categoryallspace2-Content Management http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Content-Management A directory of resources about content management in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Content-Management http://tc.eserver.org/31487.html http://tc.eserver.org/31487.html 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.) http://tc.eserver.org/31491.html http://tc.eserver.org/31491.html One of the things I like about WordPress is its versatility. WordPress isn’t just blogging software. With the right theme, you can build a website that doesn’t resemble a blog at all. Essentially, writers who become familiar with WordPress become empowered as web designers as well. http://tc.eserver.org/31352.html http://tc.eserver.org/31352.html What would you do if you had to develop and deliver personalized training to 900,000 employees, located in 34,000 different locations globally with a complex set of variables that changes training on a location-by-location basis? The key is reusability 2.0. While technology-delivered training has become mainstream in many organizations, most are still not fully leveraging the power of reusable learning content to meet their instructional needs. http://tc.eserver.org/31368.html http://tc.eserver.org/31368.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/31287.html http://tc.eserver.org/31287.html Thank heavens for big sisters—especially mine. I was over at Franca's house sipping hot chocolate and catching up on life. While we spoke, she was assembling another one of her family scrapbook masterpieces. We started talking about her work—she is an international marketing and publication relations consultant. As we discussed the internal communication challenges one of her clients was facing, I had a flash of brilliance. What if we helped the client put together a story scrapbook and then used it to facilitate conversations around the organization? http://tc.eserver.org/31272.html http://tc.eserver.org/31272.html Firms wrestling with unstructured data such as emails and spreadsheets don't see enterprise content management as the answer to their problems. http://tc.eserver.org/31273.html http://tc.eserver.org/31273.html Content migrations are often the dirty little secret that folks in the CMS world like to avoid. It’s hard, it’s messy and very few organizations do it well. Truth be told, the content migration can often be the hardest part of implementing a new CMS. http://tc.eserver.org/31160.html http://tc.eserver.org/31160.html Documentation written for single-sourcing (topic based, like that found in DITA) has great potential for efficiency. Writing once and publishing in many publications (Developer Guides, User Guides, etc.) and many formats (pdf, html, HTMLHelp, etc.) turns into cost and time savings. However, these efficiencies can cause inefficiencies for the users. Many online help users complain they cannot find the information they need while using the search function. Readers are more likely to comprehend texts with a classical book architecture, an architecture which is often sacrificed in single sourced documents and online Help files. When texts are cohesive, readers are more likely to consider information to be clear, well organized and easy to follow. For comprehensibility, it is essential to have a manual review, even when composing is partially automated. http://tc.eserver.org/31169.html http://tc.eserver.org/31169.html By ensuring a document process is put in place and all people in your company know where to find information, how to request changes, update, and distribute new content, and who has the permission to manage the content you will be well on your way to having a viable content management system. Adding the software to automatically manage the content will only come when core principles of the organization require it. http://tc.eserver.org/31170.html http://tc.eserver.org/31170.html Assuming the tools are now within the range of an average small to medium business and all the other costs associated with implementation are still there, what incentive is there for a business to want to change to CMS or XML? http://tc.eserver.org/31141.html http://tc.eserver.org/31141.html In all companies, the requirements of an editorial system are worked out individually from the analysis of existing functioning and the definition of editorial and publication processes required in the future. The first important criteria for analysis are change frequencies and degree of reuse of the published information. The description of the information types as well as translation sequences constitute another starting point for the definition of a modular work process (single-source principle) and publication options (cross-media publishing). http://tc.eserver.org/31142.html http://tc.eserver.org/31142.html What is the current scenario for applications and systems in the area of technical communication? Who is using which editor? And how many companies are using a Content-Management-System? To answer these and other questions, tekom conducted a survey from July to November 2006, which was conceived as an online questionnaire and made available via the tekom web site. 547 participants took part in the survey. http://tc.eserver.org/31146.html http://tc.eserver.org/31146.html Dokumentenmanagement schien immer eine teuere, aufwendige Angelegenheit der Großunternehmen. Die Einführung einer Document-Related-Technologies-Lösung gleich welcher Ausprägung erfordert Anpassungen an Infrastruktur, Abläufe und Arbeitsorganisation. Dies wollten sich bislang viele Mittelständler nicht leisten. Ihr Credo lautete: "Durch so ein elektronisches Dokumentenmanagement-System bekomme ich doch keinen einzigen Kunden mehr". Diese Situation hat sich geändert. Auch der Mittelstand wird zunehmend in elektronische Geschäftsprozesse eingebunden. Die Abhängigkeit von Software in Verwaltung, Logistik, Kundenbetreuung und Produktentwicklung wird immer größer. http://tc.eserver.org/31125.html http://tc.eserver.org/31125.html The next time you start a conversation about Content Management with someone, start by trying to gain an understanding what they think content management is. You might be surprised. http://tc.eserver.org/31117.html http://tc.eserver.org/31117.html The fact that a Workplace could be considered 'quick' is not properly linked with the easiness to find information or with the speedy level of the communications: in this context it is linked to the Wiki feature of assuring a real-time updating access to contents and resources (data, information or knowledge and physical resources). http://tc.eserver.org/31118.html http://tc.eserver.org/31118.html A flexible workplace is characterized by the capability of individuals to manage not only their work, time or resources, but also the possibility to influence and operate in an active way inside the community (from team to organizational level) and for these reasons to be part of the operational process. http://tc.eserver.org/31119.html http://tc.eserver.org/31119.html The true collaboration occurs when people have the possibility to co-work on the same sub-task, activating a mechanism of new knowledge creation. Collaboration is not so obvious if is not clearly supported: the risk is to exchange this 'together' learning process with a simple cooperation process, producing not new knowledge but only a simple addition of individual regress knowledge. http://tc.eserver.org/31120.html http://tc.eserver.org/31120.html The possibility of sharing improves an effective distribution of common resources (meeting room, projector, corporate car...). In a more general acceptation of the term, the availability to ideas or previous solutions useful for different use is an advantage that make co-creation of new knowledge and a healthy circulation of knowledge possible. http://tc.eserver.org/31121.html http://tc.eserver.org/31121.html A common element between Wiki philosophy and innovation successful case histories, is the partial or total absence of structure or, saying better, of hierarchy. The possibility, in fact, to contribute in the same way, indifferently at which level you are involved in the organization, is one of the first steps towards the reduction of barriers to collaboration, participation and involvement in the organizational life. http://tc.eserver.org/31122.html http://tc.eserver.org/31122.html Strictly linked with transparency concept, openness is at the base of the principle that people work better if they have access to the right information and possibility to assume that all over the organization. The simple access to other group member data or the possibility to know activities scheduled also in other groups are normal operations in a mature context such as is allowed to look to other team solutions or results in order to decide something for the own team. http://tc.eserver.org/31017.html http://tc.eserver.org/31017.html Discusses some principles of managing an information search firm and their similarities to managing corporate libraries. Compares information search firms to other professional service firms. Describes the evolution of one small business and science information search firm. Gives insights into managing customer service and client relationships, quality control and processes, risk taking and professional growth. Touches on David Maister's theory of the quality experience and Michael Gerber's idea of the role of the entrepreneur vs the technician in small start-up businesses. http://tc.eserver.org/30997.html http://tc.eserver.org/30997.html Open source content management systems can make creating and managing your website a lot easier - and there's no licensing fee involved. But which should you use? We look carefully at Joomla, Drupal, and Plone to compare their strengths and weaknesses. http://tc.eserver.org/30863.html http://tc.eserver.org/30863.html This article will discuss how technical communicators can break the fundamental trade-off between the need to re-use as much information as possible on one hand and the need to produce customer specific technical communication on the other hand. I will begin with a description of the fundamental trade-off between re-use and customized communication. I then make an analogy with the field of manufacturing, which has found ways to deal with a similar trade-off. Universal information modules are introduced as the solution, allowing the application of the manufacturing principle of mass customization to technical communication. The article ends by outlining the requirements needed for supporting tools to apply the notion of universal information modules. http://tc.eserver.org/30799.html http://tc.eserver.org/30799.html JoAnn Hackos, content management and information design expert, gives her best advice on what organizations need to know about moving legacy documentation to DITA. http://tc.eserver.org/30798.html http://tc.eserver.org/30798.html A discussion of the shift to structured content in pharmaceutical product labeling, which builds upon SPL and PIM regulations and the fundamental concepts of enterprise content management. http://tc.eserver.org/30771.html http://tc.eserver.org/30771.html Every web site is conceived and designed keeping in view a particular purpose to serve. The aim of web site may vary: some web site intends to showcase products or services of the company it belongs to, some provides information to its target audience, or some just exposes its company on the web in a brand building exercise. This is to note that whatever be the nature of web site, web copy plays it own crucial role in furthering the interest of the site. It is imperative that web content is easy-to-read, easy-to-find, and easy-to-understand. http://tc.eserver.org/30684.html http://tc.eserver.org/30684.html A lot of stuff gets lumped under the heading 'content management.' In my experience, however, all the technical activities under the banner of content management can general be broken out into four disciplines. http://tc.eserver.org/30685.html http://tc.eserver.org/30685.html Behind all the questions about how to model something is a bigger question: do you model it at all? When is it obvious to structure some content, and when do you just throw it into the 'WYSIWYG pile'? http://tc.eserver.org/30646.html http://tc.eserver.org/30646.html Content management, or CM, is a set of processes and technologies that support the evolutionary life cycle of digital information. This digital information is often referred to ascontent or, to be precise, digital content. http://tc.eserver.org/30604.html http://tc.eserver.org/30604.html This document assesses WordPress 2.01 against the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. http://tc.eserver.org/30583.html http://tc.eserver.org/30583.html Structured document processors (SDPS) enable companies to make document production more efficient and accurate, while improving reliability of documents that must be updated frequently or written to very strict format standards. Achieving these goals requires elaborate and highly technical customization of the SDP. This paper emphasizes the importance of collaboration in customizing SDPS to particular document development processes. Three case histories illustrate the spectrum of ways industry is using SDPS for writing, showing three different approaches to customizing SDPS. http://tc.eserver.org/30567.html http://tc.eserver.org/30567.html SAPhelp is a proprietary authoring tool for documenting and translating on-line. It allows development, documentation, and translation to function concurrently. Its documentation structure lessens the need for redundant storage of texts. It provides version and authorization control and assigns work to authors and translators. http://tc.eserver.org/30531.html http://tc.eserver.org/30531.html Maintaining documents after they are published (making technical corrections and clarifications, adding mussing information) is a large and important task - a task that is often pushed aside or overlooked entirely by writing departments. Our writing department was frequently behind in this maintenance work and wanted 10 improve our maintenance service to our customers. We needed to find a new, efficient way to handle the work -- quite a challenge given a shrinking work force and growing workloads. This paper describes the solution we devised, its early successes and its obstacles. http://tc.eserver.org/30438.html http://tc.eserver.org/30438.html A unified content strategy can help your organization to avoid the Content Silo Trap, reducing the cost of creating, managing, and distributing content, and ensuring that content effectively supports your organizational and customer needs. A unified content strategy is a repeatable method of identifying all content requirements up front, creating consistently structured content for reuse, managing that content in a definitive source, and assembling content on demand to meet your customers' needs. http://tc.eserver.org/30298.html http://tc.eserver.org/30298.html Information on Software as a Service, ERP Technology, SaaS Software, Enterprise, CRM, Vendore, IT, SME and SaaS News. http://tc.eserver.org/30269.html http://tc.eserver.org/30269.html Automated templates are an alternative to traditional supporting information for helping users perform complex tasks. In this study users performed tasks with and without wizard to trial and error, printed manuals, and online the use of automated templates. Results suggest that if fakes help, and examined the use of supporting information some time for users to learn to use automated templates, but in performing complex tasks. We also considered once they do, the templates help users perform tasks more whether automated templates serve an educational successfully and more quickly. http://tc.eserver.org/30258.html http://tc.eserver.org/30258.html Organizations today face the challenge of two important enterprise architecture requirements: the need for agility and the overhead of regulatory governance. These requirements can be seen as mutually antagonistic -- if business processes must be flexible, then governance of those processes may be difficult. This article, part six in a six-part series, explores the notion of using manageability as a key enterprise architecture (EA) quality attribute to solve this problem. EA development is an ongoing process, and the central idea of this article is that by applying manageability as an EA attribute, the organizational processes, systems, and software become manageable. http://tc.eserver.org/30232.html http://tc.eserver.org/30232.html This whitepaper defines a new publishing paradigm, which we will call dynamic content delivery. Dynamic delivery changes the rules, putting the reader in charge of what content is important and how it should be packaged. It transforms publishing to an audience of many to publishing to an audience of one. http://tc.eserver.org/30229.html http://tc.eserver.org/30229.html The Darwin Informaton Typing Architecture (DITA) is an XML-based document format that was designed from the ground up for reuse. It rocks. Content Managment Systms (CMSes) are designed to hold XML data. So in theory, a CMS system that lets you edit like a Wiki would be everything you need. But getting a system like that to work is a pretty tricky proposition. http://tc.eserver.org/30199.html http://tc.eserver.org/30199.html The single most important factor in a successful CMS implementation lies with you and your people. Your staff members are the principal users of the system, and the SMEs in your organization are the secondary users. It is their adoption of the new processes and governance structures that makes or breaks a CMS implementation. According to some, process and cultural change accounts for 90%, while technology contributes only 10% to the success of a CMS. http://tc.eserver.org/30145.html http://tc.eserver.org/30145.html The Bank of Canada manages the public debt as fiscal agent, for the Federal Government. As a public service organization, it is committed to deliver quality services to its clients in a cost effective and efficient manner. Recognizing that a fundamental role of documentation is to provide continuity within a changing environment, the Public Debt Department (POD) piloted best practices benchmarking of its internal documentation unit with partners identified as having best-in-class processes. http://tc.eserver.org/30120.html http://tc.eserver.org/30120.html To streamline the product documentation process, many technical publication teams are moving to Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). Learn best practices for applying this information model, and hands-on techniques for improved content creation and publishing with JustSystems XMetaL. http://tc.eserver.org/30121.html http://tc.eserver.org/30121.html The problem with many Web 2.0 applications is the assumption that the community's motives are good, or at least neutral. Perlin's column explores how one of the drawbacks of Web 2.0--potential loss of control over information--has manifested itself. http://tc.eserver.org/29995.html http://tc.eserver.org/29995.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/29973.html http://tc.eserver.org/29973.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/29945.html http://tc.eserver.org/29945.html The term 'double-edged sword' may have been created with content management systems in mind. On one edge, they hold great promise for organizations in terms of their ability to create and manage content that is more accurate, less costly to produce, and more consistent in appearance and message. On the adjacent edge, they can present a myriad of challenges and barriers in their implementation and ultimate acceptance by the people using them - and purchasing them. http://tc.eserver.org/29946.html http://tc.eserver.org/29946.html Are you looking to buy a single-source content management system and want to take it for a test drive? Great idea! Choose your favorite system and do a proof-of-concept. Here are ten tips to prepare for a proof-of-concept and ensure its success. http://tc.eserver.org/29913.html http://tc.eserver.org/29913.html Information models are a critical component of single sourcing, enterprise content management, and dynamic content management. The information model is your blueprint for the effective writing, structuring, and delivery of reusable content. This session explains how to design information models, including information product models and element models. It also explains the role of metadata and how to effectively design it. http://tc.eserver.org/29910.html http://tc.eserver.org/29910.html From October 2001 through August 2002, a team of two technical authors converted the documentation for a Web Content Management System from a series of static manuals to a single-sourced, dynamically delivered context-sensitive online help/print manual combination. This paper covers the challenges encountered and overcome when resources became more scarce and demands rose. It offers some technical insight in the application of Adobe FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher Professional to achieve the goal of manageable documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/29895.html http://tc.eserver.org/29895.html Though there have been numerous conference papers, articles, and books devoted to the topic of single sourcing, there have been fewer works about potential problems that should be identified before adopting a single-source documentation strategy. This study looks at ten specific problems (including issues of training, productivity, and morale) that can arise during the implementation of a mature single-sourcing model of documentation management. This list of problems, while not comprehensive, does provide some points of reference and a framework within which technical communicators can consider the implications of adopting a single-sourcing documentation model. http://tc.eserver.org/29809.html http://tc.eserver.org/29809.html I'm all for formulaic writing. I love hierarchies and classification. I'm all for measuring content. There is a 'right' way to write content. Sure, it may not be the 'perfect' way, it may not be the way Shakespeare or Joyce would have written it, but it'll do. It'll get results and deliver value. A production line can be set up where this content can be mass produced, tested, and measured. http://tc.eserver.org/29761.html http://tc.eserver.org/29761.html Moving your company to a content management system requires intense commitment and planning by everyone: management, writers, and vendors. Allow at least a year to define and develop the necessary tools, and provide training and support for the writers on an ongoing basis. As a writer, documentation department, or vendor, you should participate in the planning, development, and implementation. To ensure success, conduct rigorous testing, do a pilot project, and encourage teams to share information freely. http://tc.eserver.org/29750.html http://tc.eserver.org/29750.html When it comes to information management or content management strategies, particularly at the enterprise level, there is a strong tendency (and desire) to create long-term plans. This briefing will explore some of the issues encountered when creating and executing long-term plans, and will argue for an approach that delivers benefits on a much more frequent basis. http://tc.eserver.org/29742.html http://tc.eserver.org/29742.html A weblog or 'blog' is a Web site with content consisting of a series of discrete postings added sequentially and presented in reverse chronological order. Historically used for personal Web sites, blogs in fact represent a form of lightweight content management that can be adapted to virtually any topic, including technical communication. The recent explosion of blogs is in part a result of the availability of publishing tools that simplify their creation. These tools vary significantly in capability, setup, and ease of use, and each offers advantages and disadvantages. http://tc.eserver.org/29744.html http://tc.eserver.org/29744.html This paper presents a case study of implementing a content management system in a federal government setting. This case study may aid technical communicators who are interested in leveraging content management technology and who work for complex organizations or organizations with intricate communications requirements. Included in this paper is a detailed description of the background, approach, and early lessons learned for this implementation. The implementation was still in process at the due date of this paper. Additional lessons learned will be in the presentation's slide set and available from the Society for Technical Communication (STC) website at www.stc.org. http://tc.eserver.org/29751.html http://tc.eserver.org/29751.html Organisations around the world have already made their first forays into personalisation, however many more organisations are questioning what to personalise and how to go about it. So who is using personalisation and how effective is it? http://tc.eserver.org/29747.html http://tc.eserver.org/29747.html Choosing a content management system (CMS) is not just about finding the product with the right functionality. It's also about dealing with a vendor who can support your needs for the lifetime of the solution. This briefing explores the way most CMS vendors have evolved, what this means for the way they work, and what you should be looking for when purchasing a solution. http://tc.eserver.org/29752.html http://tc.eserver.org/29752.html The functionality of the content management system (CMS) is obviously a key deciding factor when purchasing a new product. Equally important is the usability of the CMS. http://tc.eserver.org/29746.html http://tc.eserver.org/29746.html Scenarios are narrative descriptions or stories that concisely outline how something will work in practice. In the context of a content management system (CMS) project, scenarios are a very effective way of documenting key CMS requirements, and they complement the formal lists of functional requirements typically found in tender documents. http://tc.eserver.org/29634.html http://tc.eserver.org/29634.html Frequent updates for a swarm of modular plug-ins were interrupting work on larger, higher-value projects. Worse, development was happening in a time zone 12 hours away, making communication a major bottleneck. Faced with fixed resources and growing commitments, our writing group extended existing tools to automate information gathering and rough draft creation, thereby halving the writer time each module required. This paper describes the user interface, tool extensions, and reusable information approach we used to solve the problem. http://tc.eserver.org/29638.html http://tc.eserver.org/29638.html The impact of XML and content management on the field of technical communications is no longer just a speck on the horizon. This paper presents techniques and observations from the trenches of a real-world XML-based content management system implementation that is being used to develop and publish print and online documentation at a prominent software company. http://tc.eserver.org/29659.html http://tc.eserver.org/29659.html The increasingly collaborative nature of the workplace--including writing teams and documentation groups--heightens the need for sophisticated document management solutions. Written for managers of workgroups and writing/editorial leads, this paper examines some common issues, including version control, document lifecycle management, and support for collaborative authoring and review. This paper also presents a model for finding and implementing a technology solution that makes sense for your team, as well as a case study of a successful implementation. http://tc.eserver.org/29565.html http://tc.eserver.org/29565.html Academic writers are used to having their ideas encapsulated and enshrined in printed text (e.g., a journal article or a book), but publishing them in a wiki strips them of this protection. What happens when strangers change our writing? Since the traditional academic publishing paradigm has not caught up with the open-editing, peer-to-peer model, are we equipped to deal with the paradigm shift that wikis represent? These are issues we consider in this short piece. http://tc.eserver.org/29554.html http://tc.eserver.org/29554.html If we can solicit user participation in a Web 2.0 knowledge community (a volunter wiki documentation, for example), we might have a powerful means for creating high quality content. But how should this process work? http://tc.eserver.org/29544.html http://tc.eserver.org/29544.html Wiki is a category of web server software that allows users to contribute content. Collaboration is the key to Wiki, which is designed as a powerful system for online communities to build web pages and web sites. Unlike blogs and forums, all users are allowed to contribute and edit existing content. Wiki is derived from the Hawaiian term "wiki wiki" meaning "quick". The concept behind a Wiki is that collaboration on projects will move it along quicker. http://tc.eserver.org/29397.html http://tc.eserver.org/29397.html Cisco Systems recognizes a need to move from creating and delivering large inflexible training courses, to database driven objects that can be reused, searched, and modified independent of their delivery media. This effort is called the Reusable Information Object Strategy. This strategy defines the standards and process for designing and developing Reusable Information Objects (RIOs) at Cisco Systems. http://tc.eserver.org/28944.html http://tc.eserver.org/28944.html The Rockley Group takes a look back at the year 2006 in review. What happened in the CMS market? How is globalization changing the content management landscape? And, what about new communication vehicles like blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS feeds? http://tc.eserver.org/28945.html http://tc.eserver.org/28945.html Customer Relationship Management (CRM) relies on both methodologies and technologies to assist an organization with the management of all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer. Companies achieve an effective CRM strategy by centralizing information about their customers, ensuring they have access to effective support channels (e.g., self-service, call centers) and by making a concerted effort to know as much as possible about their customers. Knowledge about the customer makes it possible to closley match customer needs with targeted product plans and offerings, point customers to the right information at the right time, and help them accomplish their tasks. http://tc.eserver.org/28949.html http://tc.eserver.org/28949.html Moving to content management is as large a paradigm shift as moving to the Web was during the 1990s. It's hard to remember how frustrated we were in dealing with non-linear text, the constraints of HTML, and writing in a less formal style. If the 90s was the decade of the Web, technical communication 2.0, this is the decade of content management. It's techcomm 3.0, and we're entering the field with an improved feature set. Soon we'll reflect on this time of change and say, 'I could never go back.' http://tc.eserver.org/28946.html http://tc.eserver.org/28946.html When you hear the term "customer centric content management", you might think we're talking about marketing content. We're not. We're talking about managing the delivery of all types of content, including marketing content. And, we're specifically talking about providing individuals -- people -- both existing and prospective customers, with only the content that is relevant and of interest to them. You may think you already do a good job at this task, but in most organizations, there is significant room for improvement. Most of the problems are caused by one very big mistake: failing to listen. http://tc.eserver.org/28947.html http://tc.eserver.org/28947.html Since version 1.0 of XML was released by the W3C in early 1998, its use has been growing by leaps and bounds. Content managers and software packages were early adopters and enterprises are increasingly implementing XML-based systems. A number of events are now converging which will make available an unprecedented number of XML documents on the internet. The implications are numerous and will have trendendous impact on many of the fundamental dynamics of the Internet as we know it today. http://tc.eserver.org/28933.html http://tc.eserver.org/28933.html Content Management Systems promise so much: content is easier to publish, easier to update, and easier to find and use. Lots of promises, but do CMSs really deliver? Masood Nasser examines why Content Management Systems often fail and shows how Information Architecture can come to the rescue. http://tc.eserver.org/28931.html http://tc.eserver.org/28931.html Many Web professionals consider content inventories critical parts of most projects. Are there certain specific things to look for during a content inventory? Fred Leise definitely thinks so. He proposes a set of content analysis heuristics and discusses how to utilize each one. http://tc.eserver.org/28930.html http://tc.eserver.org/28930.html As interactions proliferate, so does the content that supports them. Why should software professionals take a step back and examine their content from a philosophical perch? Rachel Lovinger takes a look at content strategy and the benefits of its perspectives. http://tc.eserver.org/28801.html http://tc.eserver.org/28801.html As companies strive to improve themselves by rethinking their global content strategies and redesigning these for the new world of continuous and multilingual deployment, they must unify their authoring and translation processes--not an easy task. Fenstermacher explains why authors and translators should work to close the content gap that often exists. http://tc.eserver.org/28782.html http://tc.eserver.org/28782.html Ann Rockley shares information about an upcoming report on component content management systems her group will be releasing this summer. She also says the Rockley Group is launching a blog to provide quicker information to users in a more interactive way. She talks about the growing presence companies have in the blogosphere, and why they chose WordPress as their blogging tool. http://tc.eserver.org/28783.html http://tc.eserver.org/28783.html Thompson talks about his search for the right content management system. He talks about the importance of content reuse across an entire system and having a workflow for editing, reviews, and translation. He discusses AuthorIT as a possible CMS solution. He also gives tips for talking with CMS vendors without being suckered in. http://tc.eserver.org/28790.html http://tc.eserver.org/28790.html Kennedy's presentation on modular writing and reusability was attended by about 200 people. In her presentation, Debbie explained how to chunk content by first looking at different content types: procedures, processes, facts, principles, and so forth. She also mentions a tool called Content Mapper that writers can use to chunk and reuse information through Microsoft Word. http://tc.eserver.org/28777.html http://tc.eserver.org/28777.html This two-part series explores why DITA has created such a buzz in the content management arena, particularly among technical documentation teams--and how you can prepare for long-term DITA success. http://tc.eserver.org/28763.html http://tc.eserver.org/28763.html I talk with Katherine (Kit) Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny about their latest book, Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools. http://tc.eserver.org/28754.html http://tc.eserver.org/28754.html In this podcast, Katriel Reichman, a technical writer at Method M in Jerusalem, Israel, talks in-depth about how to use wikis for documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/28563.html http://tc.eserver.org/28563.html Many technical communicators find it difficult to manage all of the corporate content that their organizations create. Learn how CM can work for you by providing value to your organization as well as your customers and shareholders. http://tc.eserver.org/28561.html http://tc.eserver.org/28561.html The success of a CM project depends not just on process management, but on change management as well. Discover the ways that an organization can help its staff overcome initial resistance to change. http://tc.eserver.org/28559.html http://tc.eserver.org/28559.html Before you begin a pilot project using a CMS, you must understand how it will work. Read on to learn how to define your information model, set up your folder structure, create a metadata scheme, assign roles and responsibilities, define your workflow, and measure results. http://tc.eserver.org/28558.html http://tc.eserver.org/28558.html Learn about what a content management system (CMS) does and the different types of systems available in order to better understand how to select a new system or replace an existing one with a CMS that will be more effective for your organization. http://tc.eserver.org/28562.html http://tc.eserver.org/28562.html As other areas within organizations begin to consider structured content for the same reasons as technical communication departments, technical communicators have a golden opportunity to assist others in their move toward structured CM. http://tc.eserver.org/28560.html http://tc.eserver.org/28560.html Implementing and working with a CMS can be a challenge. The author provides some common reasons why CM implementations fail so you can try to avoid such mistakes. http://tc.eserver.org/28557.html http://tc.eserver.org/28557.html As technical publications groups are finding themselves thrust upon the main stage of the global economy, they face new demands such as reconstituting themselves internally and resituating themselves in their wider organizations. Read on for ideas about how to incorporate content management (CM) into the process. http://tc.eserver.org/28507.html http://tc.eserver.org/28507.html We reviewed and compared the seven tools most frequently used to create a blog. Which are easiest to get up and running, or to tailor to match your site? Which has the best comment moderation features? Reporting functionality? We'll give you all the details and recommend a tool for you. http://tc.eserver.org/28503.html http://tc.eserver.org/28503.html New online participatory tools like blogs, YouTube, and MySpace can be powerful and valuable--if they mesh with your goals. Colin Delany walks through the benefits and costs of common participatory tools and suggests which are likely to be useful for you. http://tc.eserver.org/28502.html http://tc.eserver.org/28502.html Selecting a content management system (CMS) can be a complex task, and organizations often run into pitfalls with processes, politics, and understanding the CMS environment. James Robertson outlines a common-sense approach to avoiding the most common mistakes. http://tc.eserver.org/28490.html http://tc.eserver.org/28490.html This podcasting tutorial will show you how to create your very own podcast quickly and easily! Think about listening to a radio show on a topic that you're interested in, but instead of having to tune in at a specific time, you can listen to the show at the time and place of your choosing. That's what podcasting enables you to do. http://tc.eserver.org/28417.html http://tc.eserver.org/28417.html More and more businesses are expanding into international markets. A critical success factor for this expansion is high-quality, cost-effective and timely translated written content. Responsibility for this typically falls on internal translation departments or localization partners. Translation comes at a high price, exceeding the cost of writing the original content after only a few languages. http://tc.eserver.org/28306.html http://tc.eserver.org/28306.html A look at three hosted wiki services that are free or relatively cheap to use and provide easy tools to set up your wiki within minutes. http://tc.eserver.org/28198.html http://tc.eserver.org/28198.html According to a June 2006 study conducted on behalf of the Online Publishers Association (OPA) by the Center for Media Design at Ball State University, advertising dollars aren't keeping up with skyrocketing consumer web demand. http://tc.eserver.org/28196.html http://tc.eserver.org/28196.html A triple-barreled question facing many enterprises today is whether to use an application-building tool or 'framework' to build a content management system (CMS); to buy one of the many out-of-the-box finished products in use by major Web sites; or to simply rent a CMS from an application service provider (ASP) and avoid the headache of running an application server in the enterprise's data center. http://tc.eserver.org/28197.html http://tc.eserver.org/28197.html What are we to think when so many products are being marketed these days as a CMS? For starters, content management seems to have won the day over many management software paradigms in the last decade or so. Companies that once did document management, knowledge management, information management, or--dare we remember--data management, all herald their products today as content management software. http://tc.eserver.org/28154.html http://tc.eserver.org/28154.html In the same way that the word 'truthiness' is not a real word but is gaining usage in our culture, so the word 'connectfulness' offers us in the professional arena a way to express an important aspect of our work. Just as truthiness says more than accuracy and is friendlier than truthfulness, so connectfulness says more than networked and is friendlier and more inclusive than connectedness. http://tc.eserver.org/28159.html http://tc.eserver.org/28159.html One of the ways that STC chapters can improve their value proposition to present and prospective members is to make available some of the best content that is created by and owned by the chapter members. http://tc.eserver.org/28184.html http://tc.eserver.org/28184.html A major topic among information development managers these days is single sourcing--writing information once and using it many times. Structured documents are critical for single sourcing. So, let's explore: what we mean by structuring documents; why structuring is useful; some of the concerns that writers have about structuring documents. http://tc.eserver.org/28132.html http://tc.eserver.org/28132.html Many companies outsource content management implementations to systems integrators, but what if the implementers are based half-way around the world? Wipro's Apoorv Durga offers some good advice for enterprises considering taking their next ECM project offshore. As this map suggests, the view is quite different from India. http://tc.eserver.org/28131.html http://tc.eserver.org/28131.html Summarizing recent CMS Watch research on portal software, Janus Boye finds that portal technology represents just the tip of the enterprise information iceberg. But given the diversity of portal scenarios, you should ask yourself which iceberg you're on. http://tc.eserver.org/28125.html http://tc.eserver.org/28125.html Your staff may already be using one of the most productive collaboration tools ever built. http://tc.eserver.org/28085.html http://tc.eserver.org/28085.html Modular writing involves writing, labeling, storing, and assembling content modules. Read about how to design and plan a modular writing project and how this writing system affects traditional roles and responsibilities within a publications team. http://tc.eserver.org/28003.html http://tc.eserver.org/28003.html Single-sourcing allows authors to re-use content in different deliverables. This article explores using XML and a CMS (content management system) to take a different approach--multi-sourcing. http://tc.eserver.org/27997.html http://tc.eserver.org/27997.html Much effort is focused, on the selection and subsequent implementation of a content management system (CMS). While it is obviously vital to ensure that the initial implementation project is successful, this is only the beginning of an ongoing commitment to growing and enhancing the use of content management throughout the organisation. http://tc.eserver.org/27991.html http://tc.eserver.org/27991.html This case study (which contains a complete set of model content) describes the processes of content creation, content management (CM), and event coordination used to plan and implement a professional meeting held in April 2005. http://tc.eserver.org/27992.html http://tc.eserver.org/27992.html A state-of-the-art knowledge base with a user-controlled faceted classification scheme. Most web directories (DMOZ ODP, Google, Yahoo) hard wire their category hierarchy. Here you can select the facet you want at the top of the hierarchy, then another facet for the next layer in the hierarchy, etc. A do-it-yourself taxonomy of content management systems. http://tc.eserver.org/27990.html http://tc.eserver.org/27990.html Describes the big 'gotchas' in choosing a web content management system. http://tc.eserver.org/27891.html http://tc.eserver.org/27891.html Interviews Chris Hill of DocZone.com and explores the lessons his firm learned while implementing the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). http://tc.eserver.org/27853.html http://tc.eserver.org/27853.html Most web-based content management systems offer a variety of tools to help contributors enter text. When it comes to graphics, content contributors are usually expected to provide web-ready images to the system. This means that either editorial users needs to know about image optimisation and web image formats, or additional staff are required to make web-ready images out of raw materials. This article demonstrates a technical solution to this problem. http://tc.eserver.org/27828.html http://tc.eserver.org/27828.html If you are a technical writer or manager of a documentation group you have probably encountered or been faced with solving problems like: single-sourcing, collaborative authoring, cross-platform editing, multi-channel publishing, improving information quality and consistency, enhancing functionality of electronic output, negating technology lock-in, and even reducing costs without reducing team head count. This article explores how the use of XML technologies within your authoring system can help you achieve each of these objectives. http://tc.eserver.org/27805.html http://tc.eserver.org/27805.html Review of MCMS Connector for SharePoint Technologies. http://tc.eserver.org/27804.html http://tc.eserver.org/27804.html A tool which can be used to do common tasks which Microsoft Content Management Server API provides. http://tc.eserver.org/27806.html http://tc.eserver.org/27806.html Provides a start page for search engines to crawl a Content Management Server (MCMS) web site. http://tc.eserver.org/27721.html http://tc.eserver.org/27721.html A controlled vocabulary makes a database easier to search. Since we have many different ways of describing concepts, drawing all of these terms together under a single word or phrase in a database makes searching the database more efficient as it eliminates guess work. However, arriving at this efficiency requires consistency on the part of the individual indexing the database and the use of pre-determined terms. http://tc.eserver.org/27593.html http://tc.eserver.org/27593.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27455.html http://tc.eserver.org/27455.html The Resource Library aims to provide a single comprehensive collection of content management related information. http://tc.eserver.org/27454.html http://tc.eserver.org/27454.html CM Pros is a membership organization that fosters the sharing of content management information, practices, and strategies. http://tc.eserver.org/27458.html http://tc.eserver.org/27458.html These are suggested steps to research Content Management System options for your organization, large or small. They can take you from knowing nothing about CMS to final vendor and product selection. Even if you are replacing a CMS with a new tool, you should follow these steps in the CMS lifecycle. http://tc.eserver.org/27453.html http://tc.eserver.org/27453.html The vision of enterprise content management (ECM) as a single system to manage all content became popular in 2000 and 2001. In theory, having a single, centralized system to organize and manage all of an organization’s content into an accessible and navigable electronic library is very attractive. Companies must manage a wide array of assets, including internal how-to documents to support business processes, internal and external correspondence, marketing literature, and product documentation. Organizations are buried in digital content, leaving people scrambling to find the right information when they need it. http://tc.eserver.org/27376.html http://tc.eserver.org/27376.html Unless we manage to make Drupal more accessible to new users and to get back to the basics, we'll find the ground shifting beneath our feet. http://tc.eserver.org/27375.html http://tc.eserver.org/27375.html This site is provided as a community service to everyone interested in looking for a means to manage web site content. Here you can discuss, rate, and compare the various systems available on the market today. http://tc.eserver.org/27280.html http://tc.eserver.org/27280.html We describe the system architecture and data template design for the Animal Diversity Web (http://www.animaldiversity.org), an online natural history resource serving three audiences: 1) the scientific community, 2) educators and learners, and 3) the general public. Our architecture supports highly scalable, flexible resource building by combining relational and object-oriented databases. Content resources are managed separately from identifiers that relate and display them. Websites targeting different audiences from the same database handle large volumes of traffic. Content contribution and legacy data are robust to changes in data models. XML and OWL versions of our data template set the stage for making ADW data accessible to other systems. http://tc.eserver.org/27271.html http://tc.eserver.org/27271.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27257.html http://tc.eserver.org/27257.html Ik heb mij altijd verbaasd hoe partijen als Vignette, Broadvision en Tridion zo veel geld konden verdienen. Ik was niet echt onder de indruk van de software, en tal van implementaties toonde aan dat er vaak problemen mee gemoeid zijn. Het gaat slecht in de markt van de standaard content management systemen. Kees van Mourik van OoipTech legt zijn vinger op de zere wonde en kijkt vooruit. http://tc.eserver.org/27156.html http://tc.eserver.org/27156.html Drupal's database design is stupid! it sucks! it is crap! To things clearer I am talking about design errors. Yes, they do exist. Some say that design errors are the basic cause of bugs in a system. They are right. Rather than go through a bunch of queries or rather hundreds of queries, I will just say that the database design has no relational qualities that would optimize and speed up the system what so ever. This a glaring whole in the knowledge of the Development team so if you are a joiner and want to contribute to the project then think about helping them out with the database design first. http://tc.eserver.org/27131.html http://tc.eserver.org/27131.html Last year before I discovered Drupal and a host of other Content management systems I was building websites from scratch. I spent hours in PHP and Active Server Pages coding and designing. I was quite happy doing so. But then I came upon a flaw in the business plan of the company where I worked. It seemed we were doing the same thing over and over again only with slight differences in the end result. These differences were the reason I was busy all the time but could never catch up to the work load. What we needed was a finished product that allowed us to produce addons to satisfy the individual needs of each client.