Moving the Organizationto Collaborative

or Structured Authoring

Larry Kunz@larry_kunz

25 April 2012

About me

• 30+ years in Tech Comm• Writer, architect, manager• STC Fellow

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Outline

• What do I mean by collaborative or structured authoring?

• Moving the organization (stages)• Putting it all together

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Structured authoring

Principle 1: Collaboration• You’ll work on pieces instead of whole

documents.• Multiple writers work together on the same

sections (chapters or appendixes).

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Structured authoring

Principle 2: Elements and attributes• Content has associated semantic

elements and attributes.• Styles are applied when the content is

published.

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Structured authoring

Principle 3: Reuse• Develop information once and use it in

multiple places• Topic- or element-level• Benefits: efficiency and consistency• Sometimes called single-sourcing

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Structured authoring

The business case• Cost savings through:

–Efficiency–Single-sourcing–Lower translation costs–Automated publishing process

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Structured authoring

The business case• Customer satisfaction through:

– Greater number of output formats– More nimble publishing process– Community-generated content

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Structured authoring

What it means to the writers• Probably new tools• The business case• Collaboration• Topics, not books• Different ownership model

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Methodologies for structured authoring

Two examples

• DITA http://dita.xml.org/

• S1000D http://www.s1000d.org/

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How do I move the organization?

1. Evaluate

2. Architect

3. Refine processes

4. Train

5. Roll out

6. Assess

7. Adjust

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Evaluate

• Future needs/business objectives• Needs of the audience• The financial landscape• Skills you have in-house

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Evaluate

• Current content• Current workflow• Current information flow• Current pains

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Architect

Is there a content strategy?• If so, align with it• If not, collaborative/structured authoring

makes it easier to devise one

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Architect

Architect for:• Topic structure• Relationships among topics• Reuse• Expected publishing formats• Content management

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Refine processes

• Planning• Authoring• Editing• Reviewing• Approving• Translating• Publishing

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Refine processes

• Find the gap between existing and ideal• Prioritize (pick your battles)• Ensure new processes allow for

collaborative, topic-based writing• Get buy in for all changes from all

stakeholders• Align new processes with current workflow

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Refine processes

• Have an implementationroadmap

• Communicate the roadmapto all stakeholders

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Refine processes

Reviews and approvals:• Not too rigorous, not too light• Must meet legal and regulatory

requirements• Use the software

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Refine processes

• Pick the right tools for the job• One size does not fit all• Consider:

–The current environment–How the tools work together–The workflow you’ve developed

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Train

Training is indispensible!

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Train

• Tailor to each set of stakeholders• Like a marketing campaign• Don’t rush it

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Illustration: www.startwithwhy.com

Train

For the writing team:• Structured authoring fundamentals• Practical, hands-on training• Soon enough, but not too soon

For the technical staff:• Description of XSLTs, schemas

For SMEs and reviewers:• Processes & tools for reviews/approvals

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Roll out

• Time it to align with project schedules• Pilot projects are ideal

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Assess

• Be sensitive to the mood• Relax: You won’t get everything right the

first time

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Adjust

• Have a Plan B in your desk drawer• Fall back to the old way• Leave some processes alone for now• Recalibrate and try again

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

- Thomas Edison

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Putting it All Together

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Evaluate

Architect

Refine processes

TrainRoll out

Assess

Adjust

Putting it All Together

It doesn’t all happen overnight• Set a realistic timeline• Manage expectations• Monitor and assess constantly

Don’t be deterred by failure

DIY or hire a consultant?

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Q&A

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