A place for Technical Writers, Knowledge Specialists, and all Documentarians. The Evolved Technical Writer focuses on facts
and the now of our profession. No predictions. No catastrophizing.
If you are tired of all the noise,
come for a rest.

Posts

• Docs as the definition of “done”
  One of the most interesting parts of becoming a Documentation Lead in the cybersecurity field is how documentation is implicitly part of the definition of “done”. What does this mean? Well, many companies see the release cycle as something akin to this: Plan ->… Read more: Docs as the definition of “done”
• AI and Tech Writing in Practice
  AI is disrupting how we work, and used well, that disruption can be a real advantage. The question I get most often is how. To me, the answer starts with intent.
• Lessons for those on the job hunt
  Looking at the situation around us right now in tech, a lot of us are job hunting. And in that hunt, we are discovering an uncomfortable reality: the process is more difficult than ever. ATS systems lead to auto-rejections, ghost listings are rampant, and… Read more: Lessons for those on the job hunt
• The hidden cost of Fin AI
  Intercom’s Fin AI is without a doubt one of the industry leaders for agentic customer experiences. However, if you haven’t had the opportunity to work with it before, you might not fully understand how crucial content and knowledge management is to its entire engine. In fact, knowledge is Fin AI’s only engine.   You can’t draw water from… Read more: The hidden cost of Fin AI
• Don’t raise the cost of bad writing
  AI does not eliminate the need for good writing – it raises the cost of bad writing.  Let’s look at every major player, Stripe, Intercom GitLab, Zendesk, Microsoft Copilot, Atlassian. Each one is heavily invested in AI, and each one can expect to see… Read more: Don’t raise the cost of bad writing
• Dual Success Metrics
  In this new era of technical writing, you’ll often hear me advocate for seeing the AI bot as your customer. But does that mean ignoring your human customers? Absolutely, dispassionately, and resolutely not. For the best experience possible, your team must focus on AI… Read more: Dual Success Metrics
• Where we are now, and where we are going
  When I refer to our role as “The Evolved Technical Writer” it is because at its fundamental, the function is shifting, not shrinking. I have always been a person who deeply enjoys looking at where we were to appreciate where we are; so, let’s… Read more: Where we are now, and where we are going
• The Evolved Technical Writer
  Read this if you have been told AI is the end-all of our profession. As the Manager of a dedicated group of Tech Writers/Content Specialists in SaaS, I do not see it as my role to try to predict the future of our profession.… Read more: The Evolved Technical Writer