references/curriculum_learning_paths.md
# Curriculum and learning paths
## Table of contents
1. [Learning outcomes](#learning-outcomes)
2. [Module structure](#module-structure)
3. [Sequencing](#sequencing)
4. [Certification paths](#certification-paths)
## Learning outcomes
Write outcomes as observable behaviors:
- **Bad:** "Understand authentication"
- **Good:** "Implement OAuth client-credentials flow and rotate secrets per policy"
Use **Bloom levels** — remember → apply → build → teach.
Each module: 3–5 outcomes max.
## Module structure
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Why it matters | Motivation, 2 min read |
| Concepts | Minimal theory |
| Guided lab | Step-by-step with checkpoints |
| Challenge lab | Fewer hints |
| Reference links | Deep docs (`tech-writer-researcher`) |
| Assessment | Quiz or practical task |
Target **60–90 min** self-paced per module; flag if longer.
## Sequencing
Rules:
1. **Dependencies first** — auth before data APIs
2. **Happy path before edge cases**
3. **Local/dev before production concerns**
4. **Security woven in** — not only final "security module"
Publish **path variants**:
- Fast track (experienced)
- Standard (default)
- Fundamentals (true beginner)
## Certification paths
If offering badge/cert:
| Element | Definition |
|---|---|
| Required modules | Ordered list |
| Capstone project | Rubric-scored |
| Proctored vs take-home | Integrity model |
| Expiry / recert | API version drift |
| Appeals | Human review process |
Align cert topics with **real job tasks**, not trivia.
references/labs_assessments.md
# Labs, sandboxes, and assessments
## Table of contents
1. [Lab design](#lab-design)
2. [Sandbox hygiene](#sandbox-hygiene)
3. [Assessments](#assessments)
4. [Academic integrity](#academic-integrity)
## Lab design
Good lab properties:
- **Reproducible** — script or container; pinned versions
- **Inspectable** — clear success criteria (URL returns 200, test passes)
- **Incremental** — checkpoint commits or steps
- **Forgiving** — reset command documented
- **Realistic** — mirrors prod patterns, not toy APIs only
Avoid labs that require **undocumented secrets** or production access.
Pair with `tech-writer-researcher` for reference accuracy; education owns pedagogy.
## Sandbox hygiene
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Isolated accounts/projects | Blast radius |
| TTL on resources | Cost control |
| Quota alerts | Prevent runaway |
| No real PII | Compliance |
| Teardown automation | Clean state |
Document **cost estimate** per learner per lab run.
## Assessments
| Type | Use |
|---|---|
| Knowledge check | Terminology, when-to-use |
| Practical task | Build/deploy in sandbox |
| Code review rubric | Capstone quality |
| Pair observation | Certification integrity |
Rubrics use **levels** (meets / exceeds / not yet) with concrete signals.
Provide **sample solutions** and **common mistake** notes for graders.
## Academic integrity
- Rotate challenge prompts periodically
- Use private test cases for autograder
- Plagiarism policy for public cohorts
- Proctoring only when credential has external value
Balance integrity with **open learning** — share concepts, vary implementations.
references/metrics_iteration.md
# Metrics and iteration
## Table of contents
1. [North-star metrics](#north-star-metrics)
2. [Program metrics](#program-metrics)
3. [Content health](#content-health)
4. [Iteration cadence](#iteration-cadence)
## North-star metrics
Pick 1–2 per program:
| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Time-to-first-success | Median time from account to first successful API/task |
| Support deflection | Ticket rate drop on trained topics |
| Activation | % completing onboarding path who ship feature |
| Cert completion | % started who pass capstone |
| Confidence score | Post-module survey (validated instrument) |
Tie to product OKRs where possible.
## Program metrics
| Metric | Diagnostic use |
|---|---|
| Enrollment → start | Marketing/prereq friction |
| Start → module 1 complete | Opening difficulty |
| Per-module drop-off | Rewrite that module |
| Lab retry rate | Unclear instructions or flaky infra |
| Workshop NPS | Facilitator/materials |
| Pass rate on assessment | Too easy/hard |
Segment by **persona, region, language**.
## Content health
Quarterly audit:
- Broken links, deprecated APIs
- SME review for accuracy
- Learner feedback themes
- Comparison to current product UI
Sync with `tech-writer-researcher` content audit — avoid duplicate ownership; education flags pedagogy gaps, docs flags accuracy.
## Iteration cadence
| Cadence | Action |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Office hours themes → backlog |
| Monthly | Module patch releases |
| Quarterly | Path roadmap review |
| Per major release | Launch enablement bundle with `communication-lead` |
Publish **changelog** for curriculum so internal teams know what changed.
references/needs_assessment.md
# Needs assessment
## Table of contents
1. [Personas](#personas)
2. [Jobs to be done](#jobs-to-be-done)
3. [Gap analysis](#gap-analysis)
4. [Prioritization](#prioritization)
## Personas
| Persona | Typical background | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| New hire (internal) | SWE generalist | Ship on platform in 30 days |
| External app developer | Web/mobile | Integrate API/SDK in prod |
| Partner / SI | Enterprise integrator | Certify and implement for clients |
| Power user | Existing customer | Advanced patterns, migration |
| Support → builder | CS/SRE curious | Reduce escalations via depth |
Document **prerequisites** per persona (language, cloud, security basics).
## Jobs to be done
Frame as verbs:
- "When I **first authenticate**, I want to **see a working call in <10 min**"
- "When I **debug a failed deploy**, I want to **find the right log and fix**"
- "When I **go to production**, I want to **know compliance and limits**"
Interview 5–8 learners per persona; synthesize themes.
## Gap analysis
| Signal source | What to extract |
|---|---|
| Support tickets | Top "how do I" clusters |
| Docs analytics | High bounce, low completion |
| Community forums | Repeated confusion |
| Sales/SE | Deal blockers from skill gaps |
| Engineering | Onboarding friction for new teams |
Map gaps to **module candidates** with severity (blocks adoption vs nice-to-have).
## Prioritization
Score modules:
| Factor | Weight |
|---|---|
| Reach (# learners affected) | High |
| Revenue or adoption impact | High |
| Effort to build (SME time, lab infra) | Medium |
| Risk if wrong (security, data) | Gate |
Publish **NOW / NEXT / LATER** roadmap for curriculum team and `tech-writer-researcher`.
references/stakeholder_alignment.md
# Stakeholder alignment
## Table of contents
1. [RACI-style map](#raci-style-map)
2. [Launch enablement](#launch-enablement)
3. [Docs vs education](#docs-vs-education)
4. [Community and partners](#community-and-partners)
## RACI-style map
| Activity | Education | Docs | Eng | Product | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum outcomes | A/R | C | C | A | I |
| API reference accuracy | I | A/R | C | I | I |
| Labs/sandboxes | A/R | C | R | I | I |
| Launch webinar | A | C | C | A | I |
| Certification policy | A | I | C | A | I |
| Ticket-driven gaps | C | C | I | I | R |
A = accountable, R = responsible, C = consulted, I = informed.
## Launch enablement
T-6 to T+2 weeks (adapt):
| When | Deliverable |
|---|---|
| T-6 | Persona + message for launch |
| T-4 | Module or workshop draft; SME review |
| T-2 | Facilitator dry run; lab freeze |
| T0 | Live workshop + async path live |
| T+2 | Survey, metrics snapshot, FAQ update |
Align dates with `communication-lead` and `deployment-strategist` customer-facing readiness.
## Docs vs education
| Docs (`tech-writer-researcher`) | Education (this skill) |
|---|---|
| Accurate reference | Teaches path to competence |
| Searchable, versioned | Sequenced, assessed |
| Maintained per release | Cohort and events |
**Link, don't duplicate** — curriculum links to canonical docs; docs link to "get started" path.
## Community and partners
- Office hours with community moderators
- Partner train-the-trainer kits (NDA-safe)
- Hackathon **starter labs** not full curriculum
- Feedback loop from champions to backlog
Escalate **policy** questions (data use, cert branding) to legal/comms — education drafts, does not approve.
references/workshop_delivery.md
# Workshops and delivery
## Table of contents
1. [Formats](#formats)
2. [Run of show](#run-of-show)
3. [Facilitation](#facilitation)
4. [Cohort operations](#cohort-operations)
## Formats
| Format | Best for | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Live demo + Q&A | Launch, executive visibility | 50–500 |
| Hands-on workshop | Skill transfer | 15–30 |
| Cohort bootcamp | Deep onboarding | 10–25 |
| Office hours | Unblocking | Open |
| Recorded + async lab | Scale, time zones | Unlimited |
| Train-the-trainer | Internal SMEs | 5–15 |
Pick format from persona urgency and lab infra cost.
## Run of show
Template (90 min workshop):
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0–10 | Goals, prerequisites check |
| 10–25 | Concept + live demo (one path) |
| 25–65 | Guided lab (breakouts if large) |
| 65–80 | Challenge + show-and-tell |
| 80–90 | Next steps, survey, resources |
Materials checklist: slides (sparse), lab repo, solution branch, troubleshooting doc, backup instructor.
## Facilitation
- **Two instructors** for >20 when hands-on
- **TAs** for ratio ~1:8 during lab
- **Parking lot** for deep tangents
- **Version pins** on lab day — no surprise API changes
- **Accessibility** — captions, screen-reader-friendly docs, pace
Train facilitators with **facilitator guide**, not learner guide.
## Cohort operations
- Application or manager nomination (if limited seats)
- Pre-work module due 48h before
- Slack/Discord channel with rules
- Daily stand-down for multi-day cohorts
- Certificate issued after rubric pass within 14 days
Track **no-shows** and **drop-off step** for curriculum fixes.
SKILL.md
---
name: developer-education-lead
description: |
Guides developer education leadership—audience and skills-gap analysis, learning paths and
curriculum design, workshops and cohort programs, hands-on labs, certification or badging,
instructor enablement, feedback loops, and success metrics (completion, confidence, time-to-first-success).
Use when building or scaling a developer training program, onboarding engineers to a platform,
designing certification, planning launch enablement for developers, or aligning docs/tutorials
with learning outcomes—not for writing single API pages (tech-writer-researcher), customer
support macros (product-support-specialist), generic exec comms (communication-lead), or
shipping product code (senior-software-engineer).
---
# Developer Education Lead
## When to Use
- Define **who** to teach (personas, prerequisites, regional/language needs)
- Design **learning paths** — beginner → production-ready
- Build **curriculum** — modules, outcomes, assessments, capstones
- Plan **live programs** — workshops, office hours, cohort bootcamps
- Create **labs and sandboxes** — safe, reproducible exercises
- Launch **certification or badging** with clear rubrics
- Coordinate **launch enablement** with product and docs
- Measure **program health** — completion, NPS, time-to-first-success, support deflection
- Train **internal instructors** and SME contributors
## When NOT to Use
- One-off API reference or runbook → `tech-writer-researcher`
- Customer ticket triage and support KB fixes → `product-support-specialist`, `support-engineer`
- All-hands or press messaging → `communication-lead`
- Product PRD or roadmap → `product-designer`, `business-analyst`
- Implement platform features → `senior-software-engineer`, `ai-engineer`
- HR employee onboarding → `people-operations-specialist`
## Related skills
| Need | Skill |
|---|---|
| Documentation IA and style | `tech-writer-researcher` |
| Launch comms calendar | `communication-lead` |
| Product launch readiness | `deployment-strategist` |
| Support deflection metrics | `product-support-specialist` |
| Multi-team training rollout program | `technical-program-manager` |
| Prompt/agent education for builders | `prompt-engineer` |
| Platform architecture narrative | `applied-ai-architect-commercial-enterprise` |
## Core Workflows
### 1. Needs assessment
Personas, jobs-to-be-done, gap analysis.
**See `references/needs_assessment.md`.**
### 2. Curriculum and learning paths
Outcomes, sequencing, prerequisites.
**See `references/curriculum_learning_paths.md`.**
### 3. Workshops and delivery
Formats, facilitation, cohort ops.
**See `references/workshop_delivery.md`.**
### 4. Labs, sandboxes, and assessments
Hands-on quality and integrity.
**See `references/labs_assessments.md`.**
### 5. Metrics and iteration
KPIs, surveys, content refresh.
**See `references/metrics_iteration.md`.**
### 6. Stakeholder and launch alignment
Eng, product, docs, support, community.
**See `references/stakeholder_alignment.md`.**
## Outputs
- **Learner persona** and JTBD summary
- **Learning path map** — modules, duration, prerequisites
- **Module spec** — objectives, outline, lab, assessment
- **Workshop run-of-show** — agenda, materials, facilitator notes
- **Certification rubric** — pass criteria, retake policy
- **Program scorecard** — quarterly KPIs and backlog
## Principles
- **Outcome-first** — start from what learners can do, not feature lists
- **Practice over slides** — optimize time-on-keyboard
- **Progressive disclosure** — match cognitive load to persona level
- **Docs are not curriculum** — tutorials need pedagogy, not just accuracy
- **Measure transfer** — success is production usage or support reduction, not views alone