Three Steps To High Quality Documentation with Jamie Roddy, Manager Technical Communication at Sabre Corporation

Jamie Roddy, Manager Technical Communications at Sabre Corporation, joins the Knowledgebase Ninjas Podcast to share her approach of recruiting and training technical writers, three key milestones to achieving high-quality documentation and the significance of agile reporting structure.

Key Facts

• Jamie’s LinkedIn
• Sabre Corporation website
• Jamie has a Master’s degree in Technical Communication from the University of North Texas
• Jamie has worked in the technical writing industry for more than a decade
• Jamie is a member of the Advisory Board at the University of North Texas
• Jamie is currently managing global technical communications at Sabre Corporation
• Sabre Corporation is a software company that serves the global travel industry

Key Takeaways

• At Sabre, Jamie is responsible for recruiting, training, and managing the team of global technical writers 
• Jamie’s technical support team consists of seventeen members 
• At Sabre, Jamie and her team ensure that the documentation process aligns with the product development lifecycle. They do it by achieving three key milestones:

1. 1. Scope lock: Where the new features of the product are defined 
   2. Code complete: Where the developers complete the coding and send the product for customer testing
   3. Release-ready: Where the product is ready to be released after the final gate review

• At Sabre, technical writers’ key KPIs are generating gate review, creating release notes, user guides, and streamlining online help
• Each technical writer is given a sense of ownership and freedom while creating a document. Jamie believes that this helps the technical writers to produce efficient work in a good working environment
• Sabre Corporation is not just about documentation; its core value as a software and technology company is to empower the global travel industry by providing a seamless, personalized travel plan 
• Jamie reveals that Sabre Corporations uses an agile reporting structure to ensure consistency in quality of the documentation 
• Jamie believes that experienced technical writing professionals can add quality to your documentation process. Hence, while recruiting, Jamie prefers to hire people with strong portfolios  
• The technical writers at Sabre Corporation are responsible for documenting and creating user manuals for a variety of products such as online travel guides, corporate booking tools, travel revenue management tool, and mobile itinerary tools, etc
• Sabre Corporation has different strategies for training the internal and external stakeholders;

1. 1. Internal audience: every employee gets the prompt questions and quizzes about the product, including expert developers and product owners
   2. External audience: is offered a development training program with accessible training modules and certification after completion 

• Jamie believes that openness to customers’ feedback and integrating that into the document improves a document’s quality

Jamie’s biggest influence

• Jamie’s team of technical writers at Sabre Corporation 
• Members of the Advisory Board at the University of North Texas 

What documentation-related advice would Jamie give to her 20-year-old self?

Don’t be afraid to utilize new chances. Take advantage of opportunities that come up in your life and build a strong network. 

“When I started my job at Sabre Corporation, I was too nervous and unsure about my career path. However, I quickly worked my way up to success with acting upon the right opportunities and networking.”

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