Behind the Docs

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Patrick sits down with Manny Silva, Head of Documentation at Skyflow, to explore what happens when technical writing evolves into full-scale content systems.

From growing up building computers to working at Apple and Google, Manny shares how his path into technical communication led to a deeply systems-driven approach to documentation.

Today, as a team of one, Manny is rethinking what it means to scale docs—building automated workflows that turn Slack threads into structured drafts, enforcing style guides with AI, and creating feedback loops that continuously improve content quality.

He also dives into Doc Detective, his open-source project for testing documentation like code—validating procedures, capturing screenshots automatically, and ensuring docs stay accurate as products evolve.

Along the way, Manny shares insights on:

1. why technical writers are becoming content orchestrators
2. how AI agents are powered by documentation at their core
3. and what it really takes to reduce friction in modern content operations

If you’re curious about the future of documentation, AI workflows, and doc ops, this episode is packed with practical ideas and forward-looking perspective.

Docs as Tests website

Docs as Tests book

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Ren welcomes back Sara Feldman, Director of Member Engagement at the Consortium for Service Innovation and longtime advocate for knowledge-driven customer experience.

Sara began her career as a technical writer, spending a decade embedded with support teams before diving deeper into knowledge management through Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS). That journey eventually led her to the Consortium, where she now works with member companies around the world to explore new approaches to service innovation and knowledge management.

Together, Ren and Sara discuss:

1. How KCS helps organizations capture and reuse knowledge in real time
2. Why demand-driven knowledge practices produce better documentation and support
3. The rise of intelligent swarming and how it could reshape how work gets routed across teams
4. Why many organizations are struggling to operationalize AI despite the hype
5. The importance of structured, trusted knowledge in an AI-driven world
6. Why reducing customer friction matters more than simply improving efficiency

Sara also shares insights from working directly with industry leaders across customer support, customer success, and service operations—and why the future of AI success will depend heavily on strong knowledge foundations.

If you’re curious about the intersection of documentation, knowledge management, and customer experience, this episode offers a thoughtful look at where the industry is heading next.

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Ren sits down with Melanie Denise Davis — journalist-turned-technical-communication leader, AI Wrangler, and founder of Dragonfly Diva Docs.

Melanie’s career spans the evolution of modern technology itself: from punch cards and mainframes to structured content and AI. She shares what it was like entering tech before technical writing was even a defined profession, helping shape the field alongside early STC efforts, and now contributing to the ISO standard defining technical communication management.

Together, they explore:

✨ Why technical communicators are far more than “glorified typesetters”

✨ The difference between writing words and engineering information

✨ Why structured content is essential for AI success

✨ How technical writers are the natural curators of generative AI

✨ The importance of allies, mentorship, and resilience as a woman of color in tech

✨ Why clarity — not grammar — is the true hill to die on

Melanie also discusses her role with The Content Wrangler, her work in the upcoming Women in Technology anthology, and why this may finally be the moment technical communicators step fully into their power.

If you care about clarity, collaboration, and the future of AI-ready content, this episode is packed with wisdom you won’t want to miss.

Helpful Links

1. Melanie on Linkedin
2. Dragonfly Diva Docs
3. Women in Technical Communication

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Patrick Bosek interviews Dave Koelmeyer, the Content Operations Manager at IDEXX. Dave shares his unexpected journey from IT support to becoming a professional technical communicator.

He discusses the importance of consistency in documentation, scaling of technical content using structured content and a CCMS, and the significant role of advocacy and education to help colleagues understand the benefits of high-quality self-help content.

They also touch on the future of technical content with the integration of AI and the importance of understanding business strategy and stakeholder engagement.

This episode is ideal for those interested in technical communication, content management, and the evolving role of AI in documentation.

In this special episode of Behind the Docs, Ren sits down with Heretto’s own Jarod Sickler — philosopher-turned-structured-content expert, and one of the most genuinely thoughtful voices in the documentation world.

Jarod shares how a grad-school paper and a chance encounter in a Rochester coffee shop set him on an unexpected path into technical documentation (and eventually into Heretto). He opens up about the early days of learning DITA from scratch, the realities of content conversion, and why “doing life with a weight vest on” actually makes him a stronger practitioner.

Together, Ren and Jarod dig into:

1. The moment documentation shifted from “supplemental” to “part of the product”
2. Why structured content is seeing a resurgence thanks to AI
3. What new teams should actually measure before adopting a CCMS
4. Common misconceptions about content conversion
5. The coolest emerging trends in docs and in-app help
6. The joy of reuse, personalization, and helping teams finally break the copy-paste cycle

If you love docs, workflows, or a good origin story that starts in a coffee shop, this one’s for you.

In this episode of Behind the Docs, we sit down with Sandie Markle, content engineer and CEO of Blueberri, whose journey through food tech, structured content, and accidental content engineering is one of the most fascinating we’ve ever featured.

Sandie shares how a career pivot from finance to Shanghai led her into the world of recipe platforms, shopability, metadata, localization, and the early foundations of structured content—long before she even knew what the term meant. We talk about the realities of scaling content across platforms, building teams from scratch, navigating startup chaos, and how her experience helping home cooks ultimately shaped her philosophy on documentation and user experience.

We also dig into her new venture, Blueberri, where she helps food tech companies and creators turn content into scalable systems, and her upcoming book Create Once, Share Everywhere, aimed at bridging the massive gap between creators and technology.

If you love content ops, structured content, or just great stories about people who carve their own path into tech, this one’s for you.

Find Sandie on LinkedIn or join her book's early reader group!

In this episode, we welcome Laura Minaie to Behind the Docs!

Laura recently joined our team and brings a fascinating journey from editing training documents at Chili's to becoming a content strategist in the tech documentation world. She shares her 12-year career at Citrix/LogMeIn, discussing how she discovered technical writing, led a major DITA migration, and learned crucial lessons about proving the value of tech docs in organizations.

Laura also discusses the complex relationship between marketing and technical communications, the importance of structured content, and why future-proofing your documentation is essential.

Join host Patrick Bosek in conversation with Karissa Van Baulen, a customer education professional with over a decade of experience in technical communication and knowledge management. Karissa shares her journey from customer support at startup Hotjar through building education programs that saved millions annually.

Karissa Van Baulen has spent 11+ years in technical communication and customer education. She started at Hotjar as employee #23 and grew with the company through its acquisition, eventually becoming their Knowledge Base Owner. Her passion lies in knowledge management, documentation, and creating self-service experiences that genuinely help users.

Find Karissa Van Baulen on LinkedIn to continue the conversation about customer education and knowledge management.

The conversations keep rolling at LavaCon! In this episode, we’re talking to four guests who each bring a totally different perspective on content, tech, and the future of our field.

Sandie Markle, founder of Blueberri, shares how she’s bringing content strategy to the food tech world — and why she believes structured content is the key to helping creators treat their work like a true business asset.

Fabrice Lacroix, CEO of Fluid Topics, joins us to talk about what it really takes to unify enterprise content (and get execs to care). From “Undercover Docs” to agentic AI, this one dives deep into where content delivery and AI are headed next.

Sarah Feldman, representing both the Consortium for Service Innovation and the new Kinetic Council, explains why our industry needs a new professional home—and how she’s working to build it. Plus, she shares her hill to die on: less “us vs. them” between content disciplines, and more collaboration.

And finally, Tali Utz, a 23-year-old technical writer from Jack Henry & Associates, talks about what it’s like entering the profession in the age of AI—and why curiosity (and maybe a mid-college crisis) led him to this career.

From structured content to content delivery to community and career evolution, this episode captures the heart of LavaCon: inspiration, innovation, and a lot of nerding out over content.

We took Behind the Docs on the road to LavaCon 2025 in Atlanta!

Host Ren Taylor chats with some of the brightest minds in tech comm and content strategy — including Hannah Kirk, Noz Urbina, Kat Rierson, Manny Silva, and Sofiya Minnath — about how AI, metrics, and automation are reshaping the way we create, manage, and measure documentation.

From docs-as-code to knowledge graphs to real-world help site transformations, this episode captures the conversations defining the next era of content operations.

Buckle up for insights, laughs, and a front-row seat to the pulse of LavaCon.