CIDM Information Management News Volume 6, Issue 2

Information Management News
Volume 6, Issue 2
February, 2006

A monthly e-newsletter from The Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM)
JoAnn T. Hackos, PhD, CIDM Director
http://www.infomanagementcenter.com

If you would like to receive the CIDM e-newsletter in plain-text format, visit http://www.infomanagementcenter.com/enewsletter.shtml,
fill out the subscription form, and choose the plain-text format.

News & Events

Content Management Strategies 2006

The Valentine’s Day special discount is quickly approaching. Save $200 when you register before February 14!

Comtech Services Releases DITA User Guide

We are accepting orders for Introduction to DITA: A Basic User Guide to the Darwin Information Typing Architecture. Pre-order your copy today!

WritersUA Salary Survey

The WritersUA 2006 Salary Survey is underway. Please take a minute to fill out the survey.

Upcoming Workshops

The CIDM sponsors the following workshops:

Structured Writing for Single Sourcing
JoAnn Hackos, PhD,
February 21–22
Redmond, WA

Minimalism: Creating Manuals That People Can Use
JoAnn Hackos, PhD,
March 8–9
Stamford, CT

Managing Your Documentation Projects
Bill Hackos, PhD,
April 25–26
Burlington, MA

For more information on these and other workshops, visit the JoAnn Hackos Workshop Series web site.

Upcoming Presentations

Moving from Books to Topics: A DITA-Based Approach
JoAnn Hackos, PhD
February 16, 2006
6:30pm
Pasadena, CA

For more information, visit www.stcsgv.org

Trends in the Profession
JoAnn Hackos, PhD
February 21, 2006
6:00pm
Seattle, WA

For more information, visit www.stc-psc.org

Collaboration: A New Key Characteristic for the Information Process Maturity Model
JoAnn Hackos, PhD
CIDM Director

www.infomanagementcenter.com

In 1994, I developed the Information Process Maturity Model (IPMM) in response to the need for a process standard for the information-development community. The IPMM has always focused on eight key characteristics that help separate immature from mature organizations.

Read the article

More articles
When A CMS Should Speak More Than Just English...—Suzanne Mescan
Swimlane Process Mapping 101—Identifying Processes—Vesa Purho
How Moderately Structured Data Can Expand the XML Footprint in Your Enterprise—Kevin Duffy

When A CMS Should Speak More Than Just English...
Suzanne Mescan
Vasont Systems

There is a famous scene from the classic American TV sitcom I Love Lucy, when Lucy and Ethel (the two leading ladies) try to work at a conveyer belt in a candy factory. When the conveyer belt was moving at a slow and steady pace, the job was challenging but they succeeded in packaging all the candy. But when the belt sped up, that’s when things got out of control. With no additional people to help them, the two ladies couldn’t keep up with the extra volume rolling toward them at a furious pace, and lots of candy was wasted as it landed on the floor!

Read the article

Swimlane Process Mapping 101—Identifying Processes
Vesa Purho
Nokia

This article begins a series concentrating on process mapping. I previously wrote an article about process development in the March 2004 edition of Information Management News, but this time I will be going into more detail on the actual mapping methodology. Although I will be concentrating on swimlane process mapping, most of the content is also valid when using other methods for mapping processes. In this article, I will discuss how to identify and set boundaries for a process. After all, before you can design what happens inside a process, you need to know where it starts and ends.

Read the article

How Moderately Structured Data Can Expand the XML Footprint in Your Enterprise
Kevin Duffy
XyEnterprise

XML has become more mainstream in many enterprises. The confluence of XML as a content model, XML for system to system integration (e.g., Web Services), and XML as the backbone for some B2B/EDI interactions have publishing, editorial, and IT organizations using common technology in new and creative ways. By doing so, enterprises are better able to automate, create more efficient business processes, and leverage common resources to achieve their business goals.

Read the article

Feedback
Have you found this issue useful? Got a great story idea? We’d like your input and suggestions. Please contact lisa.finger@comtech-serv.com about any comments you may have.

Important Subscription Information
Subscribe to the e-newsletter—Unsubscribe to the e-newsletter—Change your email address

The Center for Information-Development Management
The Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM) is an organization of information-development, training, and support managers across the United States and internationally. The CIDM is directed by Dr. JoAnn Hackos, international leader in the management of the design, development, and dissemination of information to customers and employees. Under her leadership, the CIDM conducts benchmark studies among member organizations and elsewhere, sponsors research into information development and its management, and gathers and disseminates results and resources through newsletters, the web, seminars, two annual conferences, and research white papers. The CIDM facilitates the sharing of information among the most skilled managers in the information industry.

If you are interested in reading more in-depth articles, you should consider subscribing to the Best Practices newsletter at www.infomanagementcenter.com/masterindex.shtml.