Technical writer responsibilities

Current phase:
The 2019 Season of Docs program finished on March 6, 2020. See timeline.

Technical writers taking part in Season of Docs have a number of responsibilities towards the open source organization and the Google program administrators. This document describes the responsibilities that apply across all participating open source organizations.

Individual organizations may have additional roles and responsibilities. Talk to your mentor for more information.

Responsibilities towards your mentor

  • Submit high-quality work.
  • Regularly communicate the work you have completed, what you intend to do next, and any blockers you encounter.
    • Ask for help when something is preventing you from achieving a goal.
    • Give some indication that you are working daily or at the agreed intervals.
  • Re-evaluate work scope when significantly ahead of or behind expectations.
  • Communicate with your mentor and the broader community.
  • Inform as early as possible when work capacity will be reduced (for example, due to family commitments, health, other work commitments).
  • Listen and respond to feedback.

Responsibilities towards the administrator of your open source organization

  • Let them know when there are:
    • Interaction issues with any mentor or community member.
    • Significant disagreements involving your work or changes to your work plan.

Responsibilities towards the Google program administrators

The Google program administrators manage the program as a whole. This includes announcing when the program moves from one stage to another, providing the participant stipends via Payoneer, and announcing the program results.

Your responsibilities include the following:

  • Respond to registration requests within the stipulated timeframe.
  • Submit your project report and evaluation within the stipulated timeframe.
  • Let the program administrators know of any bugs or communication problems.