Tuesday

Test Product

For each release, the engineers and writers in my group spend a lot of time testing our product to make sure we deliver the best quality possible to users. During testing cycles, we work through test plans that engineers have written and try our best to break the features. If we find anything broken or something that doesn't seem right, we create bug reports for the engineer. This is also a good time to provide usability feedback. Though we have group usability meetings, interacting with the product on my own is an entirely different experience.

I like testing because it helps me learn even more about the product. I think that testing helps me develop better documentation because I've used the product like our customers will.

Today, I'm testing some new functions. When I run some example programs, one doesn't work like I expect it to. I check the bug report database to make sure that this problem hasn't been reported already. When I see that I'm the first person to notice the problem, I create a bug report for the developer.

Attend Steering Committee Meeting

One of the things I love about my job is participating in what we call extra-curricular activities, which allow us to pursue interests beyond product documentation. Our department has a number of committees that writers can join. I serve on the NI-TC Steering Committee. NI-TC is an internal conference organized and presented by and for the Technical Communications staff. For two days, we give presentations about tools, programming languages, writing techniques, work habits, career development, and more. We also have a demo fair, where we can show off our product, a tool that we've created, or a unique way to present help.

The NI-TC Steering Committee is divided up into several subcommittees to help organize our work. This year, I thought it would be fun to be on the Program Committee, which is responsible for selecting and scheduling presentations. Today, we meet to discuss which submissions we should schedule for the conference. It's a long meeting, but our chairperson brought kolaches for us to enjoy as we work.