ted.neward@newardassociates.com | Blog: http://blogs.newardassociates.com | Github: tedneward | LinkedIn: tedneward
Because you don't like to write
Because you don't see the point of writing
Because you are curious to hear why writing matters
Because you realize humanity cannot live on TikTok alone
Because you want to communicate more effectively with others
Because you want a tool to help you think more clearly and comprehensively
I could tell you...
... but instead, I'll let you read it for yourselves
https://blogs.newardassociates.com/blog/2025/why-writing-matters.html
We will read in silence for the next fifteen minutes.
When we return, we will discuss what's written here.
precise writiing conveys important data without being dry
imprecise writing glosses over details and provides little to no data
ironically, precise writing doesn't call attention to itself
"it disappears into the background and leaves you with content"
"This infrastructure is also key to realizing our big AI ambitions. It’s a major differentiator for us. We continue to invest responsibly in our data centers and compute to support this new wave of growth in AI-powered services for us and for our customers. Through this, we are being disciplined in how we run the company.
"You’ve heard me talk about our efforts to durably reengineer our cost base and to improve our velocity and efficiency. That work continues. Teams are working to focus on key priorities and execute fast, removing layers and simplifying their organizational structures. As just one example, our devices team has brought together different teams from across Nest, Fitbit, and other teams into a new functional structure."
"Next, let’s turn to capital investments. We define our capital investments as a combination of Capex plus equipment finance leases. In 2023, full year Capex was $48.4 billion, which was down $10.2 billion year-over-year, primarily driven by lower spend on fulfillment and transportation. As we look forward to 2024, we anticipate Capex to increase year-over-year, primarily driven by increased infrastructure Capex, support growth of our AWS business, including additional investments in generative AI I and large language models.
One thing I’d like to highlight in our first quarter guidance is that we recently completed a useful life study for our servers, and we are increasing the useful life from 5 years to 6 years beginning in January 2024. We will have this anticipated benefit to our operating income of approximately $900 million in Q1, which is included in our operating income guidance."
lots of books cover this
but there's a couple of key tips to keep in mind to start
Remove redundancy
you only need to say it once
you don't need to repeatedly assert, over and over again, the same point, in the vain hope that your audience will this time, finally, perceive the point you're trying to make....
Use data, anecdata, or anecdotes
data is valuable
firsthand customer accounts of a topic or subject are even more valuable
people rationalize data but connect to stories
Pitfall of linear causality
"The road was wet. It was raining." Causation or correlation?
"The servers were timing out. The users kept refreshing the page."
be deliberate about the order you reveal information
write your sentences so they feel linear
Be concrete
you need your prose to anchor in readers' minds
can I point to it in the room? Internet?
metaphor is still useful, just be precise about its use
Present numbers and their meaning
we had 50,000 page views on our developer portal
we had 50,000 page views, which is 50% more than last year at the same time
we had 50,000 page views, 50% more than last year, with "uniqueness cookies" indicating a growth in audience by 25% but also that they are staying longer on the site (to view more pages each)
Watch out for indefinite numbers
most engineers prefer to be at work after 10:00am
63% of the engineers in Seattle indicated their preferred start time was at 10:00am, with 59% citing traffic as the reason
Avoid "weasel" and "squishy" words
a "weasel" word is one that doesn't add any value
a "squishy" word by definition lacks precision
either shows a lack of commitment or surety
Remove jargon
"know your audience"; what jargon would they know?
Spell out acronyms/abbreviations
common practice is to spell it out once on first use
consider providing a glossary if many terms are used
Clarify date and time
what date is 5/7? what time is 8:35?
it doesn't waste much to say "May 7th" or "8:35am PST"
Use active voice
WHO... DID... WHAT?
The production website was broken by a change on Friday that was fixed on Saturday morning
The intern made a change to the website that broke it on Friday. We reverted that change on Saturday morning.
NOTE: "blameless reviews" really lean in to the passive voice
Be consistent with words and terms
Is it an "initiatve", "activity", or "strategy"?
If you aren't clear and consistent, how can you expect your audience to be?
Even if others use the terms synonymously, there's no value in doing so
Eliminate adjectives and adverbs
we think modifiers add flair and sophistication to otherwise dry writing
they usually just inflate the word count
they also imply judgements and opinions
Simplify your expressions
"due to the fact that" -> "because"
"at this point in time" -> "now"
... and so on
Punctuation matters
seriously, it matters
so does spelling
Avoid double negatives
just like math; cancel them out
speak in the positive
Remove sarcasm
this is a professional document
6 pages, no font/formatting hijinks
some of the hardest writing any Amazonian has to do
used as part of high-level "OP" planning
adapted for use in a wide variety of companies since
Introduction: Setting the Stage with Precision
Clearly articulate the document's objective and the specific topics it will cover.
Start with a concise overview that frames the discussion
1/2 - 1 page max
Goals: Defining the Path to Success
Establish the criteria for success by outlining the goals the document intends to achieve.
Present each goal succinctly, supported by context, historical data, and specific targets.
1/2 page
Tenets: The Philosophical Backbone
Heart and soul of the six-pager, embodying the principles that drive actions
Share the core principles underpin your strategy/plan, offering a philosophical foundation
Inspires and guides action, ensuring each tenet is relevant and aligned
1/2 page
State of the Business: A Reality Check
Provide a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of affairs, grounding the document in reality
Include relevant data, achievements, and challenges, extensively using the appendix for supporting details to keep the narrative focused
1 page
Lessons Learned: Wisdom in Reflection
Analyse previous strategies and outcomes to inform future planning, emphasising learning from successes and failures
Offer a balanced view of what worked, what didn't, and why, supporting each point with data and specific examples
1/2 page - 1 page
Strategic Priorities: Crafting the Future
Outline the strategic actions planned to achieve the stated goals, detailing the rationale behind each
Discuss how each relates to the goals and lessons learned, and explain the expected impact, using supporting data
2-3 pages
Appendix: The Devil in the Details
Supplement the narrative with detailed data, graphs, and additional information
Organise the appendix to correspond with references in the main text
Bibliography, footnotes, etc
"The Anatomy of an Amazon 6-pager" (https://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2025/01/21/the-anatomy-of-an-amazon-6-pager/)
Write a press release and FAQ for the product as if it's finished
Laser-focused on the customer and the benefits they derive
Follows a particular template
Press Release Components
Heading: Name the product
Subheading: Describe the customer and the benefits they will gain
Summary paragraph: Give a summary of the product and its benefits
Problem paragraph: Describe the problem(s) being addressed
Solution paragraph(s): Describe how your product solved the problems
Quotes/Getting Started: Two quotes, and link to getting started
FAQ
Anticipating questions asked by relevant individuals
External FAQs: How does it work? What is the warranty? Customer-asked questions
Internal FAQs: Finance? Marketing? Challenges? Leader-asked questions
Should be optimistic but also realistic
https://www.newardassociates.com/papers/DearPowerPoint.html
from Working Backwards
a persuasive essay on moving from PP to Word
still includes tenets and a FAQ section
RFCs exist in one of four states:
Draft
Under Discussion
Accepted
Deprecated
Metadata - date, author, status, title, tags.
Overview - two or three sentences that explain the purpose and goal of the RFC.
Glossary - this makes sure that everybody understands the domain problem and its terminology.
Proposal - one or two paragraphs explaining the proposed change in detail. Use links to external documents, but keep the proposal self-contained.
Consequences - describe the benefits and downsides of the proposed work. This is important. Not only does it help you think through the problem, but it also communicates that you are aware and have incorporated the feedback of other people.
Implementation steps - describe concrete implementation steps. This helps you think through the problem and keeps everybody accountable. It also puts a concrete scope on the work.
Architectural Decision Record
a means of capturing architectural decisions
standard documentation benefits (good for newcomers, etc)
without, we run the risk of re-litigating them in a few years
Title
Status
Proposed, Accepted, Rejected, Superseded, Deprecated, ...
Context
Options and Consequences
Decision
"Writing is like driving a car at night.
You can see only as far as your headlights,
but you can make the whole trip that way."
E.L. Doctorow
necessary (for you, your team, your company)
hard (but not un-masterable)
not something AI will replace
good for your thought process
something that only improves with practice
Architect, Engineering Manager/Leader, "force multiplier"
http://www.newardassociates.com
http://blogs.newardassociates.com
Sr Distinguished Engineer, Capital One
Educative (http://educative.io) Author
Performance Management for Engineering Managers
Books
Developer Relations Activity Patterns (w/Woodruff, et al; APress, forthcoming)
Professional F# 2.0 (w/Erickson, et al; Wrox, 2010)
Effective Enterprise Java (Addison-Wesley, 2004)
SSCLI Essentials (w/Stutz, et al; OReilly, 2003)
Server-Based Java Programming (Manning, 2000)