Most IBM Redbooks content is developed through a unique residency program that teams IBM technical professionals with IBM Business Partners, clients, and product development staff. Faculty and students of accredited educational institutions are also welcome as residents, with equivalent institutional support. The team of residents is chosen through a competitive nomination process. After the selection process, the team comes together to learn and collaborate with colleagues, typically at an IBM Center of Excellence.
In some cases, Redbooks content might be developed remotely, where the Redbooks project leader and residents might be geographically dispersed worldwide or might be gathered together but running the residency at a location other than an IBM Center of Excellence.
You can view announcements about upcoming residencies on the Redbooks intranet and Internet sites or in the IBM Redbooks Weekly Newsletter e-mails. You can submit an online nomination for a residency through the IBM Redbooks website. Be sure to carefully read the residency description, objectives, and benefits before you apply. You personally, and your sponsoring organization, are making a serious commitment and investment by this nomination. For this reason, you must have the full support and approval of your manager prior to submitting the nomination.
In the Redbooks organization, a Redbooks project leader works with the residents to coordinate the process. The team focuses on a particular topic in order to acquire hands on experience in an internal, simulated learning environment, which includes running processes, engaging in discussions, and sharing ideas. They take detailed notes throughout the course of the residency process, so that they can synthesize and enhance the topic, thereby further expanding upon what they’ve learned. The bulk of the work is completed during the run of the residency. However, after the residency is complete, the team might continue to correspond with their Redbooks project leader to analyze and further discuss outcomes and observations.
The Redbooks project leader is responsible for compiling the final Redbooks publication, using the input, feedback, and results from all those involved in the project. Although IBM has copyright over all content that is generated as part of the residency process, residents typically are formally acknowledged as authors of the content published. No fee or compensation is offered for participation in a residency. Usually, a rough draft is available for technical review. A professional production team (including content specialists and graphics designers) is available to help with creating the final, polished version of the content.