Document Like a Scientist
summary
Promises of broad advice or examples mean nothing; watch if the talk gives exact, reusable artifacts: a materials list with part numbers, dated procedures, clear positive controls (what output proves the step worked), short rationale for when to use a method, and simple diagrams or screenshots that show the expected output. Also look for concrete mappings (lab notebook ↔ runbook, vendor datasheet ↔ dependency spec) and any measured results or failure counts that show the process actually works.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Start
- 2:13How is cancer research related to tech documentation?
- 3:57Scientific Method
- 9:53Great documentation shifts your concentration from how to why
- 11:33Material Lists are the homework assignments for your docs.
- 12:57Diagrams increase the accessibility of your docs.
- 15:15Dates are a hint to users to expect differences between docs and real life.
- 15:53Positive Controls (aka Confirmations)
- 17:37Positive controls tell users they are heading the right way.
- 18:20Rationale (aka Uses)
- 20:44Wow.... I miss scientific documentation
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