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Be A Hero – ELIMINATE “END GAME”

Be A Hero – ELIMINATE “END GAME”. RoundUp 2007, Austin TX November 6 th , 2007. Agenda. Introduction What Did We Learn From You ? What is “END GAME” ? How to Get Rid of “END GAME” Choosing a Strategy. Create a Starting Point. Becoming a Hero ! Q&A. Introduction.

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Be A Hero – ELIMINATE “END GAME”

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  1. Be A Hero – ELIMINATE “END GAME” RoundUp 2007, Austin TX November 6th, 2007

  2. Agenda • Introduction • What Did We Learn From You ? • What is “END GAME” ? • How to Get Rid of “END GAME” • Choosing a Strategy. • Create a Starting Point. • Becoming a Hero ! • Q&A

  3. Introduction • 20 + Years in Technical Publications • 10 Years in Production Shops • 10 Years in Publishing Software • Graphics • Content Management • Editing Tools • Publishing Engines • Document Conversion

  4. What Did We Learn From You ? The Boss “I don’t understand what’s so difficult – anyone can write. All you have to do is create the content and then just publish it.” The Reality Standards Software Products Focus has been on creating the content and formats but not the publishing process.

  5. What Did We Learn From You ? • “JUST PUBLISH IT” • Covers a lot of stuff.. • Tight schedules • Increasing requirements • Limited budgets • Changing user needs • Lack of management understanding • Writers are tenacious. • “THE END GAME”

  6. What is “END GAME” ? “END GAME” • Phrase Came From A Customer • Steps needed to create output formats (HTML, PDF, Online Help etc.) • Not about Content or Styling. • Repeatable for every release • Potential bottleneck (c.f. webmaster)

  7. What is “END GAME” ? “END GAME” Can Be Your Worst Nightmare

  8. How to Get Rid of “END GAME”. • Examine requirements • Legacy content? • Printed manuals? • Images? • Online format types? • Other languages/locales? • Lifetime of content? • Update interval? • Software budget? • Strive for automation • No post-conversion edits • Automate post-conversion steps • Avoid visual Q/A requirements at end • All errors identified by system

  9. How to Get Rid of “END GAME”. • Avoid over-reliance on best practices. • Flaws must be identifiable • Enforce conformance up-front • Avoid HTML lists unless enforced with structured editor • Track updates • Keep previous version for “diff” analysis • Compare conversion engine changes • Compare content changes • Simplifies final review • Prevents future migration difficulties

  10. Choosing a Strategy Topic or document based? Authoring environment? Publishing system?

  11. Choosing a Strategy Topic or document based? • Topics require up front effort • Documents are harder to reuse • Smaller means more work • DTD, Schema, or unstructured? Choose wisely...

  12. Choosing a Strategy Authoring environment? • Adobe FrameMaker • Large documents • Powerful cross-reference and book operations • Best of both worlds (XML and WYSIWYG)

  13. Choosing a Strategy Authoring environment? • Microsoft Word • Available across enterprise • Reduced training cost • MS Office integration

  14. Choosing a Strategy Authoring environment? • DITA-XML • Standards Based • Variety of Authoring Tools • Business Systems integration • Separates Content from Formats

  15. Choosing a Strategy Publishing system? • Standardized/productized • Open architecture • Content Management System Integration • Ability to maintain • Total cost of ownership • Support for new formats (i.e. Vista) • Automation/workflow flexibility

  16. Create a Starting Point. • Create simple style template • Headings • Lists • Bullets • Note/alert styles

  17. Create a Starting Point. • Create sample use cases • Images • Tables • Print vs. online • Popup, glossary, etc.

  18. Becoming A Hero !

  19. Becoming a Hero ! Ultimate goal • Free the writer • Focused on content not tool used • Provide ability for individual publishing • Peace of mind for management • Means for tracking content • Regular scheduled build runs • Means for adapting to future requirements

  20. Output The Three Components Map Document Style to Output Style Source + Map = On Demand Publishing Lights Out / Hands Off for Automation

  21. Styles Template Work Flow – Developing The Rules Document Designer Document Style = Output Style

  22. SourceDocuments Work Flow – On Demand Publishing Writers / Production Output Source + Map

  23. SourceDocuments Output Work Flow – Automation Lights Out / Hands Off CMS Output

  24. Styles Template SourceDocuments Output Work Flow – Overview Document Style = Output Style Lights Out / Hands Off Source + Map

  25. Questions ?

  26. Contact Info Alan J. PorterVP-OPERATIONS WebWorks.comQuadralay Corporation 9101 Burnet Road, Suite #105 Austin, Texas. 78758 Tel: 512-719-3399 x232 Cell: 512-968-7362 aporter@webworks.com

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