Aeronautical Information Management and DITA: A standards-based approach to the new SDO Input Guidance Manual
Chris Turchin, Tanner AG
SIGMA is the Static Data Operation (SDO) Input Guidance Manual created by EUROCONTROL for the European AIS Database (EAD). It provides Aeronautical Data Entry experts with easy access to EAD reference information and addresses the need for single source information access, enabling users to better enter data and to understand the aeronautical information provision into SDO. SIGMA is a standards-based information product realized by TANNER AG. It is based on TriSoft CMS and leverages the DITA information architecture and the Open Toolkit. This case study will present the project, its goals, the challenges faced and the realized solution
Alfresco XTM: The Open Source Open Standards Open Architecture DITA Approach
Andrzej Zydroń, XML-INTL
Alfresco is an industry-leading Enterprise Scale Open Source CMS. XTM is the leading Enterprise Open Standards and Open Architecture Computer Assisted Translation and Authoring tool from XML-INTL. Extend Alfresco with native DITA/XML support and integrate it with XTM and you have an enterprise scalable high performance low cost solution for DITA publishing.
Buzzwords at Work : An Agile Approach to Specialized DITA-Based Authoring
Gunnar H. Krause, Qimonda AG
At last year's conference Gunnar presented an evaluation of DITA and found it a fitting strategy for the challenges of Qimonda’s technical documentation. The next episode starts with a business case based on possible workflow improvements — reducing efforts in authoring and review. With a rather low budget, Gunnar began by joining a set of tools with practical aspects like modularization of content, specialization, and automation. Here, specialization is not only required for semantic element names, but for many other aspects of the DITA standard and its embodiment. Gunnar will talk about their selected blend of reuse strategies including specialized topics that trigger database-based generation of reference topics. By that step, single sourcing is no longer limited to component CMSs. Following an agile agenda, known from software development, the status of the DITA solution at Qimonda is now always in production and unfinished at the same time. Come and join this exciting journey.
Case Study - Publishing Market Research Reports
Mark Poston, Mekon Ltd.
This case study about Key Note Ltd. will be useful for anyone who is considering the adoption of a DITA XML solution for the creation of different types of business documents by non technical writers. It presents a scalable solution adopted by Key Note Ltd., a leading market research company in the UK, who wanted to improve their efficiency by moving to an XML-based editorial system.
The case study describes how the DITA standard was used and specialised to meet the needs of Key Note. It also covers the technologies that were used to implement the solution - including Quark XML Author for Microsoft Word, MarkLogic Content Server, Adobe Flex and AIR, and Antenna House XSL Formatter.
Writer and editors are supplied with a familiar and easy to use Word environment for authoring XML content. They have the ability to dynamically render charts from specialised DITA content, dynamically import tables from Microsoft Excel, and create outputs in a number of formats. Using the power of MarkLogic and Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), the interface allows editors to manage each report from creation, management of copyright permissions, and to final publication into an existing ecommerce system.
Data Merge and Automation with DITA
Frank Miller and Hal Trent, Comtech Services, Inc.
Do you spend time tediously keying information into your documentation that already exists in a database or other electronic source? In this case study, Frank and Hal explain the detailed process of integrating a DITA-architected Parts and Accessories Catalog with an external pricing database. By merging the catalog topics with the independent pricing database, Comtech improved the publishing efficiency allowing for faster catalog updates and multiple deliverables from the same data source. Frank and Hal also discuss the next phase of the DITA data merge which includes delivering a single-sourcing strategy to enable the client to target its catalog to specific audiences (vendors and public) through multiple deliverables (print and web) with the DITA data merge.
DITA and Information Architecture
Kristen James Eberlein, IBM Corporation
In the new world of DITA and topic-based writing, what do you need to consider as you design your online deliverables? How can you use the unique features of DITA and the output from the Open Toolkit to create effective and highly-usable technical documentation? This session will suggest tactics to use as you design the information architecture for a DITA-based information set. It will focus on practical considerations for developing topic guidelines, navigation, and a linking strategy. It will provide concrete suggestions for effective topic titles; placement of task, concept, and reference topics; navigational patterns; use of short descriptions and container topics; linking strategies, and much more.
DITA and XLIFF: Panel Presentation
JoAnn Hackos, Comtech Services, Inc.
Andrzej Zydroń, XML International Ltd.
Nick Rosenthal, SalfordTranslations Ltd.
Rodolfo M. Raya, Maxprograms
Bryan Schnabel, Tektronix
Peter Li, PTC
Bring together two powerful OASIS XML standards (DITA and XLIFF), and you get
a process that reduces the costs and risks associated with translating topic-oriented,
XML-based content. In this business-focused session, a panel of XLIFF/DITA/
Translation experts attempt to answer key questions:
- What is the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) standard and
what does it have to do with the localization and translation of content?
- What is the XML Localisation Interchange File Format (XLIFF) and what
advantages does it provide to DITA users who need to translate content?
- How does the roundtrip (DITA to XLIFF back to DITA) work and what advantages
does it provide?
Join members of the DITA Translation Subcommittee and the XLIFF Technical
Committee who will help you understand the value of the DITA to XLIFF and Back
roundtrip and show you exactly how it works.
DITA Case Study: Creating Training Materials
Robin Sloan, PTC
Creating training materials and classes is always a difficult task for any company. PTC is no exception. We needed a way to streamline our development and delivery model to ensure that as many people as possible were getting the training they needed in the format that worked best for their learning style.
By using Arbortext and DITA, we offered ourselves the opportunity to test the single-sourcing abilities in both XML and Arbortext Editor required by the high levels of content reuse among the deliverables. Also, since XML stores source content in a format-neutral state, the opportunity existed to test the reuse of content across different deliverable types.
DITA Case Study: Proposal Generator
Tony Self, HyperWrite Pty. Ltd.
One of the fundaments of DITA is its topic-based architecture. Rather than working on a document as a whole, the DITA author works at a topic level, creating independent, stand-alone, discrete items of content. Those topics can be assembled into different collections to be turned into deliverable documents such as manuals, Help systems, or websites. The reuse of DITA topics through ditamaps allows DITA projects to be efficient and cost-effective. But how does that theory work in practice?
In this case study, Tony Self explains a system where hundreds of DITA topics are authored using XMetaL to create a repository of content topics, which are then rapidly assembled into draft proposal documents. The project belongs to TACTICS Consulting, an Australian training and documentation company. The solution uses a Web-based "Wizard" to create the ditamap for the proposal document in minutes, and the Elkera XML Print application to convert the document into Word format. The Word document is then fine-tuned normally by sales staff. The approach delivered significant cost savings for TACTICS, but more importantly provided greater consistency and accuracy of information. Tony describes the issues and challenges that were addressed, and comments on the overall success of choosing DITA for the project.
DITA for Enterprise Business Documents
Jerry Silver, EMC Documentum
DITA's success in improving technical documentation has prompted interest in using it for other types of narrative business documents like analyst reports, marketing collateral, proposals, contracts, and regulatory filings. A large number of organizations now see the unstructured content that exists in these documents as standing in the way of processes that could be automated end-to-end, especially processes that are subject to regulatory compliance and legal discovery. The lack of structure leads to inconsistency, poor readability, and the inability to reuse content. These same documents also contain a significant amount of the organizations’ intellectual property, which because of the inherent lack of structure, remains hidden from business intelligence and other software tools.
There are a number of challenges associated with applying the concepts of technical documentation to the domain of business documents. However, DITA's topic orientation, specialization, and broad tool support make it a good choice for adding structure to business documents. This session will examine the ongoing work of the OASIS DITA Enterprise Business Documents Subcommittee to define and promote DITA for these types of documents.
DITA for the Machine and Automotive Industries
Christian Kravogel, SeicoDyne GmbH
With DITA 1.2 a lot has been added for the machinery and automotive industry to use DITA out-of-the-box.
This presentation answers the question of how DITA can be used in the machine and automotive industry, covers the key points in DITA 1.2 (Hazard Statements and Task Requirements domains), and what you can expect from the next DITA releases.
Extending DITA Knowledge Systems Using Topic Maps
Alex Griessel, SYSPRO
The session is targeted at information architects and knowledge workers seeking alternative methods of leveraging opportunities from their existing DITA content investment.
The session focuses on introducing the Topic Maps ISO/IEC 13250:2000 standard as a means of defining N-Dimension relationships between DITA topics and external non-DITA related stores from which a working sample is produced.
It includes a brief introduction to the concept behind Topic Maps and the motivation for using it as a complimentary technology to the available DITA architecture. A sample web application will be presented to demonstrate coexistence of these technologies and dynamic content delivery, on-demand content profiling, semantic and N-Dimension relationships between DITA and external information resources.
Getting Enterprise Buy-In…and then Making it Happen in a Global Organisation
Vikram Nanwani, ITT Fluid Technologies
Vikram details the course of action that was taken to introduce the concept of XML Content Management to ITT. The effort began with key contacts who were encouraged to investigate content management. The next step was an introductory meeting to explain the value and benefits of XML Content Management to key managers. A comprehensive business case achieved support from top-level management. The result was a successful multi-organisation pilot implementation that has attracted attention across the corporation. Now that the pilot is completed, the team responsible for the migration project is finding that not all the hard work was completed in the pilot. This new phase is bringing fresh challenges - not least of which is the fact that ITT is made up of a number of globally dispersed semi-autonomous organisations. Vikram will share some of the learnings so far - including the fact that getting buy-in never stops...
Increasing Your Competitive Edge and Global Business Agility through Intelligent Content Design
Jaana Gallagher, Nokia Corporation
Miel De Schepper, Trisoft
The Nokia Documentation Group is responsible for creating all end user documentation for the devices division. With many new models released to the market each year, over ninety different languages to manage and the need to still make last-minute changes to keep their competitive edge, Nokia carefully designed a set of best practices to create highly modular, reusable and translatable documentation. Nokia uses conditional text to publish dozens of different market-specific outputs for print, devices and web from the same single source. Together with conditions, Nokia is using variables to enable single-sourcing of same general content for customized and localized product families. Attend this session to learn more about the experience of Nokia in reaching global markets, covering processes from authoring to translation.
Mathematical Content in Documentation
Lois Patterson, QuIC Financial Technologies
The inclusion of complex mathematical content in documentation presents unique challenges for technical writers. This presentation discusses various techniques and technologies that writers can use in order to facilitate the production of accurate and attractive equations, while still allowing content reuse, and without requiring endless hours of tweaking. The focus will be on mathematical content for XML-based documentation, within a DITA environment.
Some topics that will be discussed include:
- Efficient methods for bringing content from LaTeX documents into your XML documentation system
- Pros and cons of the FrameMaker Equation Editor
- Pros and cons of MathType
- MathML and various editors used to create MathML, and integrating MathML with "regular" XML
- Conversions between LaTeX and MathML
- Special challenges of displaying equations in web documentation
Attendees will be encouraged to discuss problems that they face in respect to the production of mathematical content.
Migration to DITA and CMS Implementation
B. Noz Urbina, Mekon Ltd.
With over ten years of independently developed XML-based authoring processes to manage and the need to deliver thousands of pages of help content to multiple output formats for various related products, the Micro Focus User Information team recognised the need to refresh an ageing and complex system to keep up with corporate growth and acquisitions. With sustainability and transferability of the new system as top priorities, Micro Focus defined an aggressive timescale to:
- Finalise a business case for management
- Evaluate migrating content to the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) XML DTD from their custom Micro Focus DTD
- Evaluate a move to 3rd party supported Component Content Management System (CCMS)
- Shortlist and evaluate suppliers
- Implement the decided changes
- Keep up with the day jobs
This case study presentation provides insights into how the project was approached and the success and pitfalls along the way.
The Proof of the DITA Pudding
Wouter Verkerken, MasterCard Worldwide
You can test the DTDs, play around with the Open Toolkit for a while, see how it would work in Arbortext Editor and Styler (which we were already using), but in the end the proof of the pudding is in the eating. My first DITA project started something like this:
Some algorithms? Cryptography? With plenty of code examples? Used in 15 different applications? Or a subset? But not always in the same way? In one book containing all the input now? But users don’t need all the content for all 15 applications? Not always, but they do sometimes need more than one to compare them? (...) Would you mind if I tried something different than what you’re used to for this one? What would our customers say if...?
This presentation gives a step-by-step, hands-on account of how Wouter used the information model that MasterCard recently developed for topic-based writing, DITA, Arbortext, our current production environment, and his past experience with structured writing in a reference information project.
Publishing Single Source DITA Content to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Lauri Kinnunen, KONE Corporation
Ole Rom Andersen, Content Technologies
KONE Corporation employs 32,500 talented employees in 50 countries. KONE generates +€4.1 billion revenue from more than 250,000 customers.
KONE – one of the leading manufacturers and service providers of elevators and escalators – is active on a highly competitive market where new competitive advantages also can be built on top of consistent branding and accurate information.
Lauri and Ole will give more insight to why the DITA XML standard is vital in this process and why it is extremely important to de-mystify XML for the local content administrators in order for them to take ownership of the content for their specific market segment. Local content ownership combined with corporate control is a key factor in providing accurate and locally relevant information. From a technical perspective the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and DITA Exchange™ are key collaboration components in making this vision come through.
Strategies for Comprehensive and Reusable Content Between the Tags
Kristina Brinck, ITT Fluid Technologies
The Global Enterprise Content Management (GECM) Department started as a project three years ago to produce common technical product information for all water treatment companies in ITT Fluid Technologies. A technical solution was selected, including the DITA DTD, to get the best information reuse possible. New strategies were also built for analysis, content structuring, authoring and creation of graphics. These strategies were based upon an Information Model, a combination of Information Mapping® and DITA, and refined by the following expressed requirements:
- Legal accuracy
- Minimalism
- Cost effectiveness for translation and update
- Relevancy and comprehensiveness
This presentation focuses on these strategies, and how the ITT GECM Shared Service team works to implement them in the ITT organization.
The Topic-Based Documentation World
Sissi Closs, Comet Computers GmbH
This presentation takes a look at the advantages and risk factors of a topic-based authoring and publishing environment:
- Creating and managing content
- How do technical documentation departments need to work?
- What can be achieved with DITA?
- From information modeling to content publishing: An example of a suitable integrated tool landscape
Undertaking a DITA Pilot Project at STMicroelectronics
Sheila D'Annunzio, STMicroelectronics
Marc Speyer, Stilo International
STMicroelectronics, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, whose products include microprocessors and microcontrollers, are currently undertaking a DITA publishing pilot project, supported by Stilo International.
This presentation will focus upon the business case for DITA adoption at ST and the key stages of the pilot project, including:
- Content modeling and specialisation
- Stylesheet development using the DITA OpenToolkit
- Migration of legacy content from FrameMaker
- Problems faced by the authoring team in adopting DITA
The presentation will provide a detailed appreciation of the practical issues involved in DITA adoption, including changes to existing working practices, use of the emerging DITA tools, and the delivery of quantifiable project outcomes.
Using DITA in a Scrum Environment
Eva Lemaire, Agfa HealthCare
More and more software companies move from the traditional ‘waterfall’ approach to developing their deliveries in sprints using AGILE and scrum methodologies. A new development approach requires a different approach by the documentation team.
As we just convinced everyone to let us go DITA, the time has come to fit DITA into their scrum approach. This presentation focuses on four possible integrations:
- The writer documents the features from different sprints just before the release to market
- The writer documents the features in the next sprint
- The writer is a fellow member of the scrum team, describing concepts, writing stories, documenting the features
- Re-organizing the documentation team as a scrum team.
What Does it Mean to Adopt DITA?
David Hollis, A&O Consultancy Ltd.
What is the purpose behind the recently formed OASIS DITA Adoption TC, and how will it impact the future of DITA? What is the business case for DITA? What are the '4 Pillars of DITA', and how do they interact on mission critical decision making? Is there a USP for DITA?
What's the Box in Out of the Box?
Harvey Greenberg, XyEnterprise
In searching for content management solutions, organizations naturally seek out technologies that provide what they want out of the box to avoid long and costly implementations. As a corollary, the need for customization is often regarded as undesirable and as a source of cost and risk. This presentation examines the term "out of the box," and explores what it may mean for prospective buyers and vendors. Are all out of the box solutions created equally? We'll explore ways to determine if a prospective buyers' view of an "out of the box" solution is the same as their vendors, and how to determine when it might be quite different. Finally, we'll recommend some best practices for developing use cases as a way to communicate requirements, and show that customization may not be a bad thing after all.
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