Tech roles beyond coding cheat sheet (Technical writer)

1. 1Tech roles beyond codingThe main roles in software teams whose output is decisions, words or relationships rather than code, and the adjacent roles worth knowing about.9 concepts

   1. 1Non-coding tech roleA job inside a software team where writing production code is not the main output, but understanding how software is built is still required.
   2. 2Product managerThe person responsible for deciding what a team builds and why: understanding users and the business, choosing problems worth solving and defining success.
   3. 3Technical writerSomeone who creates and maintains documentation such as guides, tutorials, API references and release notes so users and developers can succeed with a product.
   4. 4Developer relationsThe work of helping external developers succeed with a product through content, talks, sample code, community and feedback to the product team.
   5. 5Project managerA role focused on delivering agreed work on time: planning, tracking dependencies, risks and communication.
   6. 6Business analystA role that turns business needs into clear requirements, process maps and acceptance criteria, common in services companies, banks and enterprise IT.
   7. 7Solutions engineerA technical role that helps customers evaluate and adopt a product: demos, proofs of concept, answering technical questions during a sale.
   8. 8Customer successRoles that help existing customers get value from a product after they buy it, from onboarding to troubleshooting and renewals.
   9. 9Testing role fit cheaplyTrying small real tasks from a role before committing to it, such as writing a how-to guide, running two user interviews or giving a short talk.

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2. 2Technical literacyWhat every non-coding role needs to understand about how software is built, how the web and APIs work, and how to read code and data without writing much.10 concepts

   1. 1Software development lifecycleThe stages software goes through: discovering the need, designing, building, reviewing, testing, releasing, operating and improving it.
   2. 2Agile, sprints and ticketsA way of working in short cycles, often one or two week sprints, with work broken into tickets on a board and planned from a backlog.
   3. 3Client, server and the webA client such as a browser or mobile app sends requests over the internet to a server, which runs code, reads a database and sends back a response.
   4. 4HTTP methods and status codesHTTP requests use methods such as GET to read and POST to create, and responses carry status codes: 2xx success, 4xx client errors, 5xx server errors.
   5. 5APIA defined way for one piece of software to ask another for data or actions, usually as HTTP requests to endpoints that return JSON.
   6. 6JSONA text format for structured data made of objects in braces, arrays in brackets, strings, numbers, booleans and null.
   7. 7Git and pull requestsGit tracks changes to files; a pull request proposes a change, shows the difference and lets others review and discuss it before it is merged.
   8. 8Reading code without writing muchFollowing what code does by reading names, function signatures, comments, tests and pull request descriptions, and asking targeted questions.
   9. 9Basic SQLThe language for asking questions of relational databases: select columns, filter rows, group and count, join tables.
   10. 10Environments, releases and incidentsCode moves from development to staging to production; feature flags turn features on for some users; incidents are unplanned outages handled urgently.

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3. Docs as code, structure and styleHow technical writers plan, structure and write documentation: docs as code, information architecture, Diataxis, audience, style guides and procedures.8 conceptsOpens with credits
4. API docs, review and maintenanceHow technical writers document APIs with OpenAPI, write reliable samples, run reviews, automate checks, write release notes and keep docs current.8 conceptsOpens with credits
5. Your portfolioPublic, specific evidence that you can do the job, because none of these roles can be proven with a certificate alone.6 conceptsOpens with credits
6. Breaking inHonest routes into your first role: internal moves, bridge roles, applications, the exercises employers set and the scams to avoid.7 conceptsOpens with credits
7. Growing in the roleHow to do well in your first year and beyond: early months, influence, showing impact, career paths and staying technical.7 conceptsOpens with credits
8. 8Glossary, A to ZEvery concept in the sheet and the smaller terms it uses, in one list.132 terms

Product, business analysis, writing and devrel.