# Expertise

## Selected work

Documentation projects that demonstrate the areas of expertise below.

- [**NuFirewall documentation (DITA XML)**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/nufirewall-case-study/): Software product documentation cited by the press as a strength of the product: conref reuse strategy, conditional text, and a translation-ready source. Demonstrates: DITA XML, Content reuse, Conditional text, Translation.
- [**This portfolio, as a docs-as-code project**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/about-this-blog/#how-this-site-is-built): Bilingual EN/FR documentation in Git since 2014: reStructuredText and DITA XML, now Astro and Starlight, built by CI on every change. Demonstrates: Docs-as-code, Git, CI/CD, Astro and Starlight.
- [**A machine-readable documentation API**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/about-the-api/): The same Markdown sources served to scripts and AI agents as llms.txt, Markdown mirrors, and JSON indexes, generated at build time. Demonstrates: Developer documentation, llms.txt, JSON, Automation.
- [**DITA XML on multilingual projects**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/dita-xml-case-studies/): Solutions and tips from daily use of DITA XML on multilingual technical documentation. Demonstrates: DITA XML, Multilingual documentation.

## Docs-as-code

Integrating documentation into engineering workflows, with the same tools and lifecycle as the product.

**Key technologies and methods:** Git, Branches, Pull-request review, Shared repositories, Markdown and MDX

**Selected documentation:**

- [Integrating documentation into development processes](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/integrating-documentation-into-development/)
- [Version management systems - rustic but reliable](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/version-control-systems/)
- [Git: from file to content](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/git-from-file-to-content/)
- [Using branches in source management systems](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/using-branches/)
- [A single repository?](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/single-repository/)
- [Repository](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/repository/)
- [Which repository for group work?](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/which-repository-for-group-work/)
- [Example: a basic docs-as-code workflow](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/example-docs-as-code-workflow/)
- [Example: a documentation review workflow](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/example-review-workflow/)
- [Checklist: docs-as-code adoption](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/docs-as-code-adoption-checklist/)

<span id="structured-authoring-and-dita"></span>

## DITA & structured authoring

Choosing how much structure content needs, then building modular, reusable sources in DITA XML.

**Key technologies and methods:** DITA XML, Topic typing, Conrefs, Ditamaps, Conditional text, DITA-OT, XSLT, XSL-FO, DocBook

**Selected documentation:**

- [Case study: NuFirewall documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/nufirewall-case-study/): reuse and translation strategy on a software product.
- [Case studies in using DITA XML](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/dita-xml-case-studies/)
- [Structured and unstructured formats](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/structured-vs-unstructured-formats/)
- [Structured DITA XML format](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/)
- [Too complex a document architecture?](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/document-architecture-complexity/)
- [Formats and tools](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/formats-and-tools/)
- [Source format](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/source-format/)
- [DITA XML and XSL-FO tutorials](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/dita-xml-xsl-fo-tutorials/)

<span id="documentation-and-information-architecture"></span>

## Documentation architecture

Structuring documentation sets so they scale and stay consistent as they grow.

**Key technologies and methods:** Information typing, Concept / task / reference, Modular content, Repository layout, Article templates

**Selected documentation:**

- [Information types](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/information-types/)
- [From document to modular document base](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/modular-documentation/)
- [The three levels of technical documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/three-levels-of-documentation/)
- [Example: a documentation repository structure](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/example-repository-structure/)
- Templates: [concept](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/concept-article-template/), [task](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/task-article-template/), and [reference](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/reference-article-template/) articles
- [Example: a well-structured Markdown page](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/example-markdown-page/)
- [Glossary](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/reference/glossary/)

<span id="developer-and-api-documentation"></span>

## Developer & API documentation

Documentation for people who build on a product, kept accurate through product testing and engineering review.

**Key technologies and methods:** API reference, llms.txt, Markdown mirrors, JSON indexes, Technical review

**Selected documentation:**

- [Template: API documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/api-documentation-template/)
- [About this manual's API](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/about-the-api/): a working, static documentation API for scripts and AI agents.
- [Testing products to document them](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/testing-products/)
- [Gathering information](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/gathering-information/): working with engineers and other subject-matter experts.
- [Checklist: technical review](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/technical-review-checklist/)
- [Template: documentation review request](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/documentation-review-request-template/)

<span id="documentation-automation-and-cicd"></span>

## Automation & CI/CD

Building, checking, and publishing documentation automatically, and generating content from data instead of copying it by hand.

**Key technologies and methods:** CI/CD pipelines, Single-source publishing, Python, Jinja, SQLite, Bash, sed, Regular expressions, reStructuredText and Sphinx

**Selected documentation:**

- [Example: a practical CI/CD pipeline for documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/example-cicd-pipeline/)
- [Auto-insert data into a DITA XML file](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/auto-insert-data-dita-xml/)
- [Automatically insert SQL data into a reStructuredText file](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/auto-insert-sql-data-restructuredtext/)
- [Automatically insert data into a reStructuredText file](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/auto-insert-data-restructuredtext/)
- [Create different documents from the same sources using Jinja](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/conditional-text-jinja/) and [with the object method](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/conditional-text-jinja-object-method/)
- [Create different documents from the same ReST sources (conditional text)](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/conditional-text-sphinx-rest/)
- [Regular expressions in Python](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/python-regular-expressions/)
- [sed: modify your text without opening your files](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/sed-text-editing/)
- [The Raspberry Pi 3 as a documentation platform](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/raspberry-pi-documentation-platform/)
- [Managing a project from start to finish](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/project-end-to-end/)
- [Target format](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/target-format/): single-source publishing to PDF, HTML, and EPUB.

## AI-assisted documentation

Using AI in one part of the documentation workflow, always with human review: translation, a grounded documentation assistant, and a documentation API that scripts and AI agents can read.

**Key technologies and methods:** DeepL, GPT-4o, Claude, llms.txt, Human review

**Selected documentation:**

- [Ask the documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/ask/): an assistant that answers from this portfolio's pages only, and lists the pages it used.
- [The documentation API](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/about-the-api/): llms.txt, Markdown mirrors, and JSON indexes generated at build time for scripts and AI agents.
- [Translating legacy French docs to English with DeepL and GPT-4o](https://redaction-technique.org/ai-translation-legacy-technical-docs): the workflow used to translate this portfolio, with Git diffs as a safety net.
- [Reliability vs. latency: running Claude through the CLI](https://redaction-technique.org/reliability-vs-latency-claude-cli): closing the feedback loop so the model can fix its own build errors.
- [Persona prompting: check this before printing](https://redaction-technique.org/persona-prompting-typographer): structured technical review from a targeted prompt.

<span id="documentation-process-and-quality"></span>

## Documentation process & quality

Running documentation as an explicit, repeatable process, from project definition to delivery, with quality gates at each step.

**Key technologies and methods:** Project planning, Quality gates, Checklists, Release readiness, Documentation audits

**Selected documentation:**

- [Technical writing: an industrial process](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/)
- [Project definition](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/project-definition/) and the [project plan template](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/documentation-project-plan-template/)
- [Content creation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/content-creation/)
- [Validation and quality control](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/validation-quality-control/)
- [Delivery](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/delivery/)
- Checklists: [documentation quality](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/documentation-quality-checklist/), [release readiness](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/release-readiness-checklist/), [documentation audit](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/documentation-audit-checklist/), and [documentation migration](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/documentation-migration-checklist/)
- [Technical documentation: reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/)
- [From technical writing to technical communication](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/copywriting-to-technical-communication/)
- [KISS Principle of Simplicity](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/kiss-principle/)

## Multilingual documentation

Planning translation from the start of a project, and structuring sources so that translation stays affordable. I'm a translation school graduate with several years of technical translation experience.

**Key technologies and methods:** Translation planning, Language branches, Conref-based DITA XML, EN/FR

**Selected documentation:**

- [Translation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/translation/)
- [Using branches in source management systems](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/using-branches/): parallel language branches.
- [Case study: NuFirewall documentation](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/nufirewall-case-study/): translating conref-based DITA XML content.

## Tools and formats

Tools and formats covered in these articles, or used to build this site:

Git, GitHub Actions, Markdown and MDX, Astro and Starlight, reStructuredText and Sphinx, DITA XML, DocBook, XSLT, XSL-FO, LaTeX, Python, Jinja, SQLite, Bash, sed, awk, regular expressions, Makefile

## Get in touch

To discuss a technical writing role or project, contact me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrereolivier/). More background is in my [professional profile](https://redaction-technique.org/) ↗ and on the [About](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/about-this-blog/) page.

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Source: https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/expertise/