Ruth Simpson Frost

Senior Technical Writer · Mentor · Structured Authoring

Documentation should make hard things easier. I create structured, intuitive content that reduces support load, improves user confidence, and helps teams work more efficiently. My work spans DITA/XML, developer documentation, and process workflows for technical and healthcare‑focused audiences.

About

I’m a senior technical writer with experience in healthcare IT, developer documentation, and structured authoring. I specialize in DITA/XML, workflow analysis, and creating documentation that scales across teams and products.

How I work

I start by understanding the user’s goal and constraints.
I design content structures that scale and reduce duplication.
I collaborate closely with SMEs to ensure accuracy.
I validate content through testing, feedback, and iteration.

Selected work

DITA-OT Contributor Case Study

A practical case study documenting the steps required to prepare a local environment for contributing to the DITA Open Toolkit. Covers installation, prerequisite software, version verification, Git workflows, and collaboration patterns for new contributors.

DITA-OT · Structured Authoring · Developer Documentation

Calculator User Guide (DITA/XML Portfolio Project)

A complete DITA-based documentation set demonstrating topic types, reusable content, and both HTML5 and PDF outputs. Includes a user guide for a standard calculator, authored and published using Oxygen XML Author.

DITA/XML · Oxygen XML Author · User Guides

National Cancer Institute - Documentation Samples

Selected documentation created for the National Cancer Institute, including wiki‑based user guides, process documentation, and updates to research program content. Work focused on clarity, consistency, and supporting scientific and technical audiences.

Healthcare IT · Process Documentation · Wiki Content

WordPress Blog

Personal essays on environmental stewardship, personal growth, community, and navigating career transitions. Each post includes an AI‑generated image with commentary on its unexpected results.

Essays · Personal Reflections

What I do

Write clear, intuitive documentation that helps users accomplish tasks without friction.
Develop structured, reusable content using DITA/XML and modern authoring tools.
Create user guides, developer documentation, and workflow‑focused content.
Analyze processes and translate them into accurate, maintainable documentation.

Tools

DITA/XML, Oxygen XML Author, Markdown, Git & GitHub, Swagger/OpenAPI, Confluence, Jira, WordPress, Visual Studio Code.

Contact

If you’d like to talk about documentation, structured authoring, or workflow design, feel free to reach out:

Gmail Calendly (date picker)