Past Programs

"Documenting APIs:
Your First Week on the Job"

By Jim Bisso, M.A.

Program Description

For a technical communicator, the task of documenting an API can be overwhelming. By having a defined methodology for documenting APIs, the technical communicator can bring order to chaos.

This presentation illustrates one such methodology for understanding the API documentation process and documentation deliverables. The presentation will provide a high-level overview of:

• Defining your audience, including requisite domain knowledge
• Understanding the place the API occupies in the company's marketing strategy
• Planning the documentation deliverables
• Researching the API
• Preparing to interview the engineering SMEs (Subject Matter Experts)

About our Presenter

Jim Bisso, M.A., has almost 20 years of experience writing API documentation for such companies as Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Inprise, and Taligent. Jim has also taught computer science and documenting APIs at UC Berkeley Extension, Golden Gate University, Mills College, and the University of San Francisco. Currently CTO of Bitzone LLC and a staff software engineer at Sun Microsystems, he has also been a corporate trainer for Oracle University and Bitzone LLC.