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Docker

Docker is a set of platform as a service products that use OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers.

I was hired as an Open Source Writer at Docker. At Docker, in my first 6 months, I created the Docker birthday site, moved the generator code from MkDocs to Hugo, and created the very first Getting Started for Docker, which was very well-received in the community. My other writing tasks included writing Docker command pages, writing Docker administration docs, writing/editing for Developer Advocate projects, and other writing topics as needed.

I helped contributors from around the world complete and merge documentation and code changes into Docker repositories. This included reviewing, merging, and carrying out pull requests as needed. Docker received over 100 contributions daily. I was also responsible for preparing and releasing docs.docker.com.

As Lead Writer, I expanded the writing team while continuing my writing duties.

Samples​

  • Originally, Docker had a single command line interface introduction. The introduction focused on creating Docker images. I was asked to produce a Getting Started for Mac, Linux, and Windows users that illustrated the "build, ship, run" workflow users were expected to use with Docker and Docker Hub.

    The Getting Started was featured in the upper right corner of the corporate website. It was introduced with DockerCon in 2015. After a year in use, the image had been pulled close to a million times. It was very well received in Docker's large community, here are some comments from Twitter:

    Kudos

  • Docker Developer/Contributor guide

    When I joined, the company had a three-page contributor guide. The purpose of the guide was to set contributors up to develop Docker itself. Internally, the team was developing Docker in "inception" mode. Literally, they would develop Docker inside a container. I created a guide:

    ... written for the distracted, the overworked, the sloppy reader with fair git skills and a failing memory for the GitHub GUI.

    The guide was written from developer interviews of about an hour and a 100 line console print out. This tutorial was also well received.

    Contributor Kudos

  • At Docker, it was very important that the writers could fork, commit, and merge their own pull requests. Writers were also responsible for assisting contributors who were doing the same. While there were several GUI tools the Git/GitHub combination, my research showed that none of them were sufficiently flexible to handle complex merges. So, I trained all the writers to use Git on the command line. I wrote a Git/GitHub wiki focused on our specific needs. Many writers became more proficient with Git than the engineers!