Structured authoring involves writing content in a modular, reusable way. It allows information to be:
1) Assembled and published in different contexts like various documents, on websites, or as help files.
2) Easily updated and maintained through single sourcing where content is written once and reused many times.
3) Accessed and analyzed using semantic markup which labels content with metadata about its meaning rather than just presentation.
This session, targeted at decision makers, consultants, and information professionals, introduces the concepts behind structured content and discusses the benefits and challenges to adoption.
Managing Deliverable-Specific Link Anchors: New Suggested Best Practice for Keysdclsocialmedia
This webinar presents a general approach that uses keys on navigation topicrefs to determine the anchors in deliverables, giving more control to map authors and removing dependencies on the behaviors of specific deliverable generation systems. This way of using keys also addresses challenges inherent in doing cross referencing within a single publication when topics are used multiple times in the map.
Attend this webinar as DCL & Comtech Services review the results of the 2016 Industry Trends survey. Learn innovative approaches to development/delivery and more.
In this webinar, I will showcase scenarios in which content analysis and design were more collaborative endeavors, and advocate for getting designers and content experts in conversation early on. The result is a better product and less stressful releases.
Converting and Integrating Legacy Data and Documents When Implementing a New CMSdclsocialmedia
If you are in the Insurance and Financial industries, attend this webinar and learn the roadmap for implementing a content management system with a customized conversion process.
Short Descriptions Shouldn't Be a Tall Order: Writing Effective Short Descrip...IXIASOFT
Short Descriptions Shouldn't Be a Tall Order: Writing Effective Short Descriptions, Webinar by Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT and Joe Storbeck, Jana - Hosted by CIDM
This session, targeted at decision makers, consultants, and information professionals, introduces the concepts behind structured content and discusses the benefits and challenges to adoption.
Managing Deliverable-Specific Link Anchors: New Suggested Best Practice for Keysdclsocialmedia
This webinar presents a general approach that uses keys on navigation topicrefs to determine the anchors in deliverables, giving more control to map authors and removing dependencies on the behaviors of specific deliverable generation systems. This way of using keys also addresses challenges inherent in doing cross referencing within a single publication when topics are used multiple times in the map.
Attend this webinar as DCL & Comtech Services review the results of the 2016 Industry Trends survey. Learn innovative approaches to development/delivery and more.
In this webinar, I will showcase scenarios in which content analysis and design were more collaborative endeavors, and advocate for getting designers and content experts in conversation early on. The result is a better product and less stressful releases.
Converting and Integrating Legacy Data and Documents When Implementing a New CMSdclsocialmedia
If you are in the Insurance and Financial industries, attend this webinar and learn the roadmap for implementing a content management system with a customized conversion process.
Short Descriptions Shouldn't Be a Tall Order: Writing Effective Short Descrip...IXIASOFT
Short Descriptions Shouldn't Be a Tall Order: Writing Effective Short Descriptions, Webinar by Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT and Joe Storbeck, Jana - Hosted by CIDM
Troubleshooting: The Two Laws - IXIASOFT User Conference 2016IXIASOFT
Presented by Alex Kozaris, IXIASOFT IT Specialist at the IXIASOFT User Conference 2016.
Murphy’s Law says that if something can go wrong, it will. But don’t let Murphy tell you what to do; instead come to this presentation where Alex will take you through effective troubleshooting procedures for the issues that he commonly sees with his extensive experience of solving issues involving the IXIASOFT DITA CMS.
Gone through articles and presentations on the web and got a half-baked understanding of the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)?
Refer to my DITA Quick Start presentation for the 2007 STC India Conference to learn to evaluate, plan and start implementing DITA.
In this presentation, you will learn about the following:
o Structured authoring and XML
o Key DITA concepts: topics, maps, specialization
o DITA architecture and content model
o Authoring in topics
o Organizing content using DITA maps
o Creating relationship tables
o Conditional text and reuse in DITA
o Metadata support in DITA
o DITA tools, standards and processes
o Publishing with the DITA Open Toolkit
Painless XML Authoring?: How DITA Simplifies XMLScott Abel
Presented at DocTrain East 2007 by Bob Doyle, DITA Users -- This introduction to XML Authoring will acquaint you with over fifty tools aimed at structuring content with DITA. They are not just DITA-compliant authoring tools (editors) for writers. They also include content management systems (CMS), translation management systems (TMS), and dynamic publishing engines that fully support DITA. You will also need to know about tools that convert legacy documents to DITA and help to design stylesheets for DITA deliverables. The best DITA tools for technical communicators implement the DITA standard while hiding all the complexity of the underlying XML (eXtensible Markup Language).
As a tech writer and not a tech, you should be able to forget about XML - except to know that you are using it (DITA is XML) and that it consists of named content elements (or components) with attributes. You need to know enough about the content elements so you can reference (conref) them for reuse. You need to know about their attributes so you can filter on them for conditional processing. And you should appreciate that because components are uniquely identifiable they lend themselves perfectly to automated dynamic assembly using a publishing engine.
We will describe how you can get started with structured writing without knowing XML or installing anything.
The promise of topic-based structured authoring is not simply better documentation. It is the creation of mission-critical information for your organization, written with a deep understanding of your most important audiences, that can be repurposed to multiple delivery channels and localized for multilingual global markets. You are not just writing content, you are preparing the information deliverables that enhance the value of your organization in all its markets.
To do that well, you must understand the latest tools in structured writing that are revolutionizing corporate information systems - today in documentation but tomorrow throughout the enterprise, from external marketing to internal human resources. Whether you are trying to push a new product into a new market or are “onboarding” a new employee, the need for high quality information to educate the customer or train the new salesperson is a challenge for technical communicators. You need to think outside the docs!
The key idea behind Darwin Information Typing Architecture is to create content in small chunks or modules called topics. A topic is the right size when it can stand alone as meaningful information. Topics are then assembled into documents using DITA maps, which are hierarchical lists of pointers or links to topics. The pointers are called “topicrefs” (for topic references).
Think of documents as assembled from single-source component parts. Assembly can be conditional, dependent on properties or metadata “tags” you attach to a topic. For example, the “audience” property might be “beginner” or “advanced.”
At a still finer level of granularity, individual elements of a topic can also be assigned property tags for conditional assembly. More importantly, a topic element can be assigned a unique ID that makes it a content component reusable in other topics.
As you will learn, DITA is a leading technology for “component content management,” which multiplies the value of your work. You need to leverage DITA and structured content to multiply your income.
Building An XML Publishing System With DITAScott Abel
Presented at DocTrain East 2007 Conference by Brian Buehling, Dakota Systems -- Since its inception, DITA has rapidly gained acceptance as a standard document structure used in many XML-based content management and publishing systems. DITA is an XML schema developed primarily to support technical documentation for a wide array of applications. This session will cover the commonly used element, attribute and entity constructs that are defined in the schema. More importantly, recommendations concerning how best to implement DITA solutions will be given. Special attention is given to developing practical DITA applications since, in many cases, some DITA elements will have to be extended through a mechanism called specialization to produce a robust XML-based publishing system.
DITA and Information Architecture for Responsive Web Designdclsocialmedia
Increasingly people are reading your technical content using a mobile device. How can you ensure that your DITA-based content can be read equally-well by a lineman using his weatherproofed tablet 18ft above the street, or an electronics engineer using her smartphone in a clean-room environment? The answer: responsive content. But designing effective responsive content is not just a matter of picking an HTML template and hoping for the best: you need to think about how your content will be presented, its priority to the user and how they can navigate through it. In this presentation Keith Schengili-Roberts and Phil Kneer from Yellow Pencil will talk about the information architecture considerations behind the creation of effective responsive design for technical content.
Optimizing Content Reuse with DITA - slides from FREE webinar presented by LavaCon, with Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist
DITA was designed around the idea of content reuse. Maps, topics, conrefs and keys all provide the means for sharing and reusing content effectively within a documentation team using the standard. But what are the optimal ways of doing this, and what are the common mistakes first-time DITA users make when it comes to content reuse? Did you know that DITA 1.3 offers up additional means for reusing content by using such things as scoped keys? And what good is content reuse if you can’t find the content you are looking for?
In this presentation IXIASOFT’s DITA Specialist Keith Schengili-Roberts will examine content reuse best practices, and look at how the idea of content reuse has evolved, changed and been refined since DITA first debuted over ten years ago. This webinar will be conducted through GoToWebinar, and the link will be sent the day before the event.
Webinar sponsored by IXIASOFT, presented by LavaCon.
DITA and Agile are Made for Each Other by Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist. Presented at CMS/DITA North America 2016 in Reston, Virginia.
Agile software development makes specific demands on documentation teams, whose content creators now need to be more nimble, describe features in a piece-meal fashion, and report on their progress in an effective way. The topic-based structure of DITA is ideally suited to these needs. Keith Schengili-Roberts (also known as “DITAWriter”) focuses on how DITA-based content is the optimal way of working in an Agile environment, enabling content creators to effectively meet the demands of short sprint cycles, measure content output for Scrum meetings, and how to become a pig rather than staying a chicken (yes, seriously). Keith also looks at several case studies of DITA-using documentation groups working within an Agile environment. If you are wondering about what the impacts are of working with Agile or are simply looking to optimize your DITA-based documentation processes, come to this presentation!
What can the audience expect to learn?
Keith expands upon the material that was touched upon during the Best Practices conference on the same subject, including information based on subsequent interviews with clients and other content creators who are using DITA in an Agile environment. He provides information on how others are using DITA in this scenario and emerging best practices within it. Keith has found that many content creators using DITA are looking to move to an Agile environment—particularly if they work for a software firm. The ideas presented here serve as an introduction on what to expect. Even those who do not fit this scenario may find some of the ways and processes used by DITA-using doc groups in an Agile team to be beneficial.
Minimalism Revisited — Let’s Stop Developing Content that No One Wantsdclsocialmedia
Dr. JoAnn Hackos, Comtech President and Director of the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM), demonstrates how using a minimalist approach in developing content is more relevant today than ever before. Busy customers simply want simple help on performing a task and getting a job done. Learn what minimalism really feels like. Learn about designing minimalist information that gets your customers coming back for more.
A Primer on the Role of Metadata in Technical Documentation
This presentation introduces writers to the role of metadata in technical documentation. It provides an overview of metadata standards and then goes on to describe the process of creating metadata using a sample document. Finally, this presentation looks at the future of metadata such as user generated metadata in the form of social tagging and their possible applications in technical documentation.
How to Optimize Your Metadata and TaxonomyIXIASOFT
Jason Owen, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist, explains how to optimize your metadata and taxonomy when working with DITA XML. This presentation was given at the 2015 IXIASOFT User Conference in Montreal, Canada.
Combining single-sourcing and localization of software and documentation multiplies both the benefits and the challenges. Learn the difference between globalization, internationalization, localization, and translation. Tools, tricks, and best practices help your localization project go smoothly.
Slides: NoSQL Data Modeling Using JSON Documents – A Practical ApproachDATAVERSITY
After three decades of relational data modeling, everyone’s pretty comfortable with schemas, tables, and entity-relationships. As more and more Global 2000 companies choose NoSQL databases to power their Digital Economy applications, they need to think about how to best model their data. How do they move from a constrained, table-driven model to an agile, flexible data model based on JSON documents?
This webinar is intended for architects and application developers who want to learn about new JSON document data modeling approaches, techniques, and best practices. This webinar will show you how to get started building a JSON document data model, how to migrate a table-based data model to JSON documents, and how to optimize your design to enable fast query performance.
This webinar will provide practical, experience-based advice and best practices for modeling JSON documents, including:
- When to embed or not embed objects in your JSON document
- Data modeling using a practical data access pattern approach
- Indexing your JSON documents
- Querying your data using N1QL (SQL for JSON)
JDD 2016 - Ademar Aguiar - To Document Or Not Document - That Is The QuestionPROIDEA
Agile processes often consider “to document” as a very expensive activity, which is often true, indeed, and also unnecessary, which is not always true, however.
To better communicate and preserve all the knowledge about a software system, agile processes suggest practices such as simple design, pair programming, and collective code ownership, to name only a few.
While the extreme practice of “not document” can lead to success in many cases, this is not always true for complex software products, where there is a lot of global knowledge and system understanding that is impossible to capture internally in source code.
In this presentation, we will outline a set of practices, patterns, and tools to support an agile way of minimally documenting the global understanding of complex software systems, from source code to high level design and how to (re)use.
Troubleshooting: The Two Laws - IXIASOFT User Conference 2016IXIASOFT
Presented by Alex Kozaris, IXIASOFT IT Specialist at the IXIASOFT User Conference 2016.
Murphy’s Law says that if something can go wrong, it will. But don’t let Murphy tell you what to do; instead come to this presentation where Alex will take you through effective troubleshooting procedures for the issues that he commonly sees with his extensive experience of solving issues involving the IXIASOFT DITA CMS.
Gone through articles and presentations on the web and got a half-baked understanding of the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)?
Refer to my DITA Quick Start presentation for the 2007 STC India Conference to learn to evaluate, plan and start implementing DITA.
In this presentation, you will learn about the following:
o Structured authoring and XML
o Key DITA concepts: topics, maps, specialization
o DITA architecture and content model
o Authoring in topics
o Organizing content using DITA maps
o Creating relationship tables
o Conditional text and reuse in DITA
o Metadata support in DITA
o DITA tools, standards and processes
o Publishing with the DITA Open Toolkit
Painless XML Authoring?: How DITA Simplifies XMLScott Abel
Presented at DocTrain East 2007 by Bob Doyle, DITA Users -- This introduction to XML Authoring will acquaint you with over fifty tools aimed at structuring content with DITA. They are not just DITA-compliant authoring tools (editors) for writers. They also include content management systems (CMS), translation management systems (TMS), and dynamic publishing engines that fully support DITA. You will also need to know about tools that convert legacy documents to DITA and help to design stylesheets for DITA deliverables. The best DITA tools for technical communicators implement the DITA standard while hiding all the complexity of the underlying XML (eXtensible Markup Language).
As a tech writer and not a tech, you should be able to forget about XML - except to know that you are using it (DITA is XML) and that it consists of named content elements (or components) with attributes. You need to know enough about the content elements so you can reference (conref) them for reuse. You need to know about their attributes so you can filter on them for conditional processing. And you should appreciate that because components are uniquely identifiable they lend themselves perfectly to automated dynamic assembly using a publishing engine.
We will describe how you can get started with structured writing without knowing XML or installing anything.
The promise of topic-based structured authoring is not simply better documentation. It is the creation of mission-critical information for your organization, written with a deep understanding of your most important audiences, that can be repurposed to multiple delivery channels and localized for multilingual global markets. You are not just writing content, you are preparing the information deliverables that enhance the value of your organization in all its markets.
To do that well, you must understand the latest tools in structured writing that are revolutionizing corporate information systems - today in documentation but tomorrow throughout the enterprise, from external marketing to internal human resources. Whether you are trying to push a new product into a new market or are “onboarding” a new employee, the need for high quality information to educate the customer or train the new salesperson is a challenge for technical communicators. You need to think outside the docs!
The key idea behind Darwin Information Typing Architecture is to create content in small chunks or modules called topics. A topic is the right size when it can stand alone as meaningful information. Topics are then assembled into documents using DITA maps, which are hierarchical lists of pointers or links to topics. The pointers are called “topicrefs” (for topic references).
Think of documents as assembled from single-source component parts. Assembly can be conditional, dependent on properties or metadata “tags” you attach to a topic. For example, the “audience” property might be “beginner” or “advanced.”
At a still finer level of granularity, individual elements of a topic can also be assigned property tags for conditional assembly. More importantly, a topic element can be assigned a unique ID that makes it a content component reusable in other topics.
As you will learn, DITA is a leading technology for “component content management,” which multiplies the value of your work. You need to leverage DITA and structured content to multiply your income.
Building An XML Publishing System With DITAScott Abel
Presented at DocTrain East 2007 Conference by Brian Buehling, Dakota Systems -- Since its inception, DITA has rapidly gained acceptance as a standard document structure used in many XML-based content management and publishing systems. DITA is an XML schema developed primarily to support technical documentation for a wide array of applications. This session will cover the commonly used element, attribute and entity constructs that are defined in the schema. More importantly, recommendations concerning how best to implement DITA solutions will be given. Special attention is given to developing practical DITA applications since, in many cases, some DITA elements will have to be extended through a mechanism called specialization to produce a robust XML-based publishing system.
DITA and Information Architecture for Responsive Web Designdclsocialmedia
Increasingly people are reading your technical content using a mobile device. How can you ensure that your DITA-based content can be read equally-well by a lineman using his weatherproofed tablet 18ft above the street, or an electronics engineer using her smartphone in a clean-room environment? The answer: responsive content. But designing effective responsive content is not just a matter of picking an HTML template and hoping for the best: you need to think about how your content will be presented, its priority to the user and how they can navigate through it. In this presentation Keith Schengili-Roberts and Phil Kneer from Yellow Pencil will talk about the information architecture considerations behind the creation of effective responsive design for technical content.
Optimizing Content Reuse with DITA - slides from FREE webinar presented by LavaCon, with Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist
DITA was designed around the idea of content reuse. Maps, topics, conrefs and keys all provide the means for sharing and reusing content effectively within a documentation team using the standard. But what are the optimal ways of doing this, and what are the common mistakes first-time DITA users make when it comes to content reuse? Did you know that DITA 1.3 offers up additional means for reusing content by using such things as scoped keys? And what good is content reuse if you can’t find the content you are looking for?
In this presentation IXIASOFT’s DITA Specialist Keith Schengili-Roberts will examine content reuse best practices, and look at how the idea of content reuse has evolved, changed and been refined since DITA first debuted over ten years ago. This webinar will be conducted through GoToWebinar, and the link will be sent the day before the event.
Webinar sponsored by IXIASOFT, presented by LavaCon.
DITA and Agile are Made for Each Other by Keith Schengili-Roberts, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist. Presented at CMS/DITA North America 2016 in Reston, Virginia.
Agile software development makes specific demands on documentation teams, whose content creators now need to be more nimble, describe features in a piece-meal fashion, and report on their progress in an effective way. The topic-based structure of DITA is ideally suited to these needs. Keith Schengili-Roberts (also known as “DITAWriter”) focuses on how DITA-based content is the optimal way of working in an Agile environment, enabling content creators to effectively meet the demands of short sprint cycles, measure content output for Scrum meetings, and how to become a pig rather than staying a chicken (yes, seriously). Keith also looks at several case studies of DITA-using documentation groups working within an Agile environment. If you are wondering about what the impacts are of working with Agile or are simply looking to optimize your DITA-based documentation processes, come to this presentation!
What can the audience expect to learn?
Keith expands upon the material that was touched upon during the Best Practices conference on the same subject, including information based on subsequent interviews with clients and other content creators who are using DITA in an Agile environment. He provides information on how others are using DITA in this scenario and emerging best practices within it. Keith has found that many content creators using DITA are looking to move to an Agile environment—particularly if they work for a software firm. The ideas presented here serve as an introduction on what to expect. Even those who do not fit this scenario may find some of the ways and processes used by DITA-using doc groups in an Agile team to be beneficial.
Minimalism Revisited — Let’s Stop Developing Content that No One Wantsdclsocialmedia
Dr. JoAnn Hackos, Comtech President and Director of the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM), demonstrates how using a minimalist approach in developing content is more relevant today than ever before. Busy customers simply want simple help on performing a task and getting a job done. Learn what minimalism really feels like. Learn about designing minimalist information that gets your customers coming back for more.
A Primer on the Role of Metadata in Technical Documentation
This presentation introduces writers to the role of metadata in technical documentation. It provides an overview of metadata standards and then goes on to describe the process of creating metadata using a sample document. Finally, this presentation looks at the future of metadata such as user generated metadata in the form of social tagging and their possible applications in technical documentation.
How to Optimize Your Metadata and TaxonomyIXIASOFT
Jason Owen, IXIASOFT DITA Specialist, explains how to optimize your metadata and taxonomy when working with DITA XML. This presentation was given at the 2015 IXIASOFT User Conference in Montreal, Canada.
Combining single-sourcing and localization of software and documentation multiplies both the benefits and the challenges. Learn the difference between globalization, internationalization, localization, and translation. Tools, tricks, and best practices help your localization project go smoothly.
Slides: NoSQL Data Modeling Using JSON Documents – A Practical ApproachDATAVERSITY
After three decades of relational data modeling, everyone’s pretty comfortable with schemas, tables, and entity-relationships. As more and more Global 2000 companies choose NoSQL databases to power their Digital Economy applications, they need to think about how to best model their data. How do they move from a constrained, table-driven model to an agile, flexible data model based on JSON documents?
This webinar is intended for architects and application developers who want to learn about new JSON document data modeling approaches, techniques, and best practices. This webinar will show you how to get started building a JSON document data model, how to migrate a table-based data model to JSON documents, and how to optimize your design to enable fast query performance.
This webinar will provide practical, experience-based advice and best practices for modeling JSON documents, including:
- When to embed or not embed objects in your JSON document
- Data modeling using a practical data access pattern approach
- Indexing your JSON documents
- Querying your data using N1QL (SQL for JSON)
JDD 2016 - Ademar Aguiar - To Document Or Not Document - That Is The QuestionPROIDEA
Agile processes often consider “to document” as a very expensive activity, which is often true, indeed, and also unnecessary, which is not always true, however.
To better communicate and preserve all the knowledge about a software system, agile processes suggest practices such as simple design, pair programming, and collective code ownership, to name only a few.
While the extreme practice of “not document” can lead to success in many cases, this is not always true for complex software products, where there is a lot of global knowledge and system understanding that is impossible to capture internally in source code.
In this presentation, we will outline a set of practices, patterns, and tools to support an agile way of minimally documenting the global understanding of complex software systems, from source code to high level design and how to (re)use.
We are on the cusp of the next major digital disruption. Understanding how content management will change over the next few years will require a better understanding of the content we are managing. We must stop throwing more technology at our content problems and focus on a comprehensive content strategy.
The Future is Now: Neuroscience, Chatbots, Voice, and MicrocontentSaiff Solutions, Inc.
Discover the role of microcontent as a core component of structured topics.
Presented by:
Barry Saiff - Founder and CEO, Saiff Solutions, Inc.
Rob Hanna - President, Precision Content Authoring Services
Modelling a complex domain with Domain-Driven DesignNaeem Sarfraz
Domain-Driven Design is an approach to modelling business complexity explicitly in your software. This deck of slides runs through the key concepts focusing on both the strategic and tactical aspects of DDD.
This presentation was delivered at KMWorld 2017 by Craig St. Clair (EK) and Cindy Larson (Adient). It provides lessons learned and best practices regarding the digital transformation of Adient's intranet (SharePoint).
Is your technical content development organization considering a move to structured authoring and/or DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)? This presentation provides a high-level introduction to what DITA is--and what the benefits of moving to DITA are. DITA is an excellent solution for many--but not all--organizations and projects. This introduction can help you begin to understand why DITA may or may not be a good solution for you.
Building Bridges with Taxonomy: Enabling Semantic IntegrationDesign for Context
Taxonomies should be designed with enough flexibility and transition points to be a bridge to other taxonomies and datasets. Enabling your taxonomy to fit into the larger universe of partner companies, industry standards, federal requirements and complementary term sets gives it a solid foundation for future growth. We explore which vocabulary sets are available for reuse by the enterprise information architect and demonstrate how thinking about semantic integration from the beginning of the design process helps build a taxonomy that endures.
Presentation given at SharePoint Symposium 2013. Covers key information architecture best practices in SharePoint 2010 and 2013 for search, navigation and dynamic publishing.
Discuss the layers of topic-based authoring, best practices for writing at the topic level, single sourcing publishing opportunities and strategic planning to meet challenges along the way.
Managing Documentation Projects in Nearly Any Environmentdclsocialmedia
Your documentation projects need to be successful. Success doesn't happen accidentally, it happens from planning and managing. And in the 21st Century, the ways to plan and manage projects is changing. We have to change, too.
10 mistakes when you move to topic-based authoringSharon Burton
Topic-based authoring is the most cost-effective way to develop content in the "Do more with less" world we live in. It can help reduce localization costs, reduce project schedules, and help you better meet the needs of your users. It's a potential win/win for your company and your users. Makes you want to jump right in, doesn't it?
But moving to topic-based authoring can be one of the most expensive things you've ever done. In this talk, Sharon Burton will show you the top 10 mistakes made by companies and how you can avoid them. These mistakes can include missing deadlines, delivering poor quality content, or not integrating this content development strategy into the rest of the product development strategy.
If you're thinking about making this move, you'll learn what not to do; if you made the move and you're struggling, find out how to solve your problems. Either way, you really can't afford to miss this vendor-neutral discussion!
Microcontent Authoring - Nordic Techkomm 2019, Scott DeLoach, ClickStartScott DeLoach
Microcontent-based authoring makes content easier to scan, and it increases user satisfaction and success. Microcontent can also be reused and accessed by other systems, including
embedded user assistance, context-sensitive help, chatbots, and voice-based search. Google calls these microcontent blocks "snippets," and they are a key, highly visible aspect of Google search results. In this session, Scott will review real-world examples of microcontent and discuss how it is used and created.
http://www.clickstart.net
This is presentation about Project Athena, a proposition for a Create Once Publish Everywhere solution at CIPD, UK. HTML, XML, DITA XML, content strategy, taxonomy, metadata, content models, infobesity, content technology, publishing, component content management system, open standards and open platforms
Introduction to Metadata for IDAH FellowsJenn Riley
Riley, Jenn. “Introduction to Metadata for IDAH Fellows.” Presentation to Indiana University Institute for Digital Arts & Humanities staff and faculty fellows, April 9, 2010.
Similar to Introduction to structured authoring (20)
Presentation to AIIM First Canadian Chapter on April 29, 2015. Concepts for better understanding of metadata, controlled vocabularies, and taxonomies for enterprise content.
Transforming the Application of Cancer Staging with Intelligent ContentRob Hanna, ECMs
Faced with the task of publishing the next edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, the staff at the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) realized that there had to be a better way to facilitate the updates to the content and distribution to a growing number of critical channels. In 2013, they turned their mind to Intelligent Content and enlisted the help of a team of professional technical communicators and information architects to devise a solution.
Over the past four decades, the AJCC has used traditional medical publishers to produce and distribute print versions of the manual and staging forms used by clinicians worldwide to stage all forms of cancer to determine treatment and predict patient outcomes. Every seven years, world-renowned physicians gather to evaluate the science and produce updates to the cancer staging manual. With the rapid developments in cancer research and increased prevalence of electronic health records, the AJCC realized that their business model had to evolve. They required more agile publishing capabilities than the traditional publishers could offer. They also needed more control over their content to fulfill delivery to a growing number of distribution channels.
Over the past year, the AJCC has transformed their content for the most prevalent forms of cancer using a specially-trained team of writers to improve upon the clarity and consistency of the information. This content sits on top of specialized DITA/XML allowing for sophisticated reuse and repurposing of the content. This session will present the business case for the Cancer Staging Content Transformation (CSCoT) project and discuss the wins and challenges of their Intelligent Content strategy.
Structured Thinking: Authoring for Precision ContentRob Hanna, ECMs
Presented at STC Summit in Phoenix, AZ and Toronto, ON.
Precision Content offers a holistic approach to content strategy developed by Ascan Information Architects Limited.
Presented by Rob Hanna CIP at the 2012 STC Summit in Rosemont, IL.
So we’ve determined that you’re certifiable - now what? Rob Hanna, vice-chair of the STC Certification Commission, will walk you through the application processes. He will describe the submissions and explain how the commission is evaluating candidates qualifications for certification.
Presented by Rob Hanna at 2012 STC Summit in Rosemont, IL.
Take a journey into the Information Ecosystem where you will discover how structured information lives within your organization. Content is all around you—in places you may least expect. It exhibits predictable properties and behaviors that will help you capture and classify information for better management of your content.
Presentation given in Rochester on April 23, 2012, Toronto on December 8, 2010 and January 19, 2011 to introduce members to the new STC Certification Program launched in May 2011.
2003 presentation to STC Toronto by Rob Hanna, Michele Marques, and Byron Hills. Addresses single source authoring and publishing fundamentals (non-XML).
Process Re-engineering for Topic Based AuthoringRob Hanna, ECMs
Presented at STC Summit in Atlanta, GA in May 2009.
Presented at Spectrum 2008 in Rochester, NY by Rob Hanna. Discussion of the implied changes moving to a topic-based writing system from a book-based paradigm.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Search and Society: Reimagining Information Access for Radical FuturesBhaskar Mitra
The field of Information retrieval (IR) is currently undergoing a transformative shift, at least partly due to the emerging applications of generative AI to information access. In this talk, we will deliberate on the sociotechnical implications of generative AI for information access. We will argue that there is both a critical necessity and an exciting opportunity for the IR community to re-center our research agendas on societal needs while dismantling the artificial separation between the work on fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics in IR and the rest of IR research. Instead of adopting a reactionary strategy of trying to mitigate potential social harms from emerging technologies, the community should aim to proactively set the research agenda for the kinds of systems we should build inspired by diverse explicitly stated sociotechnical imaginaries. The sociotechnical imaginaries that underpin the design and development of information access technologies needs to be explicitly articulated, and we need to develop theories of change in context of these diverse perspectives. Our guiding future imaginaries must be informed by other academic fields, such as democratic theory and critical theory, and should be co-developed with social science scholars, legal scholars, civil rights and social justice activists, and artists, among others.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
6. LANGUAGE ARTS
Language Arts for Personal
Response (LAFPR)
▪ To emotionally engage the
reader
▪ Techniques:
▪ narrative style
▪ varied vocabulary & sentence
structure
▪ withholding information
▪ Writer driven
▪ Meant to be READ
Language Arts for Information
(LAFI)
▪ To convey information that
readers need to use
▪ Techniques:
▪ consistent modular structure
▪ concise, direct vocabulary
▪ use of graphics
▪ Reader driven
▪ Meant to be USED
8. IKEA INSTRUCTIONS: LAFPR
▪ If novelist Michael Ondaatje wrote Ikea instructions ….
“The eel-shaped talisman squirms inside the raspy recycled box. A series
of quarter turns – clock hands marking time – bonds back to base. An
alphabet of connections in English and French. A into groove B. C slots
into D. Chipboard credenza communicating Swedish hegemony.”
▪ Author/parodist: Geoff Thomas
Globe & Mail, August 27, 2009
19. RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)
▪ Expect return on investment if…
▪ The document is deliverable to clients or is tied directly to a product or service
▪ The document has a long life expectancy
▪ Many updates can be expected over time
▪ Several variants may exist at any one time
▪ Parts of the document are reused elsewhere
▪ I can expect to recover my actual costs
20. WORKING DEFINITIONS
Single-sourcing is any process used to systematically create
information products from a single defined source of
information.
or
“Writing information once
and using it many times”
- Ann Rockley, 2001
23. SINGLE-SOURCING TECHNOLOGY
Single-sourcing is a methodology, not a technology. Although the
software tools associated with single-sourcing are complex, it is the
modular writing, not technology, that ultimately determines the success
of your single-sourcing project.
▪ Kurt Ament – Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation, 2003
24. CAN SINGLE-SOURCING HELP?
▪ Single-sourcing will…
▪ Improve the consistency of information
▪ Save on maintenance and customization efforts
▪ Improve the quality of the content
▪ Require significant upfront planning and investment
25. PLANNING AND PROCESS
▪ Defining your objectives
▪ Analysing your audience
▪ Defining your source and structure
27. WHAT ARE OUR OBJECTIVES?
▪ Key objectives include:
▪ Produce a résumé that is easy to update and tailor for each new job application.
▪ Maintain various versions: Short/Long; Technical Writer/Team Lead;
Contractor/Employee.
▪ Maintain various formats including: Word, HTML, PDF, and ASCII text.
▪ Showcase help authoring skills by producing a Windows help version.
28. WHO IS MY AUDIENCE
▪ HR Department
▪ Placement Agency
▪ Hiring Manager
▪ Automated systems
29. SELECTING A SOURCE
▪ Does a source already exist?
▪ Do multiple sources exist?
▪ How will you resolve discrepancies between various sources?
▪ Create your definitive source of information
30. BUILDING A STRUCTURE
▪ Does a structure already exist?
▪ Does it require modification for single-sourcing?
▪ Take a linear document and make it modular
▪ Break the document into its component parts
31. RESUME STRUCTURE
▪ Resume title
▪ Objective
▪ Target 1
▪ Target 2
▪ Personal Profile
▪ Education
▪ School
▪ Location
▪ Date
▪ Degree
▪ Professional Experience
▪ Company
▪ Location
▪ Position
▪ Tasks
▪ Accomplishments
▪ Skills
▪ Skill name
▪ Experience level
▪ Last used
▪ Years used
▪ References
▪ Name
▪ Position
▪ Company
▪ Contact
▪ E-mail
▪ Telephone
▪ Description
32. SINGLE-SOURCING WITH MS WORD
▪ Ball & Chain
vs. single-
sourcing
Linda Chung
Senior Technical Writer
123 Que en St E
Toronto, ONM4N 3R8
Tel 416 555-1212
Email: linda.chung @lascan .ca
Towrite t wice as m uch docu mentatio n in half
the time.
Really Bi g Corp
Oct 99 - Present
Helped d evelop a single sou rcing pro ject that
lorem ipsum ad ve lor.
Small En terprises
June 98 - Sep 99
Lorem ip sumad v elor dolot.
Objective
Experience
Small En terprises
June 98 - Sep 99
Lorem ip sumad v elor dolot.
Doc 1
.pdf
Doc 2
.hlp
Doc 3
.doc
Object d
Object a
Object b
Object c
1 ton
Data Source
Workflow
33. Resume1.doc
Contains AutoText:
Include Text Fields
{Bookmarked text}
ONE EXAMPLE
▪ AutoText shortcuts on-
the-fly, or
▪ Template for each
version
▪ Source data changes --
reflected in output
▪ Styles tied to output
documents
DB.doc
Contains
Bookmarked
Text
[Objective:
to write]
Resume1.doc
Contains AutoText:
Include Text Fields
{Objective: to write}
Resume2.doc
Contains AutoText:
Include Text Fields
{Objective: to write}
[Objective:
to lead]
{Objective: to lead}
{Objective: to lead}
34. REORGANIZING CONTENT
▪ What is presented first?
▪ Education at top vs. Education at bottom
▪ How?
▪ Inserting files as content objects
35. INSERTED TEXT OBJECTS
▪ Resume files contains content objects
Résumé 1
Objective
Résumé 2
Objective
Education
Work History
Work History
Education
36. CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Consistency is required for good output
▪ Consistent style of writing
▪ Consistent mark-up of conditions
▪ FrameMaker limitations
▪ Conditions for multiple purposes
▪ Text tagged with multiple conditions
▪ Cannot use conditional text to rearrange your content
41. Structured
Content
STRUCTURED INFORMATION MEETS TWO
FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS
▪ Structured information
serves the needs of the
human brain to
▪ find
▪ understand
▪ use, and
▪ retain information.
▪ Structured information
serves the needs of
technology to manage
information that
▪ aligns to a data structure
▪ is searchable, and
▪ reusable.
43. WHAT IS XML?
▪ (eXtensible Markup Language) is an open
standard for the exchange of information
▪ first published in 1998 by W3C
▪ to encode electronic documents readable by
▪ human, and
▪ machine
▪ for a multitude of applications ranging from
▪ corporate financial reporting applications, to
▪ Microsoft Word
45. XML PROVIDES
▪ Database-functionality for content
▪ A separation of presentation and content
▪ A structure with which to modularise
▪ A single piece of information can start it’s life in any department, and be
shared inside and outside the department or organisation
▪ By explicitly labelling all units of information inside a document based
on meaning, source, and status
▪ i.e., everything is tagged and accessible
▪ This enables content management and publishing automation
46. WHAT ARE MARKUP LANGUAGES?
▪ pre-date desktop publishing and the Internet
▪ tell computers how to handle data
▪ such as how to render electronic content on a page
▪ categorized as either
▪ presentation, or
▪ semantic markup
47. DOCUMENT CONTENT AS WE KNOW IT
The contents of a
document are
opaque to the
computer…
So we have to
label them!
Set up the writer’s name as a variable in Oxygen Author
Comments in documents should always be attributed to the reviewer. Oxygen will
insert the writer’s name into draft comments automatically once it is configured
properly.
Before you begin
Ensure that the Precision Content framework is installed on your version of Oxygen
Author.
Procedure
The following steps will guide you through the setup of a custom user variable in
your Oxygen environment.
1. Open Oxygen Author
2. Select Options > Preferences > Custom Editor Variables
3. Click New
4. Enter the appropriate values to create a new custom variable
▪ Name: prec_d_mapper
▪ Value: {Your Name}
▪ Description: Writer name
5. Click OK
48. PRESENTATION MARKUP
▪ With electronic presentation markup, we markup the
paragraph and italicize the citation for publication
▪ This is typical of web pages using hypertext markup (HTML)
The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice of
Oncology provides an integrated view of modern oncology across
all disciplines.
<p><i>The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice
of Oncology</i> provides an integrated view of modern oncology
across <i>all</i> disciplines.</p>
The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice of Oncology provides an
integrated view of modern oncology across all disciplines.
49. ENTER STRUCTURED XML
Getting
better…
<topic><title>Set up the writer’s name as a variable in Oxygen Author</title>
<shortdesc>Comments in documents should always be attributed to the reviewer. Oxygen will insert
the writer’s name into draft comments automatically once it is configured properly.</shortdesc>
<body><section><title>Before you begin</title>
<p>Ensure that the Precision Content framework is installed on your version of Oxygen
Author.</p></section>
<section><title>Procedure</title>
<p>The following steps will guide you through the setup of a custom user variable in your Oxygen
environment.<ol>
<li>Open Oxygen Author</li>
<li>Select Options > Preferences > Custom Editor Variables</li>
<li>Click <b>New</b></li>
<li>Enter the appropriate values to create a new custom variable
<lines>Name: prec_d_mapper
Value: <i>{Your Name}</i>
Description: Writer name</lines></li>
<li>Click <b>OK</b></li></ol></p></body></topic>
50. SEMANTIC MARKUP
▪ With semantic markup, we markup the content to describe the meaning
of the text
▪ Publishing stylesheets interpret the meaning from the markup and apply
appropriate styles specific to the publishing context
The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice of
Oncology provides an integrated view of modern oncology across
all disciplines.
<intro><cite>The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles &
Practice of Oncology</cite> provides an integrated view of
modern oncology across <em>all</em> disciplines.</intro>
The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice of Oncology provides an
integrated view of modern oncology across all disciplines.
The Cancer Journal: The Journal of Principles & Practice of Oncology provides an
integrated view of modern oncology across all disciplines.
51. ENTER STRUCTURED SEMANTIC XML
Structure
and
Meaning!
Enable
access!
<task><title>Set up the writer’s name as a variable in Oxygen Author</title>
<shortdesc>Comments in documents should always be attributed to the reviewer. Oxygen will
insert the writer’s name into draft comments automatically once it is configured properly.</shortdesc>
<taskbody><prereq><p>Ensure that the Precision Content framework is installed on your
version of Oxygen Author.</p></prereq>
<steps><stepsection>The following steps will guide you through the setup of a custom user
variable in your Oxygen environment.</stepsection>
<step><cmd>Open Oxygen Author</cmd></step>
<step><cmd>Select
<menucascade><uicontrol>Options</uicontrol><uicontrol>Preferences</uicontrol><uicontrol
>Custom Editor Variables</uicontrol></menucascade></cmd></step>
<step><cmd>Click <uicontrol>New</uicontrol></cmd></step>
<step><cmd>Enter the appropriate values to create a new custom variable</cmd>
<info><lines>Name: prec_d_mapper
Value: <varname>{Your Name}</varname>
Description: Writer name</lines></info></step>
<step><cmd>Click <uicontrol>OK</uicontrol></cmd></step></steps></taskbody></task>
52. ACCESS!
▪ To be more agile, the content needs to be smarter
▪ Because computers are really pretty stupid
▪ In structure
▪ Every label / tag / component or section has an ‘Address’
▪ Because it can be clearly identified, you can just look it up,
and pull it out to be used.
▪ Access by address means what was an opaque, messy pile
is clear
▪ More semantic labels mean more meaningful queries
53. SEMANTIC MARKUP
▪ Using semantic markup, we can
▪ disambiguate content
▪ search based on meaning
▪ connect to other content, and
▪ reuse or substitute new text.
55. STRUCTURED VS. SEMANTIC TAGS
Rate each of the
following elements
by how well they
convey meaning
1 = descriptive
2 = partial
3 = vague
<chapter>
<procedure>
<table>
<phrasehighlight>
<italic>
<report>
<syntaxtable>
<installationtask>
<section>
<list>
<paragraph>
<introduction>
<note>
<book>
<taskstep>
<missionstatement>
(2)
(1)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
56. INTELLIGENT CONTENT
▪ Content that is
▪ not limited to one
▪ purpose
▪ technology, or
▪ output
▪ structurally rich and semantically aware, making it
▪ discoverable
▪ reusable
▪ reconfigurable, and
▪ adaptable.
58. WHAT IS DITA? (N. DIT-UH)
▪ (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) is an
XML standard
▪ developed in late 90’s at IBM, and
▪ given to the open source community in 2004
▪ used for topic-based, structured authoring
▪ designed for scalability using mechanisms for
specialization and inheritance
▪ defining an extendable set of information types
60. DISAMBIGUATION
▪ You don’t “read” References
▪ You look something up and get out. Fast, clear navigation for finding facts,
parameters, and/or other ‘data’.
▪ Concept does not = Reference
▪ .... Even though you “refer” to a concept (possibly in a “reference manual”) if you
don’t understand something
▪ You “refer” to tasks when you don’t remember how to do something...
▪ Task has sequential instructions
▪ The user needs to do them to achieve a specific result
▪ A list of complex suggestions or possibilities is best in a concept. If they’re very
succinct look-up list of data-points, could even be a reference
63. DITA MAPS
▪ Standard DITA information model
▪ identifies and presents user tasks
▪ maps topics to task flow
▪ supplements with
▪ conceptual and
▪ reference material.
▪ Maps organize topics into context for
publication
▪ They manage relationships between
all topics
Alarm Clock User Guide
About Alarm Clocks
Setting Clock
Setting Wake Up Alarm
Setting Radio Alarm
Installing Batteries
Radio Settings
Battery Specifications
66. CONDITIONS
<p>Here's some info about your product:
<ul>
<li product="producta">Info about product A
</li>
<li product="productb">Info about product B
</li>
<li product="productc">Info about product C
</li>
</ul>
</p>
72. WHO USES DITA?
▪ Hundreds of companies worldwide,
including:
▪ Adobe, Apple, Caterpillar, Dell, Elekta, IBM,
Juniper Networks, McAfee, Nokia, PayPal,
Philips, RIM, SAP, SDL, Xerox and many more
▪ IBM publishes 60M pages of content in 40
languages using DITA
74. PRECISION CONTENT™
▪ A holistic approach to content
strategy helping to manage your
investment in content
transformation
▪ Includes elements of
▪ utility
▪ usability, and
▪ maintainability
@2015PrecisionContentAuthoringSolutionsInc.
75. DEFINITION OF PRECISION CONTENT™
▪ Precision Content™ is an authoring system for high-value enterprise
content.
▪ Benefits of use include
▪ greater accessibility and ease of use
▪ increased consistency and accuracy, and
▪ extensive multi-channel publishing capabilities.
▪ This system consists of
▪ content strategy and management best practices
▪ innovative applications of open-source technology and standards, and
▪ modernized adaptations to information mapping writing practices researched
and developed at Harvard University in the 1960’s.
77. EXCERPT FROM A MEDICAL
JOURNAL...
▪ pN3 description only
closely mirrors descriptions
for pN3a +pN3b + pN3c
▪ Use of footnotes confusing
▪ “Clinically detected” and
“Not clinically detected”
are not exact opposites
▪ Inconsistent enumeration
of lymph nodes
78. SAME CONTENT AFTER RESTRUCTURE
TRANSFORMATION
▪ 44.2% reduction in word count
▪ 20% reduction in passive voice
▪ 18.4% increase in Flesch Reading
Ease score
▪ 30% increase in white space
▪ Elimination of footnotes
▪ Addition of labels and visual
elements