Sefism Tech Roles Beyond Coding Cheat Sheet

What this cheat sheet is

The Tech roles beyond coding cheat sheet is a quick-revision book for tech jobs where code is not the main output: product management, technical writing, developer relations and business analysis. It holds the vocabulary and judgement each role is built on, from HTTP status codes and pull requests to RICE scoring, Diataxis, codes of conduct and BPMN, each as a short definition with why it matters and, for most concepts, the mistake people make with it.

It is the companion to the Tech roles beyond coding roadmap and follows the same order as its stages.

Four editions

You choose a role and get an edition written for it, with its own summary, chapters and tips:

• Product manager: 7 chapters, 55 concepts.
• Technical writer: 7 chapters, 55 concepts.
• Developer relations: 7 chapters, 55 concepts.
• Business analyst: 7 chapters, 69 concepts, because requirements, process modelling and traceability need more vocabulary.

Every edition shares five chapters: the landscape, technical literacy, your portfolio, breaking in and growing in the role. The two middle chapters are specific to the role.

The shared chapters

Tech roles beyond coding

The non-coding tech role, then each role defined: product manager, technical writer, developer relations, plus the adjacent roles (project manager, business analyst, solutions engineer, customer success) and testing role fit cheaply. The pitfalls set expectations early: a PM is not the boss of the team, and technical writing is not mostly grammar. The business analyst edition adds how a BA differs from a PM and the BABOK Guide's knowledge areas.

Technical literacy

Eleven concepts every edition needs: the software development lifecycle, agile sprints and tickets, client, server and the web, HTTP methods and status codes, API, JSON, Git and pull requests, reading code without writing much, basic SQL, and environments, releases and incidents. Business analysts also get spreadsheet analysis.

Your portfolio

Portfolio as evidence, case study structure and learning in public, then three samples per role: product teardowns, a PM case study and a spec for an existing product; a docs portfolio, open source docs contributions and a before-and-after rewrite; a public content body, community work and a sample app with a tutorial; or a requirements package, a process improvement sample and a data analysis sample.

Breaking in

Internal transfer, bridge role, reading role titles, hiring exercises, the informational conversation and job scam warning signs, plus the route that fits the role: associate PM programmes, contract and freelance writing, community and ambassador programmes, or business analysis certifications, domain knowledge and entry routes.

Growing in the role

First 90 days, influence without authority, written updates, the impact record, the career ladder, staying technical and moving between roles. The BA edition adds where business analysts go next.

The role chapters

Product manager: Discovery, prioritisation and specs (product discovery, user interviews, the problem statement, the four product risks, RICE prioritisation, the PRD, the roadmap, working with engineering and design) and Metrics, experiments and stakeholders (north star metric, leading and lagging metrics, A/B tests, sample size and significance, stakeholder management, saying no, launch and go to market, product strategy).

Technical writer: Docs as code, structure and style (docs as code, information architecture, Diataxis, audience and task analysis, style guides, procedures, Markdown, static site generators) and API docs, review and maintenance (API reference, OpenAPI descriptions, code samples, reviews with engineers, prose linting, release notes, measuring docs, docs debt).

Developer relations: Developer experience and content (developer experience, the developer journey, tutorials, sample apps, technical talks, video and streaming, developer community, the pillars of DevRel) and Community, feedback and measurement (community management, codes of conduct, feedback loops to product, measuring DevRel honestly, vanity metrics, events, content strategy, sustainable pace).

Business analyst: Elicitation, requirements and process models (the core concept model, stakeholder analysis, elicitation techniques, workshops, requirement types, non-functional requirements, user stories and INVEST, Given/When/Then acceptance criteria, as-is and to-be processes, BPMN, use cases, UML) and Data, traceability and solution evaluation (data profiling, ERDs, data dictionaries, root cause and gap analysis, the business case, MoSCoW, traceability, change control, requirements validation, user acceptance testing, solution evaluation).

Each chapter links up to three library resources to go deeper, such as SVPG Articles, Diataxis, Vale, DeveloperRelations.com and the BABOK Guide.

Rules of thumb inside

Every edition shares tips such as: learn enough of APIs, code and data to ask engineers precise questions; three strong public samples beat any certificate; internal moves from support, QA or engineering are among the most common routes in; and never pay an employer for training, equipment or a trial task. Each role then adds two of its own, for example "decide what type of page you are writing before you write it" for writers, or "every requirement needs a way to test it" for business analysts.

How to use it with the roadmap

• After each stage, read the matching chapter and explain each concept aloud without notes.
• Before a hiring exercise (a product case, a writing test, a content task or a requirements exercise), revise the two role chapters and the breaking in chapter.
• While building portfolio samples, keep the role chapters open as a checklist: did your spec name its risks, did your tutorial get tested on a clean setup, did your stories have acceptance criteria?
• In your first 90 days, reread the growing in the role chapter.

How it works on Sefism

Everything on Sefism is free to learn from. The public page lists all chapter titles with the first chapters open. Keeping the full sheet in your member area uses credits, and following the roadmap gives you the sheet with it. New members get starting credits and the first roadmap is free. Questions about which role fits you can go to Tauseef.

Related on Sefism

• How do I become a business analyst in tech?
• Documentation Overhaul for an Open Source Project
• Product Discovery Case Study: From User Interviews to a Tested Prototype
• Switch into tech cheat sheet if you are coming from another field.

FAQ

Which edition should I choose? The role you are aiming for. If you are undecided, read the shared first chapter in any edition, then try a small real task from each role as the roadmap suggests.

Is it useful if I am already in the role? Yes, as revision, especially the professional-level chapter for your role and the growing in the role chapter.

Does it teach coding? No. The technical literacy chapter gives you enough to read APIs, JSON, pull requests and SQL and ask good questions.