benefit from embedded writers who actively collaborate during the documentation process.
3. Enhancing User Experience Through Documentation
One significant challenge is ensuring documentation caters to diverse personas and use cases. Amara highlights the importance of:
- Anticipating User Needs: Technical writers excel at stepping into the user’s shoes, asking critical questions, and ensuring that every necessary detail—from prerequisites to step-by-step instructions—is addressed.
- Use Case-Based Onboarding: Camunda’s documentation maps out use cases tailored to specific personas. The ongoing goal is to simplify the onboarding journey and create a seamless experience for all users, whether self-managed or SaaS-based.
4. Best Practices for Developer Enablement
Amara shares some best practices for reducing barriers for developers:
- Guides and Tutorials: Focus on detailed “how-to” content that anticipates common challenges.
- Streamlined Onboarding Journeys: Strive for a unified getting-started guide that simplifies the path for multiple user personas.
- Continuous Iteration: Regularly review and refine documentation to ensure it remains relevant and user-friendly.
Rapid fire with Amara Graham
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Highly recommended resource: Google’s Technical Writing Courses
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One word that comes to your mind when you hear “Documentation”: Clarity
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Advice to Aspiring Technical Writers: Be curious, ask questions, and never stop learning.
Final Thoughts
As Amara emphasizes, the role of technical writers is not just to document but to enable users. By bridging the gap between engineering expertise and user-centric design, technical writers play a pivotal role in enhancing the developer experience. Their attention to detail, focus on clarity, and commitment to accessibility ensure that documentation is not just an afterthought but an integral part of the product journey.
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