The Product is Docs: Writing technical documentation in a product development group

As a technical writer of more than 15 years, I found this book inspiring, packed with real-life examples and advice, and lots of “yes, have been there, too” moments. A good read. And probably the best book on technical writing that you can currently find on the market. Kudos to the team of authors.

This book described many ways to in which strengthening the relationships between the docs and other functional teams is instrumental in delivering a high quality product, maintaining customer trust and staying competitive in a modern world. The author and his team present down to earth strategies for establishing constructive and collaborative relationships in often tight timeline environments.Help executives notice the positive impact the docs team has on the bottom line because of the collaborative foundational guidelines and processes this book helps you build and maintained. Encourage engineers to be heavily involved and responsive to the documentation process by using tips and tricks in this book to adapt to their workflows and minimize their disruption. The book offers advice on developing cross-team initiatives and workflows to help keep you in the loop with the marketing team and their initiatives.

This is an excellent overview and guide to technical writing as currently practiced. This is useful for people new to (or considering) a career in technical writing, for experienced writers who want to update their skills, and for managers looking for guidance. The topics are relevant to anyone who wants to learn more about technical writing in a modern software company, including how to work in an Agile environment, the need for extensive collaboration, how and why to create task-based documentation, and how to measure the results of your work. Even better, this book is concise, and each section gets to the point quickly and without filler.

This book has given me a lot of good advice to consider as I've been considering my own role as a technical writer for a software company and how I'll collaborate with other teams to do my best work!