Technical writing is a form of communication that is used to pass information about specialized topics. It is a form of art that documents technical information within a given domain.
What if John Keynes, the famous economist did not write or document his research and all that he learned? What if it was never documented how his ideas were implemented to stabilize the global economies after the second world war? Your guess might be as good as mine. If such an occurrence happened again, we might have to seek out solutions fresh from the start. But, thanks to documentation, whenever there is such a crisis Keynes' steps to follow through and apply to solve the crisis.
Developers are first-hand problem solvers as much as they are product creators. They experience these problems during creation and source out ways to solve them. If a future developer stumbled upon such an issue and it was documented, they would have a straightforward way to solve it or build upon the solution to best suit their situation. This is how important technical writing is. When we write, we write not only for our understanding but also for future generations. Writing a technical piece on a given topic brands you around that domain and people associate you with the solution provided in the article. It gives you the chance to be an educator and mentor on the topic covered. Interacting through reading and writing technical ideas allows you to connect with other community members and exchange ideas.
Writing through documentation also allows developers to explain the features of their products. Why the features were added and how they operate. This becomes useful during collaboration and working in teams.
Beginner writers also emulate styles and topic ideas from already existing blogs and articles. We can leverage technical writing to grow and improve as developers as well as help others in the field. Reading articles has been of great importance in my data science journey. I have been able to gain valuable insights from domain experts who came before me and I as well intend to document and explain the tricks I learn to help a future data scientist.
This is what I picked from day 1 of the Hashnode Bootcamp for technical writing. I hope it helps a dev out there.
#HashnodeBootcamp