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 services 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 backlog. This is a GitHub kanban board where we track our content backlog, and content creation status. Use filters for “Content” + other technology options to discover topics of interest. NOTE: Options for content topics are not limited to what is on this board, nor do you have to stick exactly to these topics. They are there to give contributors ideas for content needs.

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. Check with team in the #tanzu-developer-center Slack channel (VMware Employees Only). Regardless if you pick an option from the content backlog, 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.

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 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.

I have an idea for content to write, but I am not going 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 to the content backlog. Once you are reasonably sure that your topic is a fit for the Tanzu Developer Center, add it to the content backlog. Add you content idea as an issue in the GitHub repository, then add it to the backlog with the content label.