The sessions ✍️ · for practitioners · 8 x 45 min
From the audience equation to a shipped v1.0 - each session teaches the craft on real source material, then applies it to Pulse in a build-along.
Why docs fail: the audience equation
The good-docs formula behind every writing decision, scope statements that win the 30-second scan, and your first look at Pulse.
✂️ Session 2 · easySentences that work
Active voice, one idea per sentence, and the words to cut - then the rescue of Pulse's unreadable NOTES.txt.
📋 Session 3 · easyStructure readers can scan
Lists, tables, paragraphs, and headings - the shapes that let a busy reader find one answer without reading everything.
🚪 Session 4 · coreThe README: milestone 1
The project's front door, assembled from everything in Sessions 1-3: Pulse gets a full README a newcomer can actually follow.
🧭 Session 5 · coreDiátaxis: the four kinds of docs
The map that ends "where does this go?" forever - tutorials, how-tos, reference, explanation - plus Pulse's first how-to guide.
🗄️ Session 6 · deeperReference, ADRs, changelogs: milestone 2
The project's memory: a config reference, the decision records that explain "why UTC everywhere", and a changelog that keeps its promises.
⚙️ Session 7 · deeperDocs as code: milestone 3
Docs in git, reviewed like code, linted by Vale in CI - the workflow that keeps a doc set alive after the enthusiasm fades.
🚢 Session 8 · full stackEdit like a pro, ship v1.0
The self-editing pass, caption-first diagrams, where LLMs help and where they hurt - then Pulse's doc set ships as v1.0.
Deep dives 🔬 · specialist topics · take anytime after Session 5
Four standalone specials for the docs that hurt most when they're bad - each one applied to Pulse's real errors, real alerts, and real style choices.
Writing helpful error messages
Google's error-message rules - state what happened, why, and what to do next - applied to Pulse's real error output.
♿ Deep dive 2Accessible writing
Alt text that carries meaning, contrast that passes, inclusive language - then a full accessibility audit of the Pulse doc set.
📟 Deep dive 3Runbooks and ops docs
The 2am doc, built to SRE grade: what the on-call reader needs, in the order they need it, when nothing else is working.
⚖️ Deep dive 4Style-guide face-off
Google versus Microsoft, rule by rule - where they agree, where they fight, and how to pick one for your team without a war.
The knowledge map 🧠
The whole course at a glance - hover a session to spotlight its concepts, click any node to jump in.