LEAD STORIES:
Cooking up CMS Success: Emma Hamer on the Human Side of Content Management System Implementation

Everything you Wanted to Know About DITA (Part II)

EXTRA:
Upcoming conferences

OTHER NEWS:
Is Structured Authoring Really Worth It?

The Text Book is a Wiki in this Boston College Course

Content Analysis: More than One Way to Peer into Your Content

76% of 55+ Americans Use the Internet to Diagnose Medical Conditions

DITA Delivers Dynamic Documentation

DIGITIZATION FEATURE:
The Virginia Tech April 16 Archive

ASIDES:
"I'll read it on the plane" and Other Good Intentions

FAVORITES:
Popular articles from recent issues

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

LEAD STORIES

Cooking up CMS Success:
Emma Hamer on the Human Side of Content Management System Implementation

Emma Hamer is a change management specialist and passionate about helping organizations match people to tasks. She's also trained in Classic French Cuisine as a Cordon Bleu chef, so she knows that preparation (and timing) is everything. Along with her background in technical publications, this expertise has led her to managing change that occurs when organizations move to structured authoring and content management systems. While choosing a system, converting data, and learning the software are all important steps, they are only part of the mix. The system will bring a new workflow, and the new workflow will be performed by people who need to be coached towards new behavior. No worries. Emma has cooked up to a strategy to assure your CMS implementation project is a success from soup to nuts-or should we say, du potage aux écrous.

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Everything you Wanted to Know About DITA (Part II)

In the last edition of DCLnews we introduced you to the basics of DITA in the first of our two-part series. Part I reviewed a brief history of DITA, the OASIS DITA standard, and two common DITA attributes, Identity attributes and Metadata attributes. We continue this month with Architectural attributes, DITA topics, DITA maps, and publishing with DITA

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EXTRA

Upcoming conferences

Best Practices Conference: September 17-19, 2007, Chateau Elan Inn, Atlanta, Georgia

XyUser Group Fall Conference: Don Bridges presents Implementing a Content Management System, September 23-26, 2007, Hyatt Harborside Boston, Massachusetts

DITA 2007 East: Keynote Speaker, Don Bridges, presents Migrating to DITA: Lessons Learned, October 4-6, 2007, McKimmon Conference Center, Raleigh, North Carolina

2007 ATA e-Business Forum: Visit the DCL Exhibit October 17-19, 2007, Miami Beach Resort and Spa, Miami, Florida.

The LavaCon Conference on Advanced Technical Communication and Project Management: Visit the DCL Exhibit October 27-30, 2007, Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel on Canal Street, New Orleans, LA

OTHER NEWS

Is Structured Authoring Really Worth It?

Need help nailing down the ROI for moving to a structured authoring environment? Figuring out the savings on translation and publishing costs may be easy, but the intangible advantages are a little more elusive and difficult to define. This blog article presents the advantages of moving to the new environment (modularity, reuse, and multiple output formats, to name a few) and outlines the costs savings you can realize on the benefits.

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The Text Book is a Wiki in this Boston College Course

What kind of professor allows students to make up their own test questions-and answers? It sounds like a dream come true for most college kids, and it is for the lucky Boston College students in Assistant Professor Gerald Kane's "Computers in Management" class. He's been using a wiki as the primary teaching tool since last October. Students can post papers for peer review, and post suggested exam questions and answers to the wiki. They can also edit the answers if they feel someone has posted a wrong answer. But it's not just schools; DCL itself has started replacing traditional instructional materials and procedure manuals with a wiki. For many organizations with these kinds of needs a wiki could be the right answer.

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See related article: When to Wiki, When to Blog

Content Analysis: More than One Way to Peer into Your Content

You've heard it here from industry experts such as Ann Rockley and JoAnn Hackos. Before deciding on a Content Management System, it's important to ask yourself what you want from the system. One of the most important steps is analyzing your current content. This helpful article published by the professional organization, Content Management Professionals (yeah, they should know), explains which facets of your content to examine based on the goals you have for your new system, and gives you the quick and dirty on the not-so-quick-and-dirty job of doing a content inventory.

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76% of 55+ Americans Use the Internet to Diagnose Medical Conditions

A recent survey commissioned by Ask.com and carried out by Harris Interactive Inc., suggests that Americans are using the Internet more than ever to get important medical information, some as a perhaps risky alternative to seeking out advice from a physician. Two-thirds of the more than 3,300 adults surveyed said they use search engines to gather information to help them better understand or diagnose a medical problem. Among older adults (over 55-years old) an incredible 76 percent said they used the Internet to help diagnose and better understand a medical condition, while younger adults used the internet to avoid embarrassment over discussing their medical problems. The internet was also widely used by a number of Americans to seek out alternative and homeopathic remedies.

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See related article: STM Open Access: Point-counterpoint

DITA Delivers Dynamic Documentation

Another reason to consider moving to DITA or other XML-based content solutions is the ability it gives you to deliver dynamic content to users, avoiding the one-size-fits-all delivery of yesterday. It used to be that we were forced to think in terms of publishing information to the masses en masse. But new technologies have changed all that. Users are asking for personalized information designed for their unique needs and delivered on the fly. In this environment of intense competition for users' attention, savvy businesses are giving it to them. And you can, too, through the use of wizards and shopping carts. What could be easier?

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DIGITIZATION FEATURE

The Virginia Tech April 16 Archive

This is one digital project we wish we didn't have to tell you about, but it deserves our respect and attention. The April 16 Archive is an ongoing project to preserve stories, images, letters, speeches, and other files that record the Virginia Tech tragedy of April 16, 2007. The project curators consist of VT students, faculty, and staff. The archive invites visitors to contribute their own stories about the tragedy in an effort to enable historians to better understand its far-reaching effects.

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ASIDES

"I'll read it on the plane" and Other Good Intentions

Getting your technical publications out on time is hard enough even in the most efficient environments. But when the heat is turned up, sometimes we make promises we can't keep. Like, "I'll read it on the plane," or "You'll get my comments on your manual tomorrow." It's not that anyone intentionally lies, it's just that people get busy, screw up, forget-whatever. Here's a look at some of the most common "good intentions" we've all made or heard on the road to publication.

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH

This month's quote:

FAVORITES

Popular articles from recent issues

DITA, S1000D, and SCORM: Unlocking their Interoperability
http://www.dclab.com/scorm_s1000d_dita.asp

What Fast Food Managers Have and Tech Pub Managers Need
http://www.dclab.com/content_quality.asp

When to Wiki, When to Blog - is either ready for your business?
http://www.dclab.com/blog_wiki.asp

STM Open Access: Point-counterpoint
http://www.dclab.com/open_access_interviews.asp