Choosing The Right Tools For The Right Job

Choosing the Right Tools

Ann RockleyPresident, The Rockley Group Inc.

[email protected]

©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.

The Rockley Group Inc.


The Rockley Group sample clients


Agenda Key criteria/differentiators Use cases Q&A


Evaluating tools Selecting appropriate tools to support your

content strategy can be a difficult and lengthy process.

Your best defense for selecting tools is to be armed with as much information about them as possible.

You need to develop detailed evaluation criteria, develop use cases and test before you buy.

What we did and why


Key criteria User interface DITA/Standards Reuse Management Output/Publishing

Authoring


User interface Clean Easy-to-use Clear idea of next steps Access to functionality


Rules validation All elements have a start tag and an end tag The case of the element name in the start

and end tags is identical There is a single root element All elements are properly nested – no

overlapping elements (e.g., not <i><b></i></b>)

All attributes are properly punctuated Fully validating/validates at point of

authoring


CCM enabler Helps non-CCM systems with component

management Bursting Reuse Tracking reuse Reports

DITA


Map editor Drag and drop to rearrange the order and

hierarchy of topics Access to CCMS search functions to find

topics to add to a map Drag and drop from the CCMS interface

(search lists or browse windows) Easy dialogs for editing attribute values to

the topic reference


Linking/xref Maps Conrefs Topic IDs and topic names


Output/publishing DITA Open Toolkit Bundled style sheets Ease of FOSI editing/changes

Management


User interface Clean and easy-to-use Appropriate to multiple audiences Hide/show XML


Reuse Component Filtered Variable Derivative


Component


Filtered


Variable


Derivative Derivative reuse occurs when a content

component is reused with change. The derivative component is a “child” of the

“parent” (original) component. When the parent component changes the owner of the derivative is notified so that changes can be made to the derivative if appropriate. This ensures that content remains as similar as possible.


Reuse reporting Where used Percentage of reuse Derivative reuse Potential reuse


Repository services Version control Versioning Access control


Metadata and search Metadata for all levels of granularity Changing/adding metadata Simple search Complex search Saving searches


Workflow Interface Sample workflows Ease of change Parallel, sequential, notifications


Standards support DITA S1000D SPL DocBook XLIFF


Globalization Translation workflow Integration with TMS Hand-off to translation vendors Re-integration of translated content Terminology editor Global site management


Output/Publishing Integrated tools Transformations Book building Layout Assembly Automation


Vendor intangibles Like-minded Size Support Community Vision Stability


Identifying your needs Begin your evaluation process by identifying

your needs. Once you’ve documented your vision, you

can use it to identify your criteria for tools selection


Sample criteria


Weighting your criteria Must have Should have Nice to have


Use cases Sometimes called scenarios Put your requirements in the context of your

organization Real world example


As is sample Enterprise customer content, consumer

electronics, :MP3 player: Marketing defines customer requirements,

product feature definition and customer positioning statement for the new product.

Customer documentation team source information write new content, copying and pasting content from previous products whenever applicable.

Web team independently duplicates the same process, reviewing marketing materials and drawing on positioning and feature descriptions as required.


Cont. Call center gets the information from the

Customer Documentation team and Web team, and anything else they could find and rewrites it for their own needs.

Training repeats the process. Each group separately manages their

content through the translation process (80 languages).


To be All content is stored in a central repository

and is available for reuse. Marketing creates a product feature

definition and customer positioning statement for the new product in structured templates.

Customer Documentation and training team pair up, review specs and determine what is new, changed, or reused from an existing product, selecting existing content components for reuse whenever possible.


Cont. Web team reuses the task information with

the core steps being used as onscreen text in Flash demos. They augment with illustrations and animations. Marketing materials are reused and repurposed for the web.

Call Center identifies content to reuse, which is automatically published to HTML, filtering out extra detail but leaving core precise steps. These are automatically added to support web site and call center rep knowledge base.

The system tracks new and changed components translation with in context representation of content for review purposes.


Cont. Translated content is fed back into the

source central repository. Future translations match content from the central repository then send out new/changed content components for translation.


What the vendor learns Automation is important. Reuse is important. But equally important is

a systematic way to promote reuse, by having the system report on redundant content.

With the number of players in the process, workflow and notification are important.

The solution needs solid multichannel publishing capabilities, with the ability to bake HTML for sites.


Creating a list of potential vendors Conferences List serves blogs Magazines Web sites


Narrowing down the list1. Request a custom demonstration.2. Send out an RFP that includes your detailed

criteria.3. Evaluate the responses.4. Pick three vendors that most effectively meet

your criteria.5. Ask for a content-specific demonstration.6. Narrow your selection further.7. Conduct a proof-of-concept.8. If the product performs well during the proof-

of-concept, purchase it.


Summary1. Identify your criteria for selection.2. Develop a weighting system for your

criteria.3. Develop a list of vendors to investigate.4. Request a custom demonstration from

vendors that interest you.5. Send out an RFI/RFP to selected vendors

that includes your detailed criteria and ask them to respond to your questions.


Additional Resources www.rockleyreport.com www.rockleyblog.com

http://www.rockleyreport.com/

http://www.rockleyblog.com/

Questions?

Ann Rockley

The Rockley Group Inc.

www.rockley.com

[email protected]

905-939-9298

Technology

Choosing The Right Tools For The Right Job