ComTech Services

Developing DITA Maps

DITA maps provide a mechanism for ordering topics and creating a topic hierarchy. Because DITA maps consist of lists of references to topics, you can reorganize the content in a deliverable simply by changing the order of the topic references. You can create different maps referencing the same source topics to create two deliverables to meet different users' needs.

Information Design: The Key to Reuse

Discusses the problems with poor information design: no consistent suite of information, no consistent structure, or idea how customers use their information.

One Source, Five Deliverables: A Case Study of Return on Investment

A case study of the implementation of a single-sourse content management system.

Single-Source Content Management: If, Why and How

Introduces the five levels of single-sourcing.

An Application of the Principles of Minimalism to the Design of Human-Computer Interfaces

Minimalism in information design, specifically as applied to user tutorials and manuals, was introduced in the early 1980s through the work of Dr. John M. Carroll, then a cognitive psychologist at the IBM Watson Research Center. Since that time, theorists and practitioners have further elucidated the principles of minimalism and have attempted to apply it to a variety of situations in which people attempt to learn how to use a software application. Most recently, a new exposition of minimalist principles and practices was published by MIT Press. This work, Minimalism Beyond the Nurnberg Funnel, represents the work of leading theorists and practitioners in the field.

Demystifying Information Modeling

The information model is a framework for organizing all the information people need.

Developing a Content-Management Strategy: Implications in a Multi-Language Environment

Why we went to a single-source CMS and how we went about it.

De Information Process Maturity Model (IPMM)

There are several reasons for the Information Process Maturity Model: moving beyond chaos; moving beyond the heroism of talented and dedicated individuals; moving toward a repeatable, reliable process. It is the reality of the 21th Century: People from the Western countries don't understand the real imagination of the post-soviet people in The Eastern European countries. The matter is: we have not been living in a private property society & and in a national liberal country till 1991. So, my personal and my colleagues' experince had been summarised there in the publicity book "BUSINESS in Ukraine". The main problem to solve is the countrywide system of a liberal market tersonality training. Everybody has to learn to be a master of its own personality and lot. Oleksandr Nahornyy, author, editor, producer

Let's Stop Writing Documentation and Start Working for the Users

Nearly 20 years ago, the profession of technical communication began to focus on developing task-oriented documentation. Although task-oriented documentation has always been produced, particularly for consumer products, it was not the standard in the computer industry. More often, people writing about computer systems focused on the system rather than on the tasks people needed to perform. Systems-oriented documentation was the norm.

Leveraging Complex Content for the Support Chain

The support chain is becoming increasingly important as we begin to understand the deep underlying economic trends of the last half-century.

New Manager's To-Do List

The transition to technical publications management can be difficult.

Selecting a Content-Management System

It's not about buying a tool; it's about understanding your requirements.

Selecting a Content-Management System

A discussion of the features and functions of content management software packages.

Seven Things New Managers Must Do in the First 90 Days

Discusses the creation of managed and sustainable workflow.

Stop Writing Documentation!

Redesign your information; write topics, not books.

Strategic Planning

What is strategic planning? A process for determining: where you are; where you intend to be; how you’re going to get there.

Twelve Weeks in the Life of New Manager

A timeline for things to do when beginning a management position.

Using the Information Process-Maturity Model for Strategic Planning

Why should we be interested in strategic planning for our information-development organizations? We might simply apply specific tactics for getting our everyday jobs done. We might focus our concerns on producing a manual or getting the online help finished. We might even plan far enough in advance to send staff members to workshops on the latest online help development tools. These tactics would get us through the day, or the week, or even through the end of the year, and we would be busy doing useful things (or at least things that we hope others find useful). But as we keep busy doing our everyday jobs, we may find ourselves surprised by the decisions of those who decide to eliminate our function, outsource our tasks, or disperse our staff throughout the organization. Only then we will recognize that we lacked an overall goal, a vision of what we should be doing, of how we want to be perceived in the future.

A Writer's Guide to XML Content Management

A discussion of how XML changes what you do as a writer.

Best Practices: A Case Study at Kohler

The plumbing division of Kohler Co. is no stranger to managing their content. They had been using BroadVision's document-management system, Relation Document Manager (RDM), for three years and authoring in Interleaf since 1989. But when BroadVision stopped supporting RDM, Mark Peterson, the technical publications manager at Kohler, was desperate to find a replacement. BroadVision offered BladeRunner, but that tool didn't sufficiently support the heavy and stringent print requirements of Mark's department. Plumbers don't always have adequate or readily available access to the Internet.

Customer Partnering: Data Gathering for Complex Online Documentation

Technical communicators today must document complex applications used in complex environments. Information about users and use models is important under these conditions, especially if documentation will be presented online. Customer partnering, a method of information gathering that supplements surveys, contextual inquiries, usability testing, and interviews, provides a way of involving the users of complex applications in the design of information delivery systems. We used this method to help a client gather important information about user and use models and design a new information library for complex server computer systems.

The DuPont Experience: Strategic Planning for Information Design and Development Organizations

This is a reprint of an article first published in Technical Communication. It explains the strategic planning experience of the Information Design and Development organization in DuPont's External Affairs division. The author describes why they undertook a strategic planning initiative, the process used, the logistics involved in preparing for and carrying out the process, and the results of their work. Their experience can be applied by technical communication work groups seeking to define and communicate their mission and value proposition within their organization. Original publication: Breuninger, Charles L. 1997. “The DuPont Experience: Strategic Planning for Information Design and Development Organizations.” Technical communication 44:394–400.

Enabling Language Translation with XML Tools and Standards

Maintaining consistency between a source document and its translated counterparts can be complex and troublesome. Innumerable challenges can arise with character sets, version control, text in graphics, tables, expansion of text, updates, and so on. Using XML for translation can help overcome some of these challenges. In this article, I explain how XML tools and standards can help remedy tricky issues related to translation.

Integrating Training and Documentation

The potential problems I detailed in working to integrate training and documentation functions do indeed occur in many organizations. They have also found that working out the problems is worth the effort.

Making the Business Case for Single Sourcing

Discusses ways to communicate the financial benefits, customer value, learning and growth opportunities, and internal process improvements made possible by single sourcing.

Oblivious Organizations and Content Management: Not Yet Ready for Prime Time

In brief, documents are created everywhere by everyone. They each develop the documents any way they like, with no common look and feel. Company officials have vehemently opposed hiring technical communicators for the R&D teams. They feel that the engineers know the products best and should be able to write about them. Marketing materials are created independently by many different marketing staff and even by executives who regularly post announcements to the company intranet and Internet sites.