Do Screen Captures Still Make Sense?

Writing more simply helps keep content more manageable and can increase its usability. So why do we continue to litter content with screen captures, which can be difficult to manage and often duplicate what users already see in application interfaces?

Masalsky, Paul. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures

Ten DITA Lessons Learned from Tech Writers in the Trenches

This top ten list is based on interviews conducted by TheContentWrangler.com with technical writers at more than 20 software companies—tech writers that are actually using DITA to create documentation today.

Content Wrangler, The (2006). Articles>Documentation>XML>DITA

DITA For Business Documents? New OASIS Committee Says "Yes!"

Think DITA is just for procedural technical documents? Think again. A new OASIS DITA sub-committee has been announced whose purpose it is to explore using the popular technical documentation standard known as the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) outside technical documentation projects.

Content Wrangler, The (2007). Articles>Business Communication>XML>DITA

Usability Matters: Software Development and the Balancing Act Between Design and Usability

Marketing departments – especially in IT – like to speak in the modern lingo about a product’s innovative “Look and Feel”. While “Look“ refers to the design of the solution, “Feel” means usability, the quality of use. Developers of Content Management Systems and other enterprise IT solutions have to walk a fine line to meet the exacting demands of users in both areas. But in recent years a clear trend has become apparent: There is a drive towards the modern, “cool” product design where at a minimum usability takes a back seat, often to its detriment.

Bodemann, Jörn. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Experience>Usability

Understanding the Value of Modular Content Reuse by Examining User-Generated Music Mashups

In the field of technical communication, practitioners are being challenged to adapt to a completely new approach to creating documentation and user-assistance materials. In this rapidly-changing arena, traditional content production practices are being replaced with modular, topic-based content production practices that allow organizations to recombine content elements—often automatically or on-demand—into new, derivative products.

Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Audio

What is Intelligent Content? And Why Won’t Scott Abel Shut Up About It?

Intelligent content is content which is not limited to one purpose, technology or output. It’s content that is structurally rich and semantically aware, and is therefore discoverable, reusable, reconfigurable and adaptable. It’s content that helps you and your customers get the job done, often automatically.

Abel, Scott. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Content Management>Information Design>XML

Ten Irresistible Potholes that Writers Find on the Road to Globalization

Optimizing the translation process has two basic components: improving the writers' source texts and improving the translators' process. For the moment, we'll focus on the writer's job. Dear Translator: Please remember that most writers never had any training at all about translation and usually know one lonely language. Many of them can only rely on the limited writing advice that they got in school. They're never aware of how they can make life hellish for translators and for international readers. So, don't blame them; help them out. Pass this list on to them and discuss it until they understand.

Dillinger, Mike. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Language>Translation>Writing

Unlocking the Special Powers of the English Language 

Editing really is a wonder– it’s like a multiplication of the writer’s brain, a dialogue among various copies of the author. First-draft author is an admirable workman but a bit of a hack; he writes down whatever pops into his head. Second-draft author is slower-paced but has a clearer eye for how the larger story structure fits together, or at least how it should fit once he’s done with it. Third-draft author has a remarkable knack for turning familiar and overused phrases into fresh, surprising stuff, by masticating each line. And so on. All these guys team up to make something great, and none of them could have done it alone.

Deck, Jeff. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Writing>Editing

DITA Metrics: Savings Trend With Reusable Master Topics 

This is the second installment of the DITA Metrics series which examines the cost and reuse values for a DITA project to determine DITA ROI. This paper looks at the savings trend when reusable master topics are used to document similar products. How much does it cost to document each additional similar product?

Lewis, Mark A. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Project Management>Business Case>DITA

DITA Metrics: Developing Cost Metrics 

This paper helps you determine the cost portion of the ROI calculation. What are my costs now? What will my new costs be with DITA? This paper describes one model for calculating the cost of a DITA project. After doing some content analysis on your own documentation set, you can customize this cost model to suit your documentation project needs. In the end, you should be able to speak the financial language of managers and prove to them in dollar signs the value of moving to DITA.

Lewis, Mark A. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Project Management>Business Case>DITA