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World Congress 2023 • Sep 21, 2023

Technical Documentation - How Can I Write Them Better and Why Should I Care?

Hila Fish

Still hoping your code is self-documenting? Discover how adopting Docs-as-Code prevents frustrating midnight incidents, accelerates onboarding, and permanently eliminates single points of failure.

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#1 about 3 min

Introduction and the value of runbooks

How clear runbooks help mitigate production incidents and reduce downtime during out-of-hours on-call shifts.

#2 about 2 min

Identifying common types of technical documentation

How system design briefs, project readme files, and onboarding outlines share essential team knowledge.

#3 about 1 min

Debunking the myth of self-documenting code

Why code syntax alone cannot convey business logic, architectural intentions, or reasoning behind complex implementations.

#4 about 7 min

Career and team benefits of writing documentation

How documenting internal processes reduces daily interruptions while increasing team velocity and individual visibility.

#5 about 4 min

Adapting technical documentation for diverse audiences

Identifying what concepts must be covered for internal operating systems versus external API consumers.

#6 about 1 min

Establishing centralized documentation and storage standards

How adopting a single knowledge base minimizes context switching and helps teams locate resources quickly.

#7 about 3 min

Formatting documentation for fast developer scannability

Structuring technical guides with clear headings, short sentences, and color emphasis to support quick developer scanning.

#8 about 3 min

Incorporating docs as code into CI/CD pipelines

Applying markdown and automated pipeline validations to treat documentation quality as strictly as software tests.

#9 about 3 min

Separating technical concepts from instructional tasks

Structuring content to decouple high-level architectural reasoning from actionable step-by-step procedure guides.

#10 about 3 min

Enforcing documentation requirements in operational workflows

Equipping engineering managers to require updated documentation as an undeniable part of the definition of done.

#11 about 4 min

Addressing AI assistance and documentation tooling

Addressing audience questions about using large language models and tracking documentation updates across various code repositories.

Matching moments

2:49 min

Boosting team productivity with comprehensive engineering documentation

Abiodun Olowode Abiodun Olowode · World Congress 2024

1:58 min

Designing technical documentation for cross-functional audiences

Simon Lasselsberger · World Congress 2022

4:57 min

Treating technical documentation as a core engineering practice

Mike Elsmore · World Congress 2023

3:08 min

Treating developer documentation as a primary product

Justin Kitagawa · Coffee With Developers

1:24 min

Building an engineering culture around reading and writing documentation

Anastasiia Tymoshchuk · World Congress 2023

6:03 min

Driving business objectives through comprehensive technical documentation

Luise Freese Luise Freese · World Congress 2024

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