Introduction

Bad documentation makes me crazy.

If you are looking for an experienced, versatile, and passionate content developer with over twenty years in the software industry, I would like to speak to you. I specialize in both developer and user documentation, especially API and SDK documentation. I want to make excellent and thorough documentation a selling point of every project I work on.

Content developers and technical writers are, above all, teachers. I want my users to able to quickly and easily learn my products. They should be so happy with their experience that they want to tell their co-workers and friends how easy it was to learn.

I am not just a technical writer but rather a writer who has the technical foundation to understand the subjects I am writing about. This strong technical background means that I am comfortable speaking directly to developers, testers, project managers, and support engineers at their own levels. I am comfortable in both Agile and traditional waterfall environments and am a certified Scrum Master.

I have used a range of content management tools, development methods, and delivery mechanisms. I have a proven track record of running projects of various sizes, from content planning and architecture through to content development and delivery.

Summary

I have extensive experience in content development, technical and programming writing with an emphasis on instructional materials and end-user documentation.

  • Fourteen years of experience writing technical documentation including courseware, online training, self-paced learning, user documentation and tester/developer documentation.
  • Concise, clean, clear, and easy-to-understand writing style.
  • Audiences include retail users, testers, support engineers, developers, program managers and administrators.
  • Very comfortable working in collaborative environments and distributed environments with combinations of engineering, support and marketing disciplines in both Agile and waterfall environments.

Documentation Skills

  • Independent Security Test Textbook, Study Guides, Whitepapers, Conceptual Content, API Documentation, Document Templates, Blog Posts, How To Guides, Test Plans, Test Cases, Specifications, Web Sites, Wikis, Team Standards and Guidelines, Instructional Design and Presentation
  • Technical Reviewer for MSDN magazine’s Test Run column 2006-2007
  • Published technical author.
  • Content and acquisition editor for several small press fiction houses.

Technical Skills

  • Languages: C#, HTML, XML, SQL, some JavaScript, some PowerShell, some Ruby and Watir
  • Software: XMetal,DxStudio, DocStudio, Team Foundation Server (TFS), Visual Studio, Product Studio, WTT, Source Depot, SharePoint, SQL Server, Word, Visio, InfoPath, SLM, Visual SourceSafe, some InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat, MadCap Flare
  • Style Guides: Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Chicago Manual of Style, The Elements of Style

Work Experience

SENIOR PROGRAMMING WRITER (September 2014 to November 2015)
ExtraHop Networks, Inc., Seattle Washington
Owner and programming writer for all API documentation for the ExtraHop products. Owner of the ExtraHop Admin UI Guide for version 5.0.

  • Refactor and redesign existing documentation for ExtraHop APIs, including standardization of delivery, creation of new conceptual and how-to content, and updating sample code.
  • Work with the engineering team to update the API and Admin UI documentation to keep pace with changes in the products.
  • Design documentation strategies and contents for new APIs from the ground up.
  • Refactor, standardize, and update the Admin UI Guide for versions 5.0+ of the ExtraHop appliances and firmware.
  • Mentor and help train new TechPubs members.
  • Work with the sales engineers, trainers, and instructional designers to create a robust set of training for both in-house and customer use.
  • Work with the web properties team to bring our product documentation to a new website and sustainable build and delivery model.

SENIOR CONTENT DEVELOPER (June 2014 to September 2014)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
Operating Systems Group – Developer Documentation Team
Lead Content Developer for Developer Documentation for XBox SmartGlass, Microsoft Account Authentication and Relying Party SDK.

  • Create content plans for developer documentation for my areas.
  • Author and design content and content delivery approaches.
  • Work with the product team’s developers, testers, and program managers to set priorities and track requests, changes and bugs.
  • Use multiple sets of internal tools to produce quality and innovative documentation.
  • Evaluate upcoming content needs and develop content plans to provide users with continually improved and expanded content.
  • Serve as a member of the overall Style Council to provide unified guidance and decisions on writing, publishing, style guides and publishing for the division.
  • Supervise a vendor writer in both day to day tasks and long term documentation planning.

SENIOR PROGRAMMING WRITER (2009 to June 2014)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
Server and Tools Business – Windows Embedded Team

  • Managed all Continuous Content efforts for released versions of Windows Embedded Standard and Industry to address documentation updates, improvements and respond to requests from both external and internal customers.
  • Worked directly with marketing, customer support, product engineering, product sustained engineering and MVP customers to unify content delivery and support the Windows Embedded website and blog.
  • Worked on ways to innovate and improve content delivery to customers using written documentation, videos, ebooks and web site designs and publications.
  • Designed the content approach and deliverables for multiple versions of Windows Embedded and co-lead the project and team to produce that content, allowing us to ship on time and with more content than had been promised.
  • Advocated an Agile (Scrum) approach to documentation within our team and served as Scrum Master to the team.
  • Taught the basics of whitepaper authoring to the engineering team to improve the quality of whitepapers being produced for customers, then released a white paper on this to the engineering team to serve as a reference.
  • Managed all terminology and co-managed the style guides for Windows Embedded Standard and Industry.
  • Worked directly with users, management and the engineering team members to obtain information needed for documentation.
  • Presented documentation team approaches and researched needs and improvements directly with customers.

FREELANCE TECHNICAL WRITER (2009 to present)
Mythos Manor, LLC

  • Clients include:
    • Scrum Alliance
    • WatirCraft, LLC (dissolved)
    • Mountain Goat Software
  • Produced a comprehensive whitepaper on Scrum Coaching with input and review from a team of SME’s from among the current Scrum Coaches. (Scrum Alliance)
  • Continued work on Body of Knowledge documents for various Scrum Alliance certifications as the customer seeks to formalize and standardize their test and certification processes. (Scrum Alliance)
  • Organized, standardized and rewrote most of the training materials for WatirCraft LLC’s Watir training classes. Attended classes to observe students and instructors to further refine the instructional materials. (WatirCraft, LLC)
  • Refined and refocused marketing brochures for training and certification classes. (Mountain Goat Software)
  • Some freelance fiction editing for small e-publishing fiction houses.

PROGRAM MANAGER (2008 to 2009)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
Identity and Security Division – Anti-Malware Test Tools Team

  • Designed and authored user guides and tutorials on the team’s test automation framework and how to best use it.
  • Wrote specifications and managed the development process and schedule for test tools and test initiatives.
  • Set up and maintained a team SharePoint site, assisted in maintaining and updating larger group site and multiple wikis.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER IN TEST (2005-2008)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
Research & Response – Anti-Malware Response Technologies Infrastructure

  • Implemented and drove all test efforts for the Malware Protection Encyclopedia.
  • Researched and wrote system deployment instructions for test and pre-production environments.
  • Developed and authored bug guidelines and bug templates for team use.
  • Authored test plans, test cases and bugs for all test efforts.
  • Tested and validated externally built Malware Portal.
  • Participated in the development of cross-discipline templates for team-wide Engineering Excellence process.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER IN TEST (2004 – 2005)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
MSN – External Partner Integration Test

  • Worked with external partner program management team to test and validate co-branded versions of MSN software for release by external partners.
  • Turned a concept into a new test mapping/metric methodology (Customer Transit Mapping) and presented proof of concept to leadership team.
  • Participated in the training and growth of outsourced international test team.
  • Participated in the design and development of team tools for product studio triage and tracking.
  • Worked with the MSN Security team on show-stopping partner issues
  • Filed two patents for MSN Search innovations, one patent filed and received.

SOFTWARE TEST ENGINEER (2001 to 2004)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
MSN – Chat, Groups and Contacts

  • Authored and implemented test plans and test cases for manual and automated testing of assigned areas of the product.
  • Authored automation code for assigned areas.
  • Participated in specification and design reviews for new and existing features.
  • Authored test automation utility library that was adopted team-wide.
  • Designed and authored several test tools for use by myself and my team including metrics generation and log file manipulation tools.
  • Participated in code reviews of peer automation code as well as product code in my assigned areas.
  • Responsible for orientation and mentoring of new hires to my team.
  • Responsible for node level Product Studio maintenance, schema design and bug migrations.

SOFTWARE TEST ENGINEER (1998 to 2001)
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond Washington
Internet Information Server

  • Maintained multiple RAID bug databases including new schema design, maintenance and issue tracking as well as monitoring and troubleshooting of any open issues.
  • Monitored and maintained ASP pages for infrastructure trouble reporting and ticketing.
  • Assisted teammates in nightly stress failure debugging.

SOFTWARE TEST ENGINEER (1997 to 1998)
Volt Technologies, Redmond Washington
Systems Management Service / WMI team at Microsoft Corporation

  • Extensively involved in the (at the time) new WBEM/WMI schema development and documentation – including publishing details, raising issues and questions and consolidating feedback and suggestions.
  • Responsible for authoring and publishing of new hire documents and training testing new hires in basic knowledge and software skills.
  • Traditional black box testing in my assigned areas using internal test tools.
  • Provided as-needed lab assistance to my group including machine set-up, mirroring, and hardware setup.

Additional Experience

  • Author of Testing Code Security – a security testing textbook for new and intermediate testers, published in June 2007 by Auerbach press.
  • Contributor to Official (ISC)2 Guide to the IISSMP CBK – wrote a chapter in this study guide for a major software security certification. My chapter is Enterprise-Wide Systems Development Security. Also provided the study questions for this chapter.
  • Technical Reviewer and Author for MSDN magazine.
  • Best Practices paper on SQL Injection testing.
  • Wrote and taught the last evolution of RAID (bug database) classes for Microsoft – both user and administrator level.
  • Guest speaker at local community college test certification program classes.
  • Provided peer training in test case design methodology.
  • Provided training on customer-based testing to audience in CTI-Beijing.
  • Wrote whitepaper on Customer Transit Mapping initiative.
  • Developed and delivered a webinar on Information Security Basics for Managers for external audience.
  • Filed two patent applications for improvements to Search functionality, received a patent filed in my name.
  • Developed the in-house style guide for a small-press fiction publisher.
  • Acquisitions and content/developmental editing for a small press fiction publisher.
  • Inventor of patent #8645352 – Focused Search Using Network Addresses.