Beyond the Buzzword: Single Sourcing  

Single sourcing, which has been a buzzword in technical communication for several years, is now emerging as a practical, efficient, and cost-effective method for creating multiple deliverables. You might want to consider single sourcing if you have some documentation projects that repeat, if not every one of your projects is a one-off, if you reuse some of your content, and if your budget planning includes more than just the very next project.

Brierley, Sean. Intercom (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Creating a Corporate Electronic Information Delivery Solution  

Tandem Computers Incorporated developed a new electronic information delivery system and changed internal publishing processes to achieve greater eficiency and customer satisfaction. We were able to move over 1,000 manuals and 11,000 pieces of support documentation along with education material from two different CD-ROM delivery products to one corporate viewer that supports publishing on both CD-ROM and the World Wide Web. The project included creating a new viewer using industry-standard components, creating new publishing tools, and establishing new corporate relationships and processes.

Fingold, Sharon. STC Proceedings (1997). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Creating An Information Model

An Information Model provides the framework for organizing your content so that it can be delivered and reused in a variety of innovative ways. Once you have created an Information Model for your content repository, you will be able to label information in ways that will enhance search and retrieval, making it possible for authors and users to find the information resources they need quickly and easily.

Hackos, JoAnn T. WebRef (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Web Design

Designing an Information Set for Single-Sourcing  

The single source in a robust single source system is not any one of the outputs that may be created from that source. The single source is an information set from which many outputs may be created. Designing an information set is different from designing a document. Greater structure is required, and that structure must be available to the process that creates information products as output, not simply to the reader. A good information set design involves creating a data model, mapping information relationships, and defining patterns of change.

Baker, Mark. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Do-It-Yourself Single-Sourcing  

In recent years, countless articles and conference workshops have touted single sourcing as the Holy Grail of technical writing. Countless articles and conference workshops have also told us that XML is our means to achieving the Grail. However, in the absence of any off-the-shelf products that facilitate XML and single sourcing in our current work environments, I suspect that most people, particularly in smaller companies, believe that implementing XML is too technically daunting, too expensive, or both.

Wersan, Fred. Intercom (2003). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Dynamic Content Management  

Until recently, technical communicators created static content--content that is created in a specific way for a specific purpose (e.g., user guides and help) and that remains the same until the technical communicator deliberately changes it. As single sourcing has made it possible to write information once and use it many times, technical communicators have begun to create static customized content, which is designed to meet the specific needs of the user, the materials to be developed (such as user guides, reference guides, and training), and the delivery media (paper or online). The content is customized for a particular requirement at a particular time but cannot be changed without being regenerated by the author. Now, the ability to create dynamic content will change the way technical communicators envision, create, and distribute information.

Rockley, Ann. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Web Design

An End-to-End Multilingual Content Management System  

This article will not try to answer why there's no end-to-end content management solution that supports the whole process from single-source authoring to multilingual publishing. At least, it cannot be bought off-the-shelf. Only companies with the size of J.D.Edwards are able to integrate the various components. They will even find the resources and the necessary expertise to implement vital components that are not readily available on the market (e.g. multilingual terminology management system).

Vangilbergen, Ludo. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Language

Evolving Client Content

Content management systems are only as good as the content they manage. Garrity explores the care and feeding of low-budget clients who need high-quality content.

Garrity, Steven. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Web Design

From Web to Print

The Web is WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. What you see on the monitors and via the connections - and what you use for beta testing - is what your work will look like to all those who check out your URL. What's on your screen will be pretty close to what's on their screens. Print is a different matter altogether. Once your files leave your computer, there's a whole wonderful road they have to journey along to make it into print. You do everything you can to make sure they're ready for their adventure, but just as you're likely to forget your toothbrush or your favorite socks when you take a trip, your files often go to print missing a vital item. You can only hope that the thing you forgot about is easy to correct and not a big expensive mistake that blows your deadline and your budget. Getting your files through your service bureau (where your files are turned into negatives so that your negatives ultimately become the finished product) and to the printer is like taking up the gauntlet. Best case scenario, you'll be winded; worst case, you'll be pounded to a bloody pulp. I fear I'm showing my bias toward the Web.

Frew, Jim. Webmonkey (1999). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Implementing Single Sourcing in Your Organization  

Single sourcing is more complex than buying a new software application. To ensure a successful migration, you must carefully understand the documentation development processes in your organization, what single sourcing is, and what software is available to facilitate it. Because you must change the way your organization creates and maintains documentation, you must sell your organization on the changes and their cost. Finally, you must develop training to help transition writers to your single sourcing methodology.

Sukach, Rebecca, Robert Kennedy and Marie Devine. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

An Introduction to Single-Sourcing  

A brief, high-level introduction to single-sourcing.

Simply Written. Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

The Joy of Single-Sourcing

At MYOB® (Mind Your Own Business) Australia, we have just finished our first single-sourcing project using mif2go to convert FrameMaker source files to HTML Help *.chm files. These files are also the source of our printed user guide and the hyperlinked PDF of the user guide placed on the distribution CD. There was considerable once-off pain setting up conversion templates (including CSS files) and conversion options but our next project will be much faster. The converted files do not require any hand tweaking -- we just hand over to the release people to put the *.chm file on the installer CD. Our testing and support people are rapt, and consider the new help far better than the old help. It has a navigation pane with Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites tabs, a toolbar with Hide [navigation pane], Prev, Next, Back, Forward, Print, Options, and Welcome (custom Home) buttons. An outsider would have no inkling that the help was converted from FrameMaker source files as the appearance is completely different from the printed book and hyperlinked PDF. You, too, can single-source successfully provided you plan beforehand and your team understands the process.

Finger, Hedley. IRTC (2001). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Making a Business Case for Single Sourcing  

As we learned in the February 2001 issue of Best Practices, in JoAnn Hackos' review of the book, The Balanced Scorecard, selling innovative ideas to upper management is important. The Balanced Scorecard approach includes a customer perspective, an internal-business-process perspective, and a learning and growth perspective, in addition to the financial perspective. A solid and balanced business case allows you to gain management support and reach your goal.

Center for I.D. Management, The (2001). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Business Case

Managing and Delivering Your Content as Data  

Houser describes several options for organizations interested in data-oriented publishing--the delivery of discrete, independent pieces of information that can be selected, manipulated, and presented to meet the needs of different audiences with different characteristics and different goals.

Houser, Alan R. Intercom (2003). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>XML

Meet Me in RIO: Implementing Reusable Information Objects  

Reusable information objects and reusable learning objects are the building blocks of e-learning courseware and e-documentation. A strong business case can be made for implementing a single-source content repository for RIOs/RLOs to achieve reusability between enterprise applications. Keys to achieving reusability include: an effective metatagging scheme, appropriate levels of granularity, and adherence to standards such as the SCORM.

Ruyle, Kim E. STC Proceedings (2001). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Off the Paper and Onto the Web

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how we adapted content from a full-color, printed brochure to create a visually rich Web site for attendees at a fictional design conference. As you follow along, you’ll learn tips and tricks that can help you move content from InDesign to GoLive to get the results you want.

Adobe (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Adobe InDesign

Selecting a Content-Management System  

Your output requirements will drive many of your decisions when selecting a content-management system. An abbreviated version of the checklist from JoAnn Hackos’s book, Content Management for Dynamic Delivery, follows to aid you in defining your output requirements.

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Tina Hedlund. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Single Source Tools: An Integrated Solution  

Tools are a key component for the success of single sourcing. Tools should be selected to support the information model and development processes. This session reviews the types of single source tools (authoring, XML, content management, output, and dynamic content engines) that are available to you today. The session presentation will review the available tools Note that the tools mentioned in this paper may change by the time of the presentation.

Rockley, Ann. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Single Sourcing: It's About People, Not Just Technology    

Cautions that failing to focus on the people in the organization may diminish the success of a single-sourcing initiative. Covers changes that need to occur in the organization to support a single-sourcing initiative and ways to address issues of change.

Rockley, Ann. Technical Communication Online (2003). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Single Sourcing: Our First Year  

Single sourcing creates multiple documents from a single content file. Developing single-source content is an efficient way to produce documentation. This topic has stirred considerable interest among technical writers the last few years and more and more departments are adopting the process. The following experiences and advice, based upon our use of FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher Professional, are meant to assist a documentation department that is about to begin a single-source process or is considering making this transition.

Welch, Erin Beal and Lori Beard. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Transform a Single Source Into Many Designs  

When one layout just isn’t enough, you can easily tag your Adobe® InDesign® document and export the content to an XML file. Different InDesign templates and Adobe GoLive® dynamic Web pages can then import the XML file and repurpose the content. Say goodbye to copy-and-paste and hello to the future of publishing!

Adobe. Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Adobe InDesign