API The Docs Podcast

Jul 18 2024 56 ep. 33 mins 70
API The Docs Podcast artwork

Our guests talk about their insights and experience as documentarians. We bring advice from behind open and closed developer portals, ideas on what new learnings you can aim for, and recent experiments from the field of API documentation.

  Technology
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Documentation by humans for humans - Discussion with Polina Zaichkina and Max Clayton Clowes

Jul 18 2024 43 mins  
How do you get people on board when you shift to a new tool or a new approach? Even if the value proposition is clear, it might be a challenge to create a practice out of the change. In this episode of API The Docs, Polina Zaichkina (Senior technical writer at Codat) and Max Clayton Cowes (Product director for experience at Codat) share insights about building a culture of partici

From Inconsistent to Award-winning Docs - Conversation with Naomi Pentrel & Andrew Feierabend

Jul 08 2024 50 mins  
In this episode, Naomi Pentrel and Andrew Feierabend share their journey of revamping Viam’s robotics APIs documentation. They discuss the benefits of sitting down with actual users in well-structured interview sessions with specific scripts and tasks. Learn about their approach to user research, their team’s collaborative methodology for achieving daily usability wins, mentori

The Secret Sauce of Developer Programs: A Conversation with Byrne Reese

Jun 27 2024 56 mins  
Byrne Reese had the opportunity to build a number of developer programs over the years. In this episode, he explains his unique Developer Pyramid framework which he uses as a guide to build a successful and scalable developer program now at RingCentral. He also dives into his passion for board games and how it influences his approach to documentation, and explores the Workflow Buil

Teaching and Learning Git - Discussion with Anna Skoulikari

Apr 29 2024 27 mins  
When it comes to learning Git, it can be daunting to navigate the plethora of learning resources out there. Recognising the need for a visually engaging all-levels experience, Anna Skoulikari (JetBrains) decided to write her own self-study book to help learners along the way.

Install ways to check on the overall health of the portal - Conversation with Rachel Lee Nabors

Apr 09 2024 25 mins  
"Key results are the things you're going to do to move that number. Here's the thing where most people spin out. There should be a break mechanism on the things that you're doing […] a culture of experimentation, and objective critique around 'Is this the right thing to be doing?” Welcome back to our two parts episode with Rachel Lee Nabors, we continue wit

React.dev and storyboarding with Rachel Lee Nabors

Apr 09 2024 23 mins  
"You can always tell when it's a novice writer or a writer and an artist who are in bad relation because there will be blocks of text everywhere explaining how the character is feeling […] There's a delicate balance to be struck and it's the same with code.” Welcome Rachel Lee Nabors, one of the creators behind the grand award-winning react.dev portal where all

On the management track - conversation with Claire Waters

Mar 28 2024 44 mins  
Drawing from her role as a wayfinder, Claire Waters (Senior Manager – Product Content Experience, Cloudflare) shares her team’s using the COIN methodology for embracing AI tools as a team, and how they engage in low-stakes AI challenges to foster familiarity and comfort with AI technologies.

The zen of resilience - Discussion with Dan Grabski

Mar 22 2024 49 mins  
You need docs and headspace when a well-oiled system inevitably throws a flat tire. With Dan Grabski we talked from car racing through tech execs mediating at Burning Man, forest fire incident management systems and early expectations setting all the way to API docs and back again.

Writing with humans in mind - Discussion with Ryan Young

Mar 13 2024 36 mins  
Technical writers walk a tricky tightrope between delivering accurate technical information and making it comprehensible for a wide range of users with varying levels of technical experience. In this episode, Ryan Young (Technical writer at Stripe) shares his thoughts on bridging the gap between different content layers and writing for humans in a digital world.

DevPortal Awards Jury Interview - Special Edition Part 4

Mar 01 2024 16 mins  
How can one make their devportal accessible and useful at the same time? What can devportal owners do to support inclusive design? We were honored to ask Susanna Laurin (Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies, G3ict and IAAP Representative to the EU) about these questions in 2023’s DevPortal Awards framework. As she highlighted, developer portals were a new fie