When we create content, whether it’s a blog post or an instructional guide, we think about our own requirements. What does the style guide say about how to word this phrase? What formatting do I apply here? But if we pull back and look at the other teams that we work with, there’s a broad spectrum of content needs which often don’t line up.
However, there are still opportunities to bridge between silos, and ways to allow different teams to play together.
Reeling from a one-two punch of scattered and inaccessible content? Ready to transform chaotic content into a seamless user experience? I trained a scattered group of content using a combo of robust metadata and content filtering to publish player-specific rules guides. Get in the ring and find out how you can apply these lessons to your own content processes.
In episode 83 of The Content Strategy Experts podcast, Gretyl Kinsey and Jake Campbell talk about the next generation of DITA. What happens when you need to update your existing DITA structure?
“When you’re building everything out the first time around, you can do as much user acceptance testing as you want—but the best user acceptance testing is going to be live testing.”
—Jake Campbell
Jake Campbell talks about how you can utilize automated processes in a high-design environment.
“When we’re looking at high-design, we have a focus on form. When we’re looking at automated workflows, we’re looking at a focus on the content itself.”
—Jake Campbell
Smart content offers huge benefits to marketing groups. Although using tags and metadata to author content adds an extra step to the process, it’s important to look at the overall value that the step can add.
If you’re transitioning to DITA and have a wide variety of documents, it’s probably best to do a phased rollout. When you move into the second phase of that rollout, however, how can you best leverage the work that’s already been done to smooth the process?
I’ve written in the past on how a QA mindset can improve the quality and consistency of your content. While having a robust test set and test plan are useful, there’s another tool that you can use.
Getting your DITA content into a high-design format like InDesign is a tricky prospect. The biggest stumbling block is the fact that there is no intrinsic link between your ICML and the template that you flow it into. In the end, your InDesign template (you’re using one, right?) is the most important part of a DITA to ICML workflow; it contains the actual styles that will control how your output appears.
We’ve written before on what lurks beneath the surface of an InDesign file, and how drastically it differs from the DITA standard. When you’re looking at going from DITA to InDesign, though, there’s a lot that you need to take into consideration before you jump in.
Yes, I’m playing.
Even if you aren’t twitchily checking your phone and resisting the urge to run outside to catch a Pikachu or Gyrados, you’ve probably heard all about the phenomenon of Pokémon GO. One of the most common criticisms of the game is that the in-app documentation is sparse at best. In response, the community banded together and began to document their theories and findings. You can readily find articles covering “eeveelutions,” theories on how to more easily capture Pokémon, and how to capture opposing gyms. It hearkens back to a time of meeting up in schoolyards to swap tips and rumors.
