Season of Docs helps open source projects enhance their documentation while also allowing experienced technical writers to acquire experience with open source. We increase awareness of open source, documentation, and technical writing by working together.
What is the GOOGLE Season of DOCs?
Google hosts an annual initiative called Season of Docs. Its purpose is to bring together technical writers and open-source organizations in order to stimulate collaboration and documentation enhancement in the open-source community.
This endeavor is critical since Open Source project documentation allows users to not only learn but also contribute to the project.
Accepted technical writers spend 3-5 months in the program either creating a new doc set, refining the structure of current docs, creating a much-needed lesson, or upgrading an Open Source organization's contribution methods and guidance.
Who qualifies to take part in the program?
You must be at least 18 years old at the time of registration, according to Google's policies. You must also have prior technical writing expertise and be eligible to work in your own country.
If you satisfy these requirements, you are eligible to apply for the Google Season of Docs program.
Participants and their responsibilities
The following are the main categories of persons who participate in Season of Docs, as well as the roles they play in the program:
• Organization administrators are members of participating open source organizations that serve as their organization's primary Season of Docs contact. The organization administrators are in charge of submitting the organization's application to participate in Season of Docs, as well as handling the paperwork and submitting the final assessment and case study.
• Technical writers aren't involved with Season of Docs in any way. Please consult the Tech Writer Handbook for details on how technical writers may participate in Season of Docs.
• Google program administrators are Google program managers who oversee the Season of Docs initiative.
What is the mechanism behind it?
Season of Docs is a grant-based program. Accepted groups will get anything from $5,000 to $15,000 for a documentation effort.
• Project ideas are submitted by open source groups. Before drafting their proposal, organizations should read the organization proposal guide. Budget, timeframe, and metrics are all included in project proposals.
• Organizations that are accepted hire technical writers directly. The Season of Docs funding will be paid out in two installments: 40% when a technical writer is hired, and 60% when the final assessment and case study are received. Visit our grants for organizations guide for additional information on how to get funds.
• Interested technical writers can express their interest by contacting organizations through their project sites and registering with the Season of Docs technical writer directory. We urge technical writers to collaborate with organizations in order to develop project ideas.
• By the program's deadline, organizations must submit their final assessments and case studies. The organization and technical writer learned a lot during the project, as evidenced by the final assessments and case studies.
• The Google program administrators publish the final assessments and case studies at the end of the program. At regular intervals, Google program supervisors will contact the organizations to ask follow-up questions on the project metrics.
Steps in the application process
If you're thinking about applying, take the following steps in the order they're listed:
1. Go over the technical writer's handbook. Develop your understanding of the program's various stages.
2. Be familiar with the documentation project at Wikimedia. A decent place to start is the Documentation home page and its subpages.
3. From the ideas offered on the Season of Docs website, pick a project that best meets your interests and skill set.
4. Conduct comprehensive research on the project. Don't expect to be spoon-fed. Pose thoughtful and specific inquiries. It's a horrible question to ask, "Can you tell me more about this project?"
5. Contact the mentors through Zulip, Phabricator, IRC, or email to express your interest in working on a project.
Discuss your implementation plans with them, as well as their availability and desire to mentor.
6. Acquire the necessary fundamental abilities.
7. Start with an 'excellent initial task' from the Documentation workboard and work on several little tasks from there.
8. Talk to a potential mentor about your own project concept. If none of our project suggestions piqued your interest, you might approach the organization's management to assist you in finding a mentor.
The timeline depicts the specifics of the processes as well as important dates.
1. Program announcement February 3 Season of Docs program announced
2. Organization applications February 23 at 18:00 UTC Organizations can begin submitting applications to Google
3. March 25 at 18:00 UTC Deadline for organization applications
4. March 25 - April 13 Google program administrators review organization applications
5. Organizations announced April 14 at 18:00 UTC Google publishes the list of accepted organizations
6. Doc development April 14 Doc development can officially begin
7. April 14 - November 15 Hired technical writers to work on documentation projects with guidance from organizations
8. Technical writer hiring May 16 at 18:00 UTC Technical writer hiring deadline
9. Monthly Evaluations June 15 - June 22 at 18:00 UTC First monthly evaluation period. Organization administrators start reporting on their project status via monthly evaluations
10. July 15 - July 22 at 18:00 UTC Second monthly evaluation period
11. August 15 - August 22 at 18:00 UTC Third monthly evaluation period
12. September 15 - September 22 at 18:00 UTC Fourth monthly evaluation period
13. October 14 - October 21 at 18:00 UTC Fifth and final monthly evaluation period
14. Final project evaluation and case study November 15 - November 30 at 18:00 UTC. Organization administrators submit their case study and final project evaluation
15. Results were announced on December 14 Google publishes the Season of Docs case studies and aggregate project data
16. Followup surveys May 2 - May 9 at 18:00 UTC First follow-up survey period organizations begin to participate in post-program follow-up surveys
17. August 2 - August 9 at 18:00 UTCThe second follow-up survey period
18. November 2 - November 9 at 18:00 UTC Third and final follow-up survey period
Some of the ideas for picking the perfect project:
• Look over all of the projects that have been approved and attempt to choose at least 5 that you are interested in.
• After selecting at least 5 projects, re-scan the list to decrease the number of projects to a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 2.
• While it's understandable to concentrate on one project throughout the application process, I recommend that you apply for at least two projects in order to increase your chances of being approved for at least one.
• Join the organization's communication channel for each project you pick and let the project's maintainers know you're interested in it. You will be able to create a relationship with the mentor in this manner. It's also worth noting that mentors don't pick people just on the basis of their abilities.
They also choose applicants because they feel they will get along with them. So, when you send a message to a mentor, be specific about what you need and, most importantly, don't be disappointed if they don't react right away because most mentors are volunteers with other full-time jobs.
• Don't wait for someone to feed you. Carry out a lot of research about the project.
Discover and comprehend all you require, and if you have any questions, get assistance from the project's recommended mentor or other members of the community. • Most essential, jot down any information you find throughout your investigation that will be useful if you are hired to work on the project or that will help you enhance your proposal.
Proposal Tips and Guidelines
Many individuals are unaware that creating a proposal is critical. It explains the project's purpose, the time it will take you to finish it, what you need to know, and so on.
A proposal also demonstrates to your mentor your project goals, why you feel you are the best candidate for the job, your experience, project dates, and more.
Send your proposal to the project's mentor for review when you've finished composing it. Their feedback will assist you in understanding the project needs from the mentor's perspective. In the Resources section, I've included a link to my Google Season of Docs proposal.
Contribute to the Open Source Organization at least once-The Season of Docs program is not like Google Summer of Code, where you must contribute to at least one open-source project of your choice. Making a contribution, on the other hand, can significantly boost your chances of being accepted, therefore attempt to do so.
After the application deadline, stay involved in the community-Try to be active in that Open Source group after you've submitted your application. This demonstrates to the mentors that you care about the project and the Open Source community in general.
Participating Has Its Advantages
There are several advantages to taking part in the Season of Docs program. Here are a few:
You may be eligible for a stipend- Google pays you a stipend once you finish the Google Season of Docs program. It's vital to remember that this stipend is optional, therefore you must specify your desire to be compensated throughout the application process.
You enhance your abilities- Another clear advantage of taking part in the Google Season of Docs program is that it helps you to hone your technical writing abilities.
You broaden your social circle-You will get the opportunity to collaborate with folks who are doing incredible things in the Open-source area, in addition to enhancing your technical writing skills.
You can acquire references and recommendations-When applying for a job, having a strong reference letter may make your application stand out.
Working closely with a mentor on the Season of Docs project opens up the possibility of obtaining a wealth of recommendations and references.
You'll be able to take advantage of future possibilities-If you're applying for a technical writing position at Google, putting your Season of Docs experience in your résumé will offer you an edge over other candidates.
You join the Open Source community as a contributor- Apart from the aforementioned advantages, becoming a member of the Season of Docs program allows you to contribute to Open Source projects. This contributes to dispelling the myth that Open Source Contributions are solely for software developers.
5 pointers to help you ace your GSoD application
Here are five pointers to help you plan and write a good Season of Docs application.
1. Write posts on your blog and publish them.
2. The ability to demonstrate past writing experience is one of the most crucial criteria for being approved as a technical writer in the Google Season of Docs program.
3. Google, as well as the project's prospective mentors, must be convinced that you are the proper individual to work on the project. This implies they'll want to see a substantial amount of well-written material and articles you've published.
4. Fortunately, it is not too late to start a blog or add more material to an existing one.
5. It's a good idea to post more well-written articles before, during, and after you've filed your proposal if you already have a blog. If you don't already have a blog, it's not too late to start one using Hashnode's Devblog or another platform and start publishing well-written content.
Providing assistance with open source documentation
• Donating money to open-source groups for documentation work.
• Providing open-source companies with guidance and support to help them understand their documentation requirements.
• Gathering data from open-source groups in order to better assess the impact of documentation
• Sharing best practices by publishing case studies from open source enterprises.
Season of Docs aims to assist open source organizations to evaluate their documentation needs, generating documentation to meet those needs, analyzing the effect and impact of their documentation, and, in the spirit of open-source, sharing what they've learned to aid other projects.
Season of Docs aims to encourage more technical writers to participate in open source projects and organizations by providing compensation for their efforts.
FAQs
1. Is there a recruiting effort for Season of Docs?
1. No. Visit the Google jobs website if you're interested in working for the company.
2. When does the Google Season of Docs take place?
2. Google Season of Docs is a completely online web series produced by Google. There is no requirement to travel as part of the program.
3. How can I keep up with Season of Docs?
3. Subscribe to the announcement mailing list at season-of-docs-announce for the most up-to-date Season of Docs news. To receive email updates, join the group.
4. Is it possible for me to integrate the Google Season of Docs timetable into my calendar?
4. Yes, you may use this link to add Google Season of Docs to the timeline.
5. Will I be able to purchase a Season of Docs T-shirt?
5. Due to international shipping restrictions, we will no longer be able to provide T-shirts to participants who successfully complete their Season of Docs project.
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