As soon as creating user manuals became more tied to using help authoring tools, the idea of content reuse revolutionized the industry and showed direction for further development. If you are looking to move to a structured writing environment such as dita, its the first set of steps towards that goal. Kothes the istc firehead digital communications madcap software. Mar 20, 20 but moving to topic based authoring can be one of the most expensive things youve ever done. Create an information model so that it becomes a valuable tool for your move to topicbased authoring in xml make welltargeted decisions about how you will implement information types, content units, inline elements, and all the other parts of an xml document type.
Topicbased authoring allows for much more finelygrained measurement of content production. The team realized they needed to move to topic based authoring and singlesource publishing to multiple outputs. This is a more modular approach to creating user guides and help systems, and if you are used to writing word documents, moving to topicbased writing may seem odd at first. Topicbased authoring lets you create and reuse content, reduces project schedules, and improves your workflow. In the final analysis of the projects logistical aspects, i realized that a contractor who is comfortable with topicbased authoring can indeed produce more content of better quality, and with more cost efficiency. There are many aspects to consider before moving content from documents to. What makes topicbased authoring superior in modern techcomm. A topicbased architecture opens up the opportunity for large scale content reuse. Topic based authoring is popular in the technical publications and documentation arenas, as it is especially suitable for technical documentation. About topicbased authoring structured writing a topic is a unit of information with a title and content, short enough to be specific to a single subject. Madcap flare css training september 1920, 2016 web based.
Moving into topicbased authoring using dita andor implementing a content management system, see the cidm primer on information modeling. If youre thinking about making the move, here are some things that you should not do. Topic based authoring allows for much more finelygrained measurement of content production. Flare gave us the functionality we needed at roughly 10% of the cost of a traditional cms, which would have also required us to add more staff. According to madcaps website, flare allows you to create, manage and publish content to any format, including print, online, desktop and mobile devices. Were consistently getting 150 to 250 people signed up per webinar and im so happy. The team realized they needed to move to topicbased authoring and singlesource publishing to multiple outputs. Another beneficial aspect of topicbased authoring content is the separation between the content and the format. Fundamental to most topic based information development is the concept of the separation of content from presentation and delivery. Additional dita resources bluestream content solutions. Information modeling for topicbased authoring comtech. Jul 26, 2018 topic based authoring is very modern approach and popular for large techincal documentation projects. For every twoyear cm reporting period, aicp members may claim up to 16 credits for authoring a planningrelated article, journal article, or nonfiction book.
With topicbased authoring, relatively short and to the point chunks of information are ideal, even for print. In structured technical writing, each topic, paragraph, sentence, list item, or table entry has a function that is strictly defined. Article 4 cm credits per article to qualify for cm authoring credit, the article must be. The main goal of topic based approach is the content reuse. Many of the leading technical authoring tools use a topicbased approach to content. With the ability to reduce costs, shorten project schedules, and meet an organizations strategic goals, topicbased authoring using a content management system cms is a costeffective way to create content. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Topicbased authoring implementations often focus on learning writing patterns, techniques, and technologies like dita and ccms. Online help systems became the moving force behind topicbased technical writing. With paligo, moving to topic based authoring is easier than ever. Prior to making the move to topicbased authoring, planning is the key to a successful transition.
Flare is a singlesourcing, topic based authoring platform, which uses xml markup for maximum flexibility. Mar 17, 2020 online help systems became the moving force behind topic based technical writing. If youre moving to topicbased authoring or considering the move, join me next week at the stc summit in phoenix for my presentation from unstructured documentation to structured topics. And with the import wizard, you can convert and import your existing content from html, docbook, dita, microsoft word, and more. Moving from bookbased to topicbased authoring k shortt and c thompson corptax automating translation management and localespecific builds brad keller componentone producing quality. Sharonburton well start at 3 minutes after the hour make sure your sound is working twitter. Dita has a topicbased architecture, requiring a topicbased approach to document authoring. Clickhelp is software for help writers that supports the topicbased approach. What not to do when moving to topicbased authoring.
This includes the time to rework the traditionally authored materials into topicbased content in order to make it work with the. If you are technical communicators, dita or docbook are good like others have said. You can create lessons that will adapt themselves to the screen size of the viewer, so your learners will be able to access them from any device. A topic based architecture opens up the opportunity for large scale content reuse. Paper surveys tend to be costly, even when using a relatively small sample. If welldone, you get a good idea of how the practical application of some nicesounding theories actually works out. Today topic authoring is almost as popular with written information as with online help systems. With much of the nation in frigid temps, i have to tell you its about 75 f today, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue. Jacquie samuels discussion on converting your current documents to dita. Is it time to move to topicbased content production. Regardless of whether you are designing and conducting training sessions for managers, demonstrating how to work with employees on development planning, or working oneonone to support the process, it is critical work to the organization and essential to its future leadership. But moving to topicbased authoring can be one of the most expensive things youve ever done. Howto videos for social media publication bonni graham scantron 4. It prevents those who do not need to understand dita, xml, and the dita open tool kit yuck.
Jan 27, 2020 for companies with a proactive global mindset and a need to localize content rapidly, moving from a traditional publishing workflow to topic based authoring in flare is a sea change that yields faster and more consistent source content creation, but also exponential rewards in localization by reducing cost, improving quality, and slashing. Those are important and useful, but topicbased authoring doesnt exist in a vacuum. Since we are creating output for smaller screens, and many customers may be reading text while on their feet, we need to get our technical documentation point across quickly. A topic should be short enough to be easily readable, but long enough to make sense on its own. Whether you need to create technical documentation for online help, software. Yes, you can do dita with microsoft office and sharepoint. The biggest challenge when moving to topicbased paradigms such as dita has proven to be the major change in the documentcentric mindset required according to a 2009 survey. But the driving force behind flare is a concept called topicbased authoring what really made flare click for me was finally getting the concept of topicbased authoring. When youre exploring software documentation, make a list of all the tasks you think users would do with the application. There are many tools that allow you to reap the benefits of structured authoring. May 23, 2014 if youre moving to topicbased authoring or considering the move, join me next week at the stc summit in phoenix for my presentation from unstructured documentation to structured topics.
Jan 28, 2015 10 mistakes when you move to topicbased authoring 1. This type of tool is aimed at enterprise users with a lot of documentation to manage, and potentially a lot of legacy documentation to contend with. Topicbased authoring is popular in the technical publications and documentation arenas, as it is especially suitable for technical documentation. Its important to know why you want to change your content strategy, and how youll evaluate whether youve been successful. Some added benefits are collaboration, singlesourcing, topicbased authoring, translation management, and others. Now, as i read yesterday, there is another, third approach modular authoring. The obvious immediate disadvantage is cost, time, and effort to implement the change. This article is within the scope of wikiproject computer science, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of computer science related articles on wikipedia. Misconceptions about topicbased authoring id rather be writing. The main reason for the topicbased approach to become a thing is content reuse.
Unlike writing in a linear based tool, such as microsoft word, when you author using a topicbased approach you are not tied to the way the content is formatted. There is another version of the software called madcap central, a cloudbased help authoring tool that is meant to be paired with the desktop version. With topicbased authoring, you create each section of your content in separate containers called topics. Topicbased authoring is very modern approach and popular for large technical documentation projects. The main goal of topicbased approach is the content reuse. What is the difference between structured authoring and.
The lavacon conference on digital media and content strategies. Articles on writing, management and hiring writing. The suit supports interactive assessments, screen recordings, video lectures, conversation. The important changes in technical writing practice include the separation of content and form, using modular information units, document assembly, contextneutral. Mar 20, 20 10 mistakes when moving to topicbased authoring 1. Well start at 3 minutes after the hour make sure your sound is working 10 mistakes when moving to topicbased authoringsharon burton twitter. So instead of creating your entire document in one. The dita wiki knowledge base explains that the topicbased authoring has been a mainstay of technical information development since we first began developing help systems. Many of the leading technical authoring tools use a topicbased. The 5 types of authoring tools technical writers use stc. About topic based authoring structured writing a topic is a unit of information with a title and content, short enough to be specific to a single subject. Dita has a topic based architecture, requiring a topic based approach to document authoring. The lavacon conference on digital media and content. Nothing changes other than you will now be part of the madcap software family of customers.
Lets compare topicbased and modular approaches to help writing. No longer are documentation managers restricted to only measuring when a document is completed and published, but they can now get a better understanding as to how long it takes to produce content. Madcaps flagship authoring software enables students at all skill levels to create online software documentation that incorporates stateoftheart practices, such as topicbased authoring and singlesource publishing. If you already made the move and youre struggling, these do nots may show you. Topicbased writing refers to the method of writing content so that its chunked into short topics instead of longer chapters or documents. The format will be a project walkthrough miniworkshop in a. In this talk, sharon burton will show you the top 10 mistakes made by companies and how you can avoid. However, these types of tools are generally seen as allinones, described in more detail below. For companies with a proactive global mindset and a need to localize content rapidly, moving from a traditional publishing workflow to topicbased authoring in flare is a sea change that yields faster and more consistent source content creation, but also exponential rewards in localization by reducing cost, improving quality, and slashing. Rich functionality at a reasonable cost quantum began an evaluation of content management system cms solutions as well as tools for authoring and publishing, and the search quickly led the team to madcap flare. Unlike writing in a linear based tool, such as microsoft word, when you author using a topic based approach you are not tied to the way the content is formatted. However, if you will be having nonwriters contribute content, you will want a tool that is usable without any training. That tells me there is a need for these and people are really interested.
What is a good software for topicbased documentation writing. And, finally, how is it different from modular help writing. Another beneficial aspect of topic based authoring content is the separation between the content and the format. Moving into topic based authoring using dita andor implementing a content management system, see the cidm primer on information modeling. The way a piece of text looks during authoring should be totally irrelevant, if that topic is going to be potentially output to different documents, in different contexts. With paligo, moving to topicbased authoring is easier than ever. Create an information model so that it becomes a valuable tool for your move to topic based authoring in xml make welltargeted decisions about how you will implement information types, content units, inline elements, and all the other parts of an xml document type. Fundamental to most topicbased information development is the concept of the separation of content from presentation and delivery. Topicbased authoring is an aspect of structured authoring. If you were writing the user guides in a nontopic tool, such as word. In this talk, sharon burton will show you the top 10. It went very well and the response has been very good. Apr 20, 2018 many of the leading technical authoring tools use a topic based approach to content.
Carnegie mellon university instructors use madcap flare to. Instead of struggling to learn a new xml authoring tool, while simultaneously learning a new approach. However, if you will be having nonwriters contribute content, you. We did the one about making the business case for moving to topicbased authoring today. The biggest challenge when moving to topic based paradigms such as dita has proven to be the major change in the documentcentric mindset required according to a 2009 survey. Flare is a singlesourcing, topicbased authoring platform, which uses xml markup for maximum flexibility. The techniques used in topic authoring provide information developers with a way to create distinct modules of information that can stand alone for users. May 12, 2014 if youre moving to topicbased authoring or considering the move, join me next week at the stc summit in phoenix for my presentation from unstructured documentation to structured topics.
May 29, 2018 topic based authoring is an aspect of structured authoring. Topicbased authoring is the creation of individual topics that are relevant to the potential user of a manual, series of manuals, online help or web page. Madcap flare css training september 1920, 2016 webbased. This is a more modular approach to creating user guides and help systems, and if you are used to writing word documents, moving to topic based writing may seem odd at first. However, the issue addressed here is quite relevant for new flare users and those considering the move to topicbased authoring. And so theres this cultural shift and awareness shift thats happening across the enterprise. Topicbased authoring is very modern approach and popular for large techincal documentation projects. There are many aspects to consider before moving content from documents to a topicbased environment. The term topic can be thought of as being short for topical information unit, or a topical unit of discourse.
61 38 1501 472 751 154 29 1507 1324 1160 105 707 572 1238 137 179 866 343 1110 610 1241 1051 1408 1136 760 102 566 740 661 533 959 996 1283 1459 169