As generative AI has become more widely available, we’ve seen how widely the quality of results can vary. In fact, there are several components that impact result quality, such as which large language model (LLM) you’re using, model size, and prompt quality.
As a technical writer, quality prompt writing is pretty close to a summary of a key job component: ask the right questions of the right people to get the best possible information to shape what I produce. I go to the subject matter expert (SME), who may be an engineer, a product manager, a UX researcher, or another technical writer.
In my day-to-day work for Google Chrome, some of my questions could be asked of an LLM, but that requires the model have pre-existing information or to be given the context within the prompt itself.
Prompt quality is impacted by the level of details provided, initial information accuracy, description of expected format, and so much more. Prompt engineering is the practice of asking better questions to generate the best possible response for your needs.
If you’re wondering how to be a better prompt engineer (or a better tech writer!), keep reading to learn best practices.
I was very fortunate to continue spreading the documentation gospel at Web Directions Summit 2022 in Sydney, Australia.
This talk has transformed as I’ve given it over the last several years. This edition highlighted the importance of creating accessible content.
In particular, accessible documentation should have:
Inclusive language. This starts with self-reflection in the ways in which we’ve internalized ableism, racism, sexism, etc in our everyday life. We cannot do better without recognizing where we fail.
Semantic HTML. This means your headers are not just visually larger than body text, but also represented by the correct HTML structure.
Meaningful alt and link text. If you’re already writing documentation and you take one best practice away from today, stop using “Click Here”. Replace it with copy that reflects the actual link.
I had the pleasure of editing Carie Fisher, the author of web.dev’s latest course, Learn Accessibility. Learn Accessibility gives web developers the essentials for building accessible websites and web apps.
To promote this new content, I interviewed folks who work to build an accessible web.
Melanie Sumner told me about her journey from spy to engineer, accessible design, Ember.js, and the importance of funding these efforts.
Olutimilehin Olushuyi told me about his move from the law to web development, building accessible community, and creating accessible layouts.
Elisa Bandy told me about her work for Google’s internal teams, developing accessibility best practices for the web. Her blog post has yet to be published, but look for it in mid-December.
It’s an honor to work on Google Chrome’s developer relations team. I have the opportunity to speak with experts and offer a platform with a huge audience.
We highlighted additional resources as a part of ChromiumDev’s Accessibility Week.
This year I was invited to speak at Build Stuff in Lithuania and Ukraine. I hoped to convince developers that writing docs would make them better engineers, better colleagues, and better future-proofers.
Some of the talks I saw which deserve your attention:
In this conversation, we talked about what it’s like to work on Google’s tech writing team and my previous experience at Joyent. I spoke about the importance of multimedia documentation, creating proposals to tear down bad docs, and what it has been like to join the conference circuit.
Just a note, this conversation was one of my own and not on behalf of Google or Alphabet. My thoughts are not those of my employer’s.
I’ve got my next speaking assignment, and I’m going back to Eastern Europe! I’ll be speaking at Build Stuff Lithuania and Build Stuff Ukraine this coming November.
This talk was influenced by one I gave while I was an engineer at WNET.
