"Call for Devs": How Developers Can Contribute to the Onboarding of a Tech Writer

Hiring a new employee always implies the onboarding procedure. Some onboarding tasks are traditionally performed by the HR department, mentors perform the rest.

However, frequently it is not enough for beginners to get briefly acquainted with the list of company products and to familiarize themselves with basic tools used by their department. When new tech writers join a team working on a large project with extensive legacy, they face complex questions: how does this system function, which components does it include, what will exactly be described in new documents, and who is the target audience?

In this talk, I advocate for engaging developers in answering these questions alongside with tech writer team leads and mentors. The approach will be exemplified with a case study based on personal experience. Based on this case, I examine the efficiency and benefits of developers' participation in tech writers' onboarding.