The main focus of my talk is how DITA works well in an Agile environment for technical publication to produce simple, crisp, and lean user documentation per sprint. Just as programmers employ Agile techniques to improve their deliverables, task-oriented documentation using DITA helps technical writers in creating user deliverables that allows for continuous feedback and improve the documentation’s velocity and adaptability to change, even extreme changes.

1. Agile Meets DITA: Developing User
Documentation in an Agile Environment
Nabayan Roy
AutoCAD Learning Experience

2. The Advent of Agile
• Both a philosophy and a method
• Set of processes for development
• Help create better software, faster

3. The Paradigm Shifting Tenets for Writers
• The two tenets are:
Bottom line is that there are no prescriptions for
documentation.

4. What Has Changed For A Writer?
Functional specs are secondary
Estimate developer and QA effort for
documentation in a sprint
Implement 80/20 rule
Test features in
developer builds
Delegation of work
within team
Speak
Up!
Make others
understand why it
would take so
much time to
document a
feature

5. The Key Challenges For Writers
Incremental
releases, multiple
scrums
Incremental releases,
multiple scrums
Incremental
development versus
incremental
documentation
Ability to
rewrite &
assemble,
anytime

6. A Genie called Darwin Information
Typing Architecture (DITA)
• DITA is an OASIS standard XML data model
for authoring and publishing.
• Created at IBM
• Cost-effective way to create, publish, reuse,
and exchange structured content

7. Defining DITA For You
Darwin
Information
Typing
ArchitectureDITA utilizes principles of
inheritance for
specialization
DITA was designed for
technical information based
on a concept, task and
reference
architecture
DITA is a model for extension
– both of design and
processes
Darwin Information Typing Architecture

8. The Heart of DITA: Information Types
• DITA is more of an information type than a
document type
• DITA has three types of base topics
Topic
Task
Reference
Concept

9. Key Design Principles of DITA

10. How does DITA Help Writers Thrive in a
Scrum Team?
• Topic-oriented approach
• Leveraging user stories to produce task-based documentation
• Applying the principles of minimalism
• ‘Fit to purpose’ documentation

11. Topic-oriented Approach
• DITA organizes content into topic-based information units, with each
topic describing a task, concept, or reference.
Update and replace
topics of
information as
needed
Receive increased
consistency
Cohesive, self-
contained, re-usable
elements
Receive a
quicker time to
value

12. Translating User Stories into Task-
based Documentation
User-centric Modular
documentation
Measurable Relevant
Task-based
writing

13. Minimalistic Approach
• Minimalism is one of the key
elements of DITA
• Keep It Straight & Simple (KISS)
and Keep It Light (KIL)
• Keep documentation action-
oriented

14. ‘Fit To Purpose’ Documentation
• Visualize content and tasks that are granular and can
be reused.
• Reusability flows from the topic-based paradigm in
DITA
• Map architecture guides the assembling for
incremental documentation (bottom line
implementation) keeping in mind the final
documentation deliverable (top-down design)

15. Incremental Documentation
• Great documentation is a continuous effort, which
evolves based on feedback on a continuous basis.
• Documentation, as development, is an iterative
process. Leverage DITA to write your perfect
document.
• DITA supports continuous publishing, which is
any-time, any-format, and any-media.

16. How it All Fits Together
The Complete User Story for Creating a Web Store Front
Integrated View
Creating the
database catalog
Managing the system
Designing the system
Messaging notifications
Task Stories in a Sprint
Serving the catalog
to customers

17. Best Practices for An Agile Writer
Hold
Planning
Iterations
Have
‘Pair-
Writers’
Develop
documentation
design patterns

18. Best Practices for An Agile Writer
Be Involved,
Speak Up,
and
Be Agile
Use tools
that work
for you

19. Engagement City

20. References
Articles
• C.Sigman, Adapting Challenges and Strategies to Scrum, Intercom magazine Jul-Aug 2007
• T.Berry , A.Gentle, Writing End-User Documentation in an Agile Environment, CIDM, Jun 2006
• A.Fox, M.Kramer, Mobile and Agile: The Floating Writer's Survival Kit , WritersUA 2008
• Scott Nesbitt, An Introduction to DITA, InformIT, Oct 2006
• Chris Benz, What is DITA and Why Should You Care?, LearnCon, Sept 2010
Books
• Agile Estimating and Planning, by Mike Cohn
• Agile Documentation, Andreas Ruping
• User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development ,by Mike Cohn
• DITA Best Practices: A Roadmap for Writing, Editing, and Architecting in DITA, by Laura Bellamy
Video
• SDLonline
Images
• www.flickr.com