Write the Docs Portland is a conference about software documentation and community. Check out the stellar list of speakers scheduled to talk at the event from April 14-16.
Every year the Write the Docs Portland event unofficially gets started with a hike. This year the hike will be through the amazing Forest Park (the largest urban forest park in the country) which is located in Northwest Portland.
Unfortunately we are unable to attend this year’s event - there are only so many travels we can do on a startup budget! But we will be eagerly following along from behind our laptops. One of the talks we are particularly excited to catch the updates from is Dennis Dawon’s talk on Graphic Relief: Beyond Flowcharts and Screenshots.
We are obviously biased here at LaunchBrightly but we are big believers that visuals such as product screenshots can be a powerful tool for improving your documentation and, ultimately, allowing you to serve your users more effectively. We are eagerly anticipating the recording to see what insights Dennis shares!
The event will contain the usual Write the Docs mix of:
- Conference talks and Q&A
- Lightning talks
- Unconference; and
- Opportunities to network and meet other documentarians
Some of the other thought provoking talks wished we wish we were able to catch in-person include:
A Strategic Documentation Template for Startups
Hosted by: Sofiya Minnath
Sofiya will share a strategic approach to transform startup documentation into a valuable asset. The talk will guide you through treating documentation as a product, aligning it with the product roadmap and strategy, and providing practical steps at each phase. It will also cover implementing clear guidelines and processes, emphasizing a data-driven approach highlighted by surveys to identify pain points.
Quantifying the Impact of Documentation: Findings from DORA Research
Hosted by: Michelle Irvine
The talk will:
- Present findings about the impact of quality documentation
- Give some insight into the creation and maintenance of quality documentation
- Describe ways that you can communicate the value of quality documentation, and metrics the effectiveness of documentation
- Discuss how these findings apply to different types of documentation, including end-user documentation
Misadventures in SEO: How to self-sabotage your documentation
Hosted by: Steven Hicks
Steven will provide examples from his team’s misadventures in the SEO of their product documentation. Where their best intentions were outdone by the misunderstanding of SEO concepts, and how they accidentally eliminated the ability to search their documentation.
See a full list of speakers, and a summary of each talk, here.
Wishing all those speaking, and all the attendees, a great event! Looking forward to keeping a track of all the updates from afar on social and in Slack. And the inevitable FOMO when the pictures for the event come out! :-)