Contribution, Prewriting Ideation (GitHub and Google Docs Method)

TDC Contribution Guide - Prewriting and Content Ideation

Follow these processes if you need assistance prior to creating content. Example: coming up with content ideas, or ensuring your idea is right for the Tanzu Developer Center.

Is my content a good fit for the Tanzu Developer Center?

1. Your content might be a good fit if it:

   • Introduces new and distinct content not yet published to the Dev Center.
   • Discusses a technology that is free, a freemium, a free trial, or open source. SaaS options can also be an option.
   • Is technical, educational, and preferably actionable.
   • Is relevant to software developer teams. For example, cloud native, app development, and app platform config.

2. Your content might NOT be a good fit if it:

   • Contains duplicate or similar content already published in the Dev Center.
   • Discusses a technology that requires the reader to buy a license or speak to a sales rep.
   • Refers to infrastructure ops such as vSphere, VSAN, and NSX.
   • Discusses company-specific topics or policies such as specific customers, reporting structures, or billing.

3. For "Versus" content:

   • This is content that describes the difference between two similar technologies (i.e. containers vs. virtual machines).
   • This content tends to be popular with readers, however caution should be exercised.
   • Do not write content in such a way that Technology A is the obvious superior choice "versus" Technology B. This is particularly important when representing technologies in which VMware has a significant presence.
   • Do represent the use cases in which Technology A may be a good fit "versus" use cases for Technology B.
   • Do show how Technology A and Technology B could work together in certain use cases.

I want to create content for the Tanzu Developer Center, but I don’t know what to write.

1. Check the content request backlog and the learning path backlog. These are GitHub kanban boards where we track our content backlogs and content creation status. Use filters for “Content” + other labels to discover topics of interest.

   NOTE: While the topics on those boards are our currently known content needs, topics are not limited to what is on these boards. Your ideas are welcomed! Take a look at the New issue templates for a few types of content to contribute.

2. Explore specific technology areas on the Tanzu Developer Center website. If the topic you are researching is missing set context such as a “What is?” or “Getting Started”, you just found a great opportunity to contribute introductory content to the Dev Center, before moving on to creating more advanced topics.

3. Publish something you use and find valuable. Is there a proven workshop, practice, method, or technique you or your team uses that would be valuable to make available for you, your customers, your partners, or the software world in general? Is the content related to this topic "trapped" inside docs, decks, or similar? Such content can often be edited and made available for publication.

4. Check with team in the #tanzu-developer-center Slack channel (VMware Employees Only). Regardless if you pick an option from the backlogs or have your own idea, it is a good idea to check-in with the Tanzu Developer Center team to ensure the idea is likely to be accepted.

5. Add your topic request by creating a new Issue. Once we are reasonably sure that your topic is a fit for the Tanzu Developer Center, we will add it to the content request backlog.

I want to create content for the Tanzu Developer Center, and I do know what to write.

1. Review the Tanzu Developer Center website. Take some time to check out all guides, blogs, videos, Tanzu practices, learning paths and workshops about your topic on the Tanzu Developer Center. You’ll want to ensure the content you contribute is new and distinct to the Dev Center.

2. Check with team in the #tanzu-developer-center Slack channel (VMware Employees Only). It is a good idea to check your idea with the Tanzu Developer Center team to ensure the idea is likely to be accepted.

3. Add your topic request by creating a new Issue. Once we are reasonably sure that your topic is a fit for the Tanzu Developer Center, we will add it to the content request backlog.

I have an idea for content but I don't have time to write it.

1. Check the content guidelines (VMware Employees Only). Check here to ensure your idea is a good fit for the Tanzu Developer Center.

2. Check with team in the #tanzu-developer-center Slack channel (VMware Employees Only). If you still have questions about your topic idea, check in with the team.

3. Add your topic request by creating a new Issue. Once we are reasonably sure that your topic is a fit for the Tanzu Developer Center, we will add it to the content request backlog.