An open-source project's documentation can be understood as important as the project itself, yet they always seem to be overlooked. Documentations serve as a single source of truth for the software and helps users and potential contributors get swiftly acquainted with the product.
This problem creates many opportunities for technical writers to learn and network with other technical writers by contributing to open source projects.
This article will discuss why technical writers should care about contributing to open source, how to go about it, and finally, open-source projects recommendations to start their journey.
Table of Contents
- What is open source?
- Why should Technical writers care about contributing to open source projects?
- How to contribute to open source projects?
- Final Thoughts
- Resources
What is Open Source?
Open Source initially referred to as open-source software, can be explained as source code available for the public to study, modify and redistribute. Although the term 'source code' is used in this definition, contributing to open source is not entirely limited to 'software engineers' or 'programmers', as designers, technical writers, and even event planners can get some of the action.
Why should Technical writers care about contributing to open source projects?
Technical writers are encouraged to contribute to open source for the following reasons:
- To improve your favorite software's documentation
- To improve your writing skills and contribute to real-world applications.
- To improve your professional network, community and peer recognition.
- To boost confidence and strengthen resumes and C.V.s.
How to contribute to open source projects?
PREREQUISITES
To contribute to open source as a technical writer, you must have the following :
- Basic Technical writing skills
- A basic understanding of version control systems like GitHub, BitBucket etc.
- Basic knowledge of the programming language used for the project.
After this, we move on to the next step.
Find projects to contribute to
Contributing to open source is not an elitist club, as anyone anywhere in the world can contribute. With your first contribution, you can decide to start small by going through your favorite software's readme and fixing a typo or a broken link.
Other issues you can solve or contributions you can add as a technical writer are:
- Improving the documentation.
- Creating tutorials
- Translating the documentation.
To get started with open source, you could check out these projects:
Submitting a contribution
Tackling an open issue
If you see an open issue that you think you can tackle, the first thing to do is to comment on the open issue to let people know that you are planning to tackle it.
Doing this alerts other potential contributors and lets them know that you are currently working on the issue.
Opening a pull request
You can open a pull request in the following situations:
- Sending in recommendations to fix trivial errors like typos and broken links.
- You commented after you had been given the go-ahead to resolve open issues.
Depending on what version control systems you are using, check out these resources to create a pull request.
- Create a pull request with GitHub
- Create a pull request with GitLab
- Create a pull request with BitBucket
P.S.: It is important to note that many projects, especially with their documentation, have a specific style guide, and it is important that you adhere to these guides.
Post Pull Request
After sending in a pull request, there usually is constructive feedback from the maintainers of the open-source project, address the feedback and wait for your pull request to be merged.
Final Thoughts
Contributing to open source can be a game-changer for anyone in the tech industry, especially as a technical writer. With many open-source projects having inadequate or incomplete documentation, there are opportunities for technical writers to work on these projects and collaborate with writers from all over the globe.
Resources
You may find the following resources useful.
- Guides on contributing to open source projects.
- Open source projects