Maximizing Corporate Bandwidth Utilization and User Satisfaction ... at the Same Time!  

We are drowning in a sea of information. The challenge is to learn to swim in that sea, rather than drown in it.

Warner, Scott. KMworld (2001). Articles>Knowledge Management>Content Management

MCMS Connector for SharePoint Technologies Review

Review of MCMS Connector for SharePoint Technologies.

Huen, Stephen. Code Project, The (2005). Articles>Content Management>Server Side Includes>Microsoft SharePoint

MCMS Manager

A tool which can be used to do common tasks which Microsoft Content Management Server API provides.

Ragel, Chester. Code Project, The (2005). Articles>Content Management>Server Side Includes>ASP

The Meaning of Knowledge Management

We hear the term knowledge management bandied about. It sounds suspiciously like a trendy new phrase for what we used to call 'documentation.' In truth, knowledge management is more than documentation. It encompasses documentation, data management, library management, and information design. Knowledge management is increasingly important; as the amount of content has increased, the task of locating the information in the content has become more difficult. You see, information is different from content. And knowledge is something that derives from information.

HyperWrite (2004). Articles>Knowledge Management>Information Design>Content Management

Meaningful Microcontent

Microcontent refers to small, granular, and possibly representative (that can provide a summary of or a navigation to a larger set of information) bits of information, typically available on the Web. An example in the domain of journalism might be headlines and news summaries, small bits of content that can be used on a front page of the news with links to more in-depth articles. The definition has grown in scope as much as in its application.

Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2006). Articles>Documentation>Content Management>Technical Writing

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Acting without planning can be expensive, and because of the potential cost of poorly thought-out actions, we should not only plan, but plan twice.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Project Management>Planning>User Centered Design

Measuring Intellectual Assets

Twelve techniques used to value corporate intellectual assets.

Montague Institute Review (1997). Articles>Knowledge Management>Assessment

Meeting Crazy Deadlines

We are all against bonded labour and slavery. I ask you: are software professionals (including technical writers), better off than slaves and bonded labourers?

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Methods of Knowledge Transfer: an Example from the Pharmaceutical Industry

Knowledge management plays a very critical role in the day-to-day operations of my organization. The transfer of knowledge is shared verbally through casual conversations, meetings, conference calls, brainstorming sessions, and voice mail. Written communication appears daily in the form of memos, sticky notes, and e-mail. Documents such as records, change control forms, policies and standard operating procedures must be retained by my company. These papers often contain business critical data that needs to be stored and referenced at a later time. In order to manage this extensive list of documents, there are several management systems implemented throughout the corporation. Areas such as Human Resources, Finance, Clinical Research and Content Management utilize these systems to support their business activities. As a content specialist in the Pharmaceutical industry, I am responsible for supporting some of these systems. Some of the content that I support can be considered simply data. This type of material includes image files, such as GIFs and JPEGs, javascripts and customized ASP or JAVA files. These files are not referenced by employees and are used to support the functionality of the management systems. The primary system used throughout the organization for managing content is Documentum.

Green, Eugene. STC NJIT Student Chapter (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Case Studies>Biomedical

Metrics for Knowledge Management and Content Management

Metrics are a concrete way of defining what a knowledge management or content management project will achieve, and whether it met those goals. In an environment of tight budgets and high expectations, metrics are an appropriate next step for an industry that prides itself on delivering big benefits. Defining metrics is not easy, however, and much study and further practical experience will be needed before implementing such measures becomes simple or commonplace. This article reviews the benefits of metrics, outlines some commonly used measures, and presents some practical tips and tricks. It is hoped that this article will further stimulate the current discussions on the use of metrics in the knowledge management and content management communities.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2003). Articles>Content Management>Knowledge Management

Microsoft Content Management Server

This document takes a look at the business reasons for implementing a content management system inside a corporate environment, and how Microsoft Content Management Server can be leveraged to provide low-cost and rapid development of a content management solution.

Duffy, Scott. XGuru (2002). Articles>Content Management

Microsoft Content Management Server Crawl Page for Search

Provides a start page for search engines to crawl a Content Management Server (MCMS) web site.

Huen, Stephen. Code Project, The (2006). Articles>Content Management>Server Side Includes>ASP

Moving 50,000 Pages of Unstructured Content to DITA

In 2006, Business Objects faced a major challenge. How to migrate over 50,000 pages of unstructured non-topic based documentation it had acquired through rapid growth and acquisitions. The answer was to use DITA to standardize content creation, management, translation and publishing processes company-wide. In this short podcast, David Holmes talks about how he and his team migrated 50,000 unstructured pages to DITA. (DITA is an XML architecture that allows you to better single source your content.)

Holmes, David and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>Content Management>DITA

Moving Legacy Documentation into DITA: An Interview

JoAnn Hackos, content management and information design expert, gives her best advice on what organizations need to know about moving legacy documentation to DITA.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Data Conversion Laboratory (2007). Articles>Documentation>Content Management

Moving to an XML-Based Web Site

In early 2007, I started the task of reworking the ageing HyperWrite Web site. The site was originally created in 1995. It underwent a major rework (to a frames-based design) in 1997, and was reworked in 1999, 2000 and 2002. In the decade since the Web site was launched, not only has Web technology moved on, but HyperWrite's activities, focus and business direction are now quite different. Time and budget were set aside to renovate the site to better serve HyperWrite's business needs, and to serve as a practical example of the company's capabilities.

Self, Tony. HyperWrite (2007). Articles>Web Design>Content Management>Case Studies

Moving to Modular Documents  

Lam’s software-controlled robotic etchers demanded multi-disciplinary manuals that were time-consuming to write. Since both software and hardware changes required a six-month re-write, manuals lagged behind product. Dividing manuals structurally into modular books enabled separate updates, as most urgently required. Modular engineering approaches to ongoing etcher development later drove a different modular design; but the approach enabled quick documentation of rapidly changing product. Company growth and product proliferation now combine with computer technologies to drive development of increasingly smaller modules of information, leading to a database model for books that may someday match individual machines.

Snavely, Deborah. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Content Management>Writing

Moving to Single Sourcing: Managing the Effects of Organizational Changes    

Argues that the move to single sourcing often requires changes within teams as new skills are introduced and members' roles shift. Points out that while some changes may threaten the stability of the team, managers can anticipate and prevent problems.

Bottitta, Jeanette, Alexia Prendergast Idoura and Lisa Pappas. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Collaboration

Moving to the Public: Weblogs in the Writing Classroom

Given that students have access to the Internet, weblogs can easily replace traditional classroom uses of the private print journal. While weblogs are normally public, free tools such as Blogger can be used for private, expressive writing.

Lowe, Charles and Terra Williams. Into the Blogosphere (2004). Articles>Education>Content Management>Blogging

Moving UX into a Position of Corporate Influence: Whose Advice Really Works?

Was documenting and evangelizing (i.e., explaining and advocating for) UX work considered to be a critical component of what it took to move UX into a position of corporate influence? It was in some companies, but not in others.

Anderson, Richard I. uiGarden (2007). Articles>Management>User Experience>Workplace

Multilingual Knowledge Management Empowers Global eBusiness  

With the penetration of Internet technologies into global business operations, employees at every level are collaborating across multiple geographies.

Sargent, Benjamin B. ZDNet (2001). Articles>Knowledge Management>Collaboration>Online

Multilingual Publishing with a Content Management System  

Sheds light on the benefits of using a content management system (CMS) when publishing in multiple languages. Included are tips for shopping for a CMS, managing unique character sets, and managing the translation process.

Freeman, Bret. Intercom (2006). Articles>Content Management>Localization

Multilingual Websites with Open Source Content Management Systems  

Open source content management systems can be installed free of charge on an entity's servers or web hosting account, and provide a way for organizations to develop multilingual web sites. There are some challenges in finding a good open source content management system, but there are several that can fit a variety of needs. An example CMS is Plone, which has strong support for different languages, and which also integrates tools for managing the translation of content.

Kelsey, Todd. Association for Business Communication (2006). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Language

My CMS Ate My Search Engine Rankings

A dynamically-delivered site in and of itself need not denigrate your search engine rankings. Google and other spiders can follow dynamically-generated pages, up to a point. The key is to have links elsewhere on the site pointing specifically to those pages. If each page results from a purely dynamic query (e.g. using session variables), then you could be in trouble.

Byrne, Tony. CMSworks (2004). Articles>Web Design>Content Management>Search

My Paper Tiger is Purring

You know the adage that says it takes 21 days to create a habit? Practice has definitely established a new habit for me: It now feels comfortable to pick up a piece of paper and decide-on the spot-whether to throw it or keep it. And I'm thrilled to report that I'm throwing a lot more away the first time, rather than picking it up, putting it down, picking it up, putting it down. Who needs that kind of up and down exercise!

Book, Ruth. STC Central Iowa (2001). Articles>Workplace>Time Management

Navy Knowledge in Action: The Global Distance Support Center

While helping sailors at sea remain paramount, GDSC’s delivery of additional attributes demonstrated that knowledge could be used and reused to advantage. In a true knowledge organization, roles evolve and new knowledge customers may be served just as we did in the GDSC.

King, Kendall. STC NJIT Student Chapter (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Case Studies