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2021-2022 Tech Docs Retrospective

2022-2023 TechDocs Work Plan

Themes Identified in Workplan:

• Rebuilding

• Continuity between terms

• Support for different types of users

• Information maintenance

Accomplishments this Term:

• Rebuilding and documenting processes: clarified internal processes and record-keeping concerning documentation maintenance.

  • Identified how new contributors are added to GitHub repository with appropriate permissions

  • Clarified the roles and responsibilities for subteam members, but this could be further improved next term.

  • Updated process documentation in Confluence to support GitHub maintenance workflows.

• Documentation maintenance:

  • Ongoing GitHub repository maintenance: merged 10 pull requests and closed 3 issues.

  • Entire subteam familiarized with GitHub maintenance processes through in-meeting demos and GitHub for Everyone class offered by Lyrasis. GitHub training was well appreciated and relevant to the subteam’s work.

• Outreach and community engagement:

  • Promoted use of the Tech Docs with an Online Forum presentation. Presentation focused on relationships and how the technical documentation can support different types of users.

  • Met with User Documentation subteam (UAC) to discuss complementary nature of technical and user documentation.

Areas for Potential Improvement:

• Monitored the ASpace listservs, but did not find many areas that we felt equipped to provide responses to.

• Term’s focus was on rebuilding processes and workflows; did not have enough time or capacity to create value-added documentation.

Priorities for 2023-2024 Term:

• Now that baseline documentation is on a more solid footing, move into soliciting feedback and assessing new technical documentation needs. Perhaps identify one or two areas to focus on (e.g., individuals frequently ask about the index/Solr on listservs) in order to keep scope achievable.

• Continue to clarify subteam roles to determine how TAC can best support the program developers and how new subteam members can best contribute.

• Brainstorm for next term’s themes, priorities, and projects:

  • Evaluate holistic arrangement and organization of documentation for usability

  • Distribute tasks across subteam; identify tasks that subteam members can complete during their first term

  • Link audit to identify and correct broken links – this seems like an activity that could be delegated across the subteam, including to new members. This could also provide an relatively low barrier of entry in learning how to create pull requests.

  • Education/outreach to community on how to contribute to documentation (e.g., how to create issue or pull request).

  • Review content in /architecture/backend and other areas for helpful information that corresponds with much earlier versions (e.g., database.md page has so much good information that would be helpful to many in the community, but it is current with 2.7.1).

  • Inquire if it is possible to create or generate entity-relationship diagrams for each version

  • Review content of documentation for overall ease of use with a focus on technical writing concepts like clarity, simple sentences, and concise language.

Leadership for 2023-2024 Term:

Lead: @Jenna Silver

Vice Lead: TBD