All roads might not lead to docs

Description

Documentation may not have a reputation as a creative enterprise, but we know that filling the role of documentarian requires creative problem solving - especially in figuring how to create, display, and maintain a reliable collection of docs.

If your goal is clear - we need (better) docs - then creativity comes in discovering how to get there. But creative problem solving has an important role to play in determining whether you've got the right goal: are docs the answer?

This talk starts with framing the common types of needs that docs can meet: informing, learning, referencing, persuading, and engaging. With examples for each, we'll see how creative thinking - mixed with data and some knowledge of human behavior - can shape problem statements that lead to better solutions, which aren't always the traditional doc. It's about making sure that we, as documentarians, aren't just writing - we're shaping the discussion about when and how docs make our teams, organizations, and communities better.

  • Conference: Write the Docs EU
  • Year: 2015

About the speaker

Christina Elmore