Focused Conversation: How a doc becomes a doc (and why it gets retired)

Join us for a focused and friendly conversation about documentation decision-making. If we had all the time in the world, we could provide documentation that describes every quirky software feature, no matter how obscure. But would we want to do that? Maybe, or maybe not! As technical communicators, we make choices. How do we decide whether to accept a request for documentation? What criteria do we consider when we review drafts for publication? What about maintenance: how do we determine which docs are (or are not!) worthy of revision and upkeep?

Here are a few questions to start the discussion:

• How do people request documentation in your organization? For example, do you use a ticketing system, an issue tracker, or something else? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your request process?
• How do you and your colleagues decide which documents to create? Is your criteria documented? What are some types of documents that you would definitely create? Why? What documentation requests do you always say “no” to?
• How do you and your colleagues decide whether to approve a draft for publication? Is your criteria documented? Which criteria are you a stickler about? Which criteria do you sometimes bend the rules for? Why?
• How do you and your colleagues make sure your docs collection as a whole continues to be relevant? Do you prioritize updates to documents that are heavily used? What would it take to convince you to delete a document? Do you love following through on docs maintenance routines, or do you despise these kinds of decisions? And if you despise these decisions, how do you cope?

Bring your thoughts and questions, and attend for as long as your schedule allows. Our goal is to give you an opportunity to support and network with each other.

The discussion is on Zoom. We’ll post the links on the Meetup event by the previous evening. To attend, you must RSVP to the Meetup event. We use the attendees list to screen out Zoom bombers, so it's especially helpful if you have the same display name in Zoom as your name on Meetup.