Addressing critical needs driven by the dynamic world of #techDocs, Manny Silva has created Docs as Tests, a system that integrates well-developed #techComms practices and a collection of engineering tooling to help #technicalWriters streamline and constantly improve their software #documentation and #QA work.
This was a fun chat with a deeply experienced Silicon Valley #content veteran. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
“Canva co-founder #MelaniePerkins wrote to staff on May 5 to unveil #Canva’s official #AIGuidelines, two months after it axed the majority of its #TechnicalWriters division and directed #engineers to complete the bulk of their #tasks using #AITools.
The COACHES (weaselword for manager) said the company had recently directed them to *formally assess* the way employees, known internally as “Canvanauts”, use AI in their six-monthly PERFORMANCE reviews. They also said the company has #automated the #writing of these #reviews.
A company spokesperson denied these claims in a lengthy statement but said Canva does “ENCOURAGE” employees to “reflect on how they’re using AI in their work” on an informal basis and said they use an internal tool that assesses performance reviews against their internal metrics after a human has written the
(No dissent tolerated)
“We’re incredibly committed to helping our team thrive in this new era of AI. We’re making significant investments in upskilling across the entire company, with a strong focus on learning and experimentation,” the Canva spokesperson said.
“Our #investmentstrategy in this space aren’t about #replacing our TEAM’s #judgement, #creativity, or #craft, but scaling them so we can spend more time on the projects that move us closer to our mission and make a difference for our community,”
(Emphasis note on TEAM, not individuals)
For a consumer facing software company, the last place I’d be removing human input would be where the technology touches customers. The usability, instructions, reliability through Engineering, Art and crafting of a product.
Where do you cut? Accounting, excessive management (top & bottom) and back office. This is the difference between an accounting/MBA and an Engineering / consumer focused company.
No wonder the technical staff are looking at #Unions. JobBot unleashed by the *Boss Class* to replace technical staff. 🦾🤖🦿
#WhiteCollar / #AI / #technical / #business / #Union / #TechUnion <https://archive.md/w4nlJ> / <https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-atlassian-employees-flock-to-unions-amid-ai-job-fears-20250520-p5m0rl>
i wonder if anyone wants to hire technical writers these days given that LLMs are mostly the talk now.
#technicalwriting #TechnicalWriters #information_technology #softwaredevelopment #llm #Documentation
"The good news is that the job market is going to recover as those owners of code progressively realize the limitations that are inherent to replacing the folks at the periphery with numb language models, something they’re already noticing when it comes to coding tasks. After a stint of degrowth that has felt way too long, companies will seek to grow again in a more sustainable fashion, a trend that will carry the need for better documentation with it.
The catch is that life in the periphery of tech will require AI augmentation and training. If past job offers emphasized API documentation and coding skills, in 2025 tech writers will have to be proficient operators of AI tools, both for writing in docs-as-code environments as for becoming coding associates, able to execute docs infrastructure and toolchain work. When done well, job interviews will ask writers to be able to use AI in writing tests in efficient, innovative ways.
If I’ve learned something this year is that the LLM-powered writing and coding isn’t going away. Technical writers will need to focus more on content strategy, information architecture, and tooling, and less on writing; at the same time, they’ll be expected to know how to use tools like Cursor’s composer mode to set up entire documentation sets in little time, and then iterate. As I explained in What’s a docs engineer, writers will continue specializing in two separate strains."
https://passo.uno/tech-writing-predictions-2025/
#TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters #LLMs #AI #GenerativeAI #DocsAsCode
We have been busy this year developing the idea of a Brick Docs Workshop designed to help IT engineers develop technical writing skills. This fun workshop uses Lego to identify writing and formatting techniques that help make instructions clearer.
We are running this workshop at the national technical writing conference in Melbourne next week. DM me if you want to attend - I can see if I can wangle some tickets.
#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #Melbourne
For those with a 🦋 Bluesky account who may be interested, I created an experimental feed about technical writing, any feedback appreciated! https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:lnml37f3ksmhwhg3hsgw3dxs/feed/aaac6oqgtmqg4 #techwriting #TechnicalWriters #documentation
We are having a discussion about “what is a code example” for the purposes of evaluating the code examples in our documentation.
That is a surprisingly nuanced question!
Today I’m working on a document that attempts to answer the question. I’m up to 10 pages with 3 different axes for breaking down definitions:
- Code examples by persona type
- Code examples by information type
- Code examples by our build tooling
Curious if this topic would be of-interest to #TechnicalWriters and others?
I am feeling pretty happy after a good day's work. I put a lot of work into any meeting I organise. I always include a clear agenda and expected outcomes in the meeting invites. I do all the necessary fact finding and preparation before the meeting. Then I chair the meeting, ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak and no waffling or preventing work from finishing in the quest for perfection. Afterwards I send meeting notes with responsibilities for action clearly defined.
Today we had a meeting with senior engineers that could have gone for an hour, but I allocated half an hour because I knew I would do the meeting prep, so little time would be needed for fact finding in the meeting. Then because of all the meeting prep and clear meeting objectives we achieved what we needed and finished the meeting in 15 minutes! Two participants were able to use the bonus time to discuss another matter while the rest of the participants left the meeting early.
I put a lot of time and effort prior to the event to achieve a 15 minute meeting.
For the curious #TechnicalWriters out there who have heard me talking about our project to consolidate 9 sets of SDK docs into a single documentation set, I've just put up the month two project check-in blog post!
https://dacharycarey.com/2024/07/28/docs-consolidation-project-two-month-check-in/
@sarah11918 I am enjoying reading your series of tips! They are written in a way that will make it easy for me to repeat at work.
I have worked a lot with volunteers in the past and often reflect how much harder it is to work with them. You need to set standards but implement them with care or volunteers walk out. However, paid employees have an unspoken thing that ensures some degree of compliance - you will be out of a job if you don't pass minimum standards of compliance.
That is why I am so impressed with your work. You work on helping volunteers achieve standards in documentation. That is so hard. HT to you!
I found out about @remoquete's blog by accident (thanks @hamatti I guess :awesome:), but it's really a great find!
If you have never thought about #TechnicalWriting or #TechnicalWriters until now, reading a few of the blog posts might change your mind. It definitely changed mine.
As a poet and dev, technical writing has an intriguing vibe to me that I've never thought of as intriguing before. I guess that's because nobody writes about it enough.
New talk alert! Join @dachary as she explores the importance of testing code examples in documentation, how you can test the code examples in your docs, and some things to think about when getting code examples out of unit test suites and into the docs:
For anyone who was interested, I recorded my talk about testing the code examples in documentation, and put it up on YouTube:
Might be of interest to #TechnicalWriters or possibly developers who write their own documentation for their public projects.
For any #TechnicalWriters who have been interested in how my SDK docs consolidation project is going, I've drafted a 1-month check-in post.
Tl;dr: we are behind my estimated timeline. Surprise! Estimating is hard. But I am feeling *so* good about the work we're doing, and think the final result will be awesome.
https://dacharycarey.com/2024/06/26/docs-consolidation-project-one-month-check-in/
So besides taking pix of our lovely felines, I've recently been reworking my portfolio site to showcase my day-job skills.
(I'm a technical writer, one who tries to explain complex technical topics in plain language.)
If you're interested, please take a look. I'd appreciate any (well-intended) feedback: https://lanceleonard.com/
#TechnicalWriters #Doxumentarian #PlainLanguage #PortfolioSite
@remoquete THIS ☝️.
I am fortunate that my manager recognises this critical juncture in technical writing and has given me substantial time to reimagine my job.
I spoke about the benefits of working in the space between professional silos in my Linux Conference talk a few years ago: When STEM Becomes STEAM We All Benefit https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oEX-F5SxwrU
(smol) JOB OFFER:
Fellow federated Technical Writers and Documentation Connoisseurs:
Where would I go to get someone to review my documentation for:
- structure (didactic and otherwise)
- accessibility
- modernity
- oversights
(also, if you have a friend or yourself to put forward for a consultation - I can likely spare adequate coin for your time, just send me your rate)
Topic is C# documentation for a game and simulation development library.
I can't say enough good things about Graham and the Canonical Technical Authors team on their Documentation Academy program.
If you're looking to step up your tutorial writing game or just sharpen your documentation skills, this is a great way to do it.
#Ubuntu #Documentation #TechnicalWriters
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-qBHd6_LXWYefHij0dJ7c9X-Q9QfFFFa&si=F39yeFcJmEqWfawx
I have finished constructing the Micro Jib!
The movement is SO smooth, and SO amazing. It's REALLY impressive to use.
The models are good, but equally important was the incredible job he did at making an easy to follow assembly guide.
Good #TechnicalWriters make a HUGE difference
https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-micro-jib-181909
Some commentary in 🧵
