I truly enjoy creating good documentation. To me, creating quality documentation is a puzzle – where the goal is to communicate all necessary information, but do so in an ordered and organized way so that the reader gets the information they need, when they need it.
The challenge lies in balancing macro and micro concepts, anticipating audience needs without overwhelming readers with disorganized information.
While documentation creation can feel burdensome during software development, inadequate documentation represents ongoing technical and business costs: lack of sufficient documentation is a technical and business debt with recurring interest paid in inefficiency.
I address various documentation needs including:
Accelerate new hire ramp-up with comprehensive guides and context
Documentation for maintaining and updating existing systems
Explaining technical concepts to non-technical audiences
Meeting regulatory and audit documentation requirements
User guides, tutorials, and training materials
Managing technical writing workflows and review cycles
When I first started blogging at strandcode.com, one of my most popular posts was Breaking Down Bluetooth in Objective-C. I think it stands today as a good example of balancing both a macro and micro explanation of complex application.
In my experience, good product managers are good writers. In this post I'll share an example feature specification that I wrote and discuss how it is used by various audiences.