Mattermost participates in Google Season of Docs 2019

In 2019, Mattermost applied to be one of the open source projects to participate in the inaugural Google Season of Docs (GSoD). The aim of the program is to engage technical writers with open source communities and contribute to their documentation. Our goal with the GSoD program was to highlight Mattermost’s commitment to open source and that we don’t only accept code contributions. The program was open to technical writers around the world, and Mattermost was one of 50 projects selected from nearly 200 applicants. 

We are always looking for opportunities to grow our communities and involve contributors who have a range of skills, including writing and editing. Our community of documentation contributors have helped us update, edit, and create new documentation, help text, training materials, and other items to help the community get the most out of Mattermost software.

Our community is an integral part of our product and our business. We work with amazing and ambitious individuals across the globe who have varying backgrounds and skill levels. Whether contributing code, translations, or text, our process includes providing upfront guidance to ensure individuals feel confident in starting a project with Mattermost. We also work with them through the project pulling in design, business, or technical resources as needed to help them improve their work or encourage their contribution by getting feedback early and often. 

The writer we worked with on the GSoD project was Anindita Basu and the project was refining the in-product help text. This was a huge undertaking and required a great deal of planning, organization, and focus. Anindita worked closely with our Product Management team, and at the end of the program, we were delighted with the progress made. 

The remaining parts of the project will benefit from Anindita’s thorough planning, detailed notes, and willingness to contribute outside of the GSoD program—which we’re really excited about. You can read more about Anindita’s experience here. 

Interested in working on Mattermost docs?

We’re really pleased with the outcome of the program but we don’t want it to end there. We value the impact that documentation has on supporting our customers and enabling success. 

Contributing to documentation isn’t limited to professional writers. Often, developers have a unique insight into how things work and improve the documentation based on their previous experience. Documentation is also a good way to get to know Mattermost if you’re interested in contributing but aren’t sure where to start. It often allows a deep dive into a problem which incorporates many facets of Mattermost and can be as much of a learning experience as contributing to our codebase. 

If you’d like to explore open source and work with our team, take a look at some documentation Help Wanted tickets and join our Documentation channel on the Mattermost Community server. 

You won’t be working alone. Our Product and Technical Writing teams work with you to ensure the process is rewarding. We have a style guide to help you get started, as well as documented processes for each step of the way. And at the end of the day, you get to be part of a huge, successful, open source project that enables organizations around the world to communicate safely and effectively.

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to ask.