process re-engineering for topic based authoring

© 2009 ASCan Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Process Re-engineering for Topic-Based Authoring

Rob HannaContent Management Consultant

ASCan Enterprises


What is Topic-Based Authoring?

“Topic-based authoring is a modular content creation approach…”

“A topic is a discrete piece of content that is about a specific subject, has an identifiable purpose, and can stand alone…”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic-based_authoring





Opportunities for Topic-Based Authoring

Speed to market Reduced maintenance effort Better opportunities for reuse Balancing workload Finer control for project management Opportunities for collaboration Clearer, more concise content


Challenges for Topic-Based Authoring

Writing process requires greater discipline Loss of content ownership for authors Less control over look and feel Responsibilities redefined Loss of context for SMEs and authors More to manage


Topic-Based vs. Book-Based

Topic-Based Authoring Multiple authors per book Topics serve multiple

products and audiences Content is iterative Presentation layout can be

template-driven Well suited for modular

hardware/software products with short lifecycle or long life span.

Book-Based Authoring One author per book Books serve a single product and

audience Content is linear Presentation layout requires

manual work Well suited for highly technical

or one-of-a-kind products with a long development cycle and/or short life span.


Single-Sourcing

Single-sourcing is not about content reuse - it is about reusable content.


Single-Source Authoring

Single-source practices should be followed regardless of topic- or book-based approach.

Single-sourcing is all about maintaining a single, definitive source of content. Reuse is merely a benefit of single-sourcing.

Book-based authoring is used where content can generally only be reused in situations where reuse is planned.

Topic-based authoring makes it much easier to reuse content without anticipating its specific reuse context.


Topic-Based Architecture

Topics are standardized units of information based upon information type

Topics require only navigational reference for context and can be read in any order

Topics must all contain a descriptive title and normally include a body and metadata section

Topics represent a single unit of work for authors Topics may contain other topics where there is an

inseparable relationship from parent to child


Information Typing

Information types separate content into easily identifiable chunks of information DITA identifies 3 specialized topic types Information Mapping® identifies 7 information

types Information Management ModelTM identifies 11

information types S1000D identifies 22 common data modules Mil Spec 2361 identifies 55 work packages


Topic-based authoring changes how content is managed

The number of files your team will be working with will increase dramatically

Over time it will be more difficult to identify and track these files

You may be required to track successive versions of files

To manage your files effectively, you will need to introduce and manage metadata


Storage Conventions

Topics must be stored in a centralized repository or network drive

Your authors have gotten used to browsing for files and using folders and file names to manage them

Folders and file names will not be enough to track files – track them through an index

If free from file browsing, you can introduce much flatter directory structures and more meaningful file names


File Naming Conventions

Tracking files by topic title will breakdown over time To effectively track topics, you need to introduce a fixed-

length global unique identifier (GUID) for file names GUIDs should include metadata attributes to help identify

the files. Do not include version-specific attributes GUIDs can be appended by a short descriptive text for ease

of reference For example:

xxx-yyyy-00001-descriptor.ditawhere: xxx = information type, yyyy = scope,and 00001 = sequence of topic.


Use of Titles

Concise titles are crucial to the effective management of topics.

Titles should never include markup or special characters of any sort.

Alternate title markup allows you to create one title for publishing and another for navigation.

Consider all titles including sub-titles, figure titles, and table titles.


Content Aggregation

Unlike book-based authoring that flows from an outline, topic-based authoring can start with content and be organized into a map.

Maps can be query-based allowing for the automatic aggregation of content.

Most often maps are built by hand. Using DITA, maps and map parts can be used in

other maps.


Release Management

Managing versions of topics is complicated by the fact that they may change more frequently than the documents in which they are contained

Three major considerations affecting how content is controlled and released: Freezing development of topics for approval Combining different versions of components into

separate deliverables Concurrent development of product


How does topic-based authoring change how we work?


Typical Document WorkflowKick Off

BookPlanning

Book PlanReview

Approved

Authoring

Approved

Publish

BookReview

Yes

Yes

No

No

Book

Workflow RolesManagerAuthorVarious Groups


Roles in Topic-Based Authoring

Manager Librarian Architect Author Editor Subject Matter Expert (SME)


Topic-Based Workflow

Separate workflow into two independent iterative cycles:Book-level workflowTopic-level workflow


Topic-Based WorkflowKick Off

BookPlanning

Book PlanReview

Approved

Authoring

Approved

Publish

BookReview

Yes

Yes

No

No Book

Workflow RolesManager

ArchitectEditor

AuthorSubject MatterExpert

Draft Topic

EditorialReview

Approved

Approved

Ready

TechnicalReview

Yes

Yes

No

NoA

A


Content Reviews

Topic-Level ReviewsPeer Edit/ReviewStructural ReviewTechnical Review

Book-Level ReviewSign-off/Approval


Working with Subject Matter Experts

Gathering Materials SME Review Traceability


Tools needed forTopic-Based Authoring

Start with tools you already have:Email applicationsStructured authoring editorsWeb serversSpreadsheets and databasesCode management tools

Develop requirements for CMS


Prototyping with a File System

Controlled access to central repository folders

Consider serving source content through a web server – revisions managed manually through a single point of contact

Serve metadata and access through a database-driven website (SharePoint).


Using Spreadsheet to Manage Metadata

Spreadsheet captures and manages metadata about each topic in the repository

Advanced spreadsheet development controls transactions in the repository and metadata creation

Spreadsheet can be used to organize and aggregate content stored in the repository

Spreadsheet can be used as a source for database-driven web interface


Using a Source Code-Management Tool

Source-code management tools allow you to manage revisions and releases of content

Working with XML, you can use these tools to show differences between revisions


Using a Component CMS to Manage Topics

Advantages include: Automatic versioning of content Automatic capture of metadata Automatic file naming Query-based search and retrieval of content Automated workflow engine Management reporting Query-based content aggregation Access control Release management features


Thank you for attending

Please contact me at:[email protected]+1 (905) 997-6563Skype/AIM: singlesourcerorLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/singlesourceror

mailto:[email protected]





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process re-engineering for topic based authoring

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