Be A Hero –
ELIMINATE “END GAME”
RoundUp 2007,
Austin TX
November 6th, 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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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.
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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”
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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)
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
What is “END GAME” ?
“END GAME” Can Be Your Worst Nightmare
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Choosing a Strategy
Topic or document based?
Authoring environment?
Publishing system?
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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...
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Choosing a Strategy
Authoring environment?

Adobe FrameMaker
» Large documents
» Powerful cross-reference and book operations
» Best of both worlds (XML and WYSIWYG)
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Choosing a Strategy
Authoring environment?

Microsoft Word
•
Available across enterprise
•
Reduced training cost
•
MS Office integration
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Choosing a Strategy
Authoring environment?

DITA-XML
•
Standards Based
•
Variety of Authoring Tools
•
Business Systems integration
•
Separates Content from Formats
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Create a Starting Point.

Create simple style template
•
Headings
•
Lists
•
Bullets
•
Note/alert styles
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Create a Starting Point.

Create sample use cases
 Images
 Tables
 Print vs. online
 Popup, glossary, etc.
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Becoming A Hero !
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
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
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
The Three Components
Map Document Style to Output Style
Source + Map = On Demand Publishing
Lights Out / Hands Off for Automation
Output
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Work Flow – Developing The Rules
Styles Template
Document
Designer
Document Style =
Output Style
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Work Flow – On Demand Publishing
Writers / Production
Output
Source + Map
Source Documents
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Work Flow – Automation
Lights Out / Hands Off
Source Documents
CMS
Output
Output
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Work Flow – Overview
Styles Template
Document Style =
Output Style
Source + Map
Lights Out / Hands Off
Output
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Source Documents
Questions ?
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation
Contact Info
Alan J. Porter
VP-OPERATIONS
WebWorks.com
Quadralay Corporation
9101 Burnet Road, Suite #105
Austin, Texas. 78758
Tel: 512-719-3399 x232
Cell: 512-968-7362
[email protected]
© 2007 – Quadralay Corporation