BMAD-METHOD/expansion-packs/bmad-technical-writing/docs/README.md

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# Technical Writing Expansion Pack - Documentation
Welcome to the complete documentation suite for the BMad Technical Writing Expansion Pack. This guide will help you master AI-powered technical book authoring from concept to published book.
## 📚 Documentation Map
### 🚀 Getting Started
Start here if you're new to the Technical Writing Expansion Pack:
- **[Quick Reference Card](quick-reference.md)** ⚡ *5 minutes*
- One-page cheat sheet with most common workflows, agents, and commands
- Perfect for quick lookups while writing
- Print-friendly format
- **[Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md)** 🎓 *1-2 hours*
- Hands-on walkthrough: Write your first chapter
- Uses real example: "Python Data Structures Handbook"
- Complete workflow from planning to publishing
- **START HERE for hands-on learning**
- **[User Guide](user-guide.md)** 📖 *60-90 minutes*
- Conceptual overview of the entire system
- Understanding agents, workflows, and templates
- Architecture and design principles
- Greenfield vs brownfield approaches
---
### 🔄 Core Guides
Deep-dive documentation for understanding how everything works:
- **[Process Flows](process-flows.md)** 📊 *30-45 minutes*
- Visual Mermaid diagrams for all 15 workflows
- Book authoring lifecycle diagram
- Agent collaboration maps
- Publishing decision trees
- **Great for visual learners**
- **[Integration Guide](integration-guide.md)** 🔗 *15-20 minutes*
- Using Technical Writing pack with BMad core
- Multi-expansion usage patterns
- Git integration best practices
- CI/CD for code examples
---
### 📑 Reference Documentation
Comprehensive reference for all system components:
- **[Agent Reference](agent-reference.md)** 🤖 *45-60 minutes*
- All 13 agents documented in detail
- Purpose, commands, dependencies, examples
- Agent categories and selection guide
- Integration patterns
- **[Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md)** 🔀 *30-45 minutes*
- All 15 workflows explained
- When to use each workflow
- Inputs, outputs, time estimates
- Workflow decision tree
- **[Template Gallery](template-gallery.md)** 📝 *40-50 minutes*
- All 18 templates with examples
- Sample filled outputs
- Usage guidance
- Customization tips
- **[Task Reference](task-reference.md)** ✅ *25-35 minutes*
- All 33 tasks organized by phase
- Purpose, prerequisites, time estimates
- Quick reference table
- **[Checklist Reference](checklist-reference.md)** ☑️ *25-30 minutes*
- All 31 checklists organized by phase
- Quality gate recommendations
- Checklist roadmap
---
### 🛠️ Support Documentation
Get help when you need it:
- **[Troubleshooting Guide](troubleshooting.md)** 🔧 *As needed*
- Common installation issues
- Agent activation problems
- Workflow execution errors
- Build/validation fixes
- **[FAQ](faq.md)** ❓ *As needed*
- 25-30 frequently asked questions
- Quick answers to common questions
- Organized by category
---
### 📦 Examples
Real-world examples showing complete outputs:
- **[Example Book Outline](examples/book-outline-example.md)**
- "Python Data Structures Handbook" complete outline
- Shows book-outline-tmpl output
- **[Example Chapter Outline](examples/chapter-outline-example.md)**
- Chapter 3: Lists and Tuples
- Section breakdown and structure
- **[Example Section Plan](examples/section-plan-example.md)**
- Section 3.2: List Operations
- Detailed planning for one section
- **[Example Complete Chapter](examples/complete-chapter-example.md)**
- Chapter 1: Introduction to Python Data Structures
- Full chapter showing workflow results
---
## 🎯 Recommended Reading Order
### For Beginners (First Time Users)
**Time Investment**: 2-3 hours to productivity
1. **[Quick Reference Card](quick-reference.md)** ⚡ *5 min*
- Get oriented with one-page overview
- Understand core commands
2. **[Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md)** 🎓 *1-2 hrs*
- Hands-on: Write your first section
- Learn by doing with real example
- **Most important for beginners!**
3. **[User Guide](user-guide.md)** 📖 *60-90 min*
- Understand conceptual foundations
- Learn system architecture
- Grasp key concepts
4. **Start Writing!** 📝
- Apply what you've learned
- Refer to Quick Reference as needed
- Use Troubleshooting when stuck
---
### For Intermediate Users (Have Written 1-2 Chapters)
**Goal**: Master all workflows and optimize your process
1. **[Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md)** 🔀 *30-45 min*
- Understand all 15 workflows in depth
- Choose optimal workflows for your use case
- Learn workflow decision criteria
2. **[Agent Reference](agent-reference.md)** 🤖 *45-60 min*
- Master all 13 agents
- Understand agent collaboration
- Learn advanced agent usage
3. **[Process Flows](process-flows.md)** 📊 *30-45 min*
- Visualize workflow orchestration
- Understand agent handoffs
- Optimize your workflow
4. **[Template Gallery](template-gallery.md)** 📝 *40-50 min*
- See all template outputs
- Learn template customization
- Understand template usage patterns
---
### For Advanced Users (Scaling to Full Books)
**Goal**: Customize, optimize, and scale your book production
1. **[Integration Guide](integration-guide.md)** 🔗 *15-20 min*
- Multi-expansion usage
- CI/CD integration
- Git workflow optimization
2. **[Task Reference](task-reference.md)** ✅ *25-35 min*
- Understand all 33 tasks
- Customize task workflows
- Build your own processes
3. **[Checklist Reference](checklist-reference.md)** ☑️ *25-30 min*
- Master all quality gates
- Customize checklists
- Define your own standards
4. **Examples** 📦
- Study complete examples
- Understand output quality
- Model your work after examples
---
## 🛤️ Learning Paths
Choose the path that matches your goal:
### Path 1: Greenfield Book (New Book from Scratch)
**Recommended Documentation**:
1. [Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md) - Learn the basics
2. [Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md) - Focus on greenfield workflows
3. [Process Flows](process-flows.md) - See book-planning and section-development flows
4. [Agent Reference](agent-reference.md) - Master core agents (skip Book Analyst)
**Workflows You'll Use**:
- book-planning-workflow
- section-planning-workflow
- section-development-workflow
- chapter-assembly-workflow
- packtpub-submission-workflow (or your publisher)
---
### Path 2: Brownfield Book (Existing Book Updates)
**Recommended Documentation**:
1. [User Guide](user-guide.md) - Understand brownfield approach
2. [Agent Reference](agent-reference.md) - Focus on Book Analyst agent
3. [Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md) - Focus on brownfield workflows
4. [Process Flows](process-flows.md) - See edition-update and add-chapter flows
**Workflows You'll Use**:
- book-edition-update-workflow
- add-chapter-to-existing-book-workflow
- incorporate-review-feedback-workflow
- section-development-workflow (for new/updated content)
---
### Path 3: Self-Publishing (Leanpub/KDP/Gumroad)
**Recommended Documentation**:
1. [Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md) - Learn core process
2. [Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md) - Focus on self-publishing-workflow
3. [FAQ](faq.md) - Self-publishing specific questions
4. [Process Flows](process-flows.md) - See self-publishing flow diagram
**Workflows You'll Use**:
- book-planning-workflow
- section-development-workflow
- chapter-assembly-workflow
- self-publishing-workflow
---
### Path 4: Traditional Publishing (PacktPub/O'Reilly/Manning)
**Recommended Documentation**:
1. [Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md) - Learn core process
2. [Workflow Guide](workflow-guide.md) - Focus on publisher-specific workflows
3. [Checklist Reference](checklist-reference.md) - Publisher-specific checklists
4. [Process Flows](process-flows.md) - See publisher submission flows
**Workflows You'll Use**:
- book-planning-workflow
- section-development-workflow
- chapter-assembly-workflow
- packtpub-submission-workflow / oreilly-submission-workflow / manning-meap-workflow
---
## 🆘 Getting Help
### Quick Answers
- **[FAQ](faq.md)** - 25-30 common questions with quick answers
- **[Quick Reference](quick-reference.md)** - Command cheat sheet
### Problem Solving
- **[Troubleshooting Guide](troubleshooting.md)** - Common issues and solutions
- Organized by category (installation, agents, workflows, templates, build)
### Community Support
- **[Discord Community](https://discord.gg/gk8jAdXWmj)** - Ask questions, share experiences
- **[GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/bmadcode/bmad-method/discussions)** - Technical discussions
- **[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/bmadcode/bmad-method/issues)** - Report bugs, request features
---
## 📊 Documentation Statistics
**Total Documentation**: 13 guides + 4 examples = **17 documents**
**Coverage**:
- ✅ 13 agents documented
- ✅ 15 workflows explained
- ✅ 18 templates showcased
- ✅ 33 tasks referenced
- ✅ 31 checklists detailed
**Word Count**: ~30,000+ words of comprehensive documentation
**Time to Read Everything**: ~8-10 hours (not required - read what you need!)
**Time to Productivity**: ~2-3 hours (Quick Reference + Getting Started Tutorial + User Guide)
---
## 🎓 Documentation Maintenance
This documentation is kept up-to-date with each expansion pack release.
**Current Version**: v1.1.0
**Last Updated**: 2024
**Maintained By**: BMad Team
**Community Contributions**: Welcome! Submit PRs for improvements
**Version History**:
- v1.1.0 - Complete documentation suite (Sprint 5+)
- v1.0.0 - Initial release with basic README
---
## 🔖 Bookmark This Page
Save this documentation index for easy access to all guides. You'll reference it frequently while writing your technical book.
---
## ✨ Ready to Start?
### Absolute Beginners
**[Quick Reference](quick-reference.md)** then **[Getting Started Tutorial](getting-started.md)**
### Want Deep Understanding
**[User Guide](user-guide.md)** then **[Process Flows](process-flows.md)**
### Need Specific Info
→ Use search (Ctrl+F) on this page to find relevant guide
### Have Questions
**[FAQ](faq.md)** or **[Discord Community](https://discord.gg/gk8jAdXWmj)**
---
**Happy Writing! 📚✨**
*Your journey to published technical book starts here.*
---
*Documentation Index - Technical Writing Expansion Pack v1.1.0*
*Part of BMad-Method™ - The Universal AI Agent Framework*