MacGyvering your docs
interventions for fun and (non)profit
Paul Roeland / @polyester
press "s" for speakernotes
Me?
Know the feeling?
Developers hate you
Users take you for granted
Nobody recognizes all the hard work
All the others have more people / time / money / stuff...
it's all so...
UNFAIR
First attempt: Optimism
so we wait
and we ask nicely...
AMATEURS!
HELP
But not from this type of guy...
<rant>
</rant>
MacGyvering:
Put the things you find
to clever use
things you find...
or beg, steal, borrow
long lost friends
interesting places to meet
help from kind strangers
note the recurring theme here?
nonprofits?
set agenda
be unavoidable
be tenacious
be unapologetic
put your heart into it
it's fun
* and yup, that's me. Handbag toss at the Drag Queen Olympics. Long story. It had a point.
Method to the madness
Over time, campaigners learnt:
Lasting results need planning
This is NOT serendipity or talent
Theory of Change
| Assumption | Backwards Mapping | Change Framework |
| Indicator | Interaction | Intervention |
| Justification | Outcome Framework | Narrative |
| Population | Precondition | Scope |
| Target | Threshold | Ultimate Outcome |
The hard ones...
Target: who of the Population?
Scope: where's a sensible limit?
Outcomes → Preconditions →
Threshold: when is it good enough?
Outcomes
- Enabling environment
- Capacities strenghtened
- Alternatives developed
- Agendas set
- Policies changed
- Practice changed
but we want
Real Tools!
K.I.S.S.
Git, Sphinx,
RobotFramework, CI
Use, not abuse
Bliss ?
sorry...
new rules, new problems
from NonProfit import Obsession
from HumanBehavior import Preacher(*complex)
from Risk import Burn→Out
as it turns out, that Threshold and
Scope part are harder than you think.