The (reluctant) best of 2020
As 2020 comes to an interesting close, let’s take a look at some of our most popular posts and podcasts from the year.
Dita
DITA migration strategies
Migrating to DITA means more than just adding element tags. There are a few common holes in migration strategies that can prevent you from reaping all of the benefits of the converted DITA content. To avoid that mistake, make sure you have a plan in place for:
- Identifying and migrating reused content
- Managing links
- Processing images
These should be important factors when migrating your content to DITA, and they will require new workflows and changes in the way you handle the relationships in your content.
Improving DITA workflow
An organization’s first foray in DITA and structured content is most often driven by one of the following:
- Merger or acquisition: After a merger, the organization needs to refactor content workflows and so they decide to move into structured content and DITA.
- Localization: The organization is growing and needs to ramp up content production in many languages.
- Smart content: The organization recognizes content as a key business asset and wants to wring maximum value out of the content lifecycle.
Reuse with the Learning and Training specialization
You have your technical content in DITA, and you are reaping the benefits of reuse. Now it’s time to move your training content over, but it’s a little confusing to figure out how to structure your content with DITA Learning and Training elements. How can you best set it up to facilitate reuse with your existing DITA content?
LearningDITA updates
LearningDITA.com got a makeover! We rolled out an update to the learning management system to give you a better user experience when taking the courses.
LearningDITA: four years later
If you had told me in July 2015 that LearningDITA would have 10 courses and be available in three languages, I wouldn’t have believed you. Since the site’s initial launch, it’s grown from a single course to a major resource for those who need to learn to use DITA.
March 2025 update: We have moved LearningDITA to a new platform. The Introduction to DITA course is still free, and you can sign up for courses at store.scriptorium.com.
Migrating to DITA: convert or rewrite?
So you’ve decided to move your content to DITA. You want all the benefits of reuse and less expensive translation, and you’ve completed your content model. But now the question is, “What do we do with our existing content?”
Full transcript of CMS/DITA NA conference interviews: part two (podcast)
Elizabeth Patterson: Welcome to the Content Strategy Experts podcast. Brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997 Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize, and distribute content in an efficient way.
E. Patterson: In episode 51, we talk with vendors at the CMS DITA North America Conference about how they have seen DITA evolve during their time in the industry. This is part two of a two-part podcast.
Full transcript of CMS/DITA NA conference interviews: part one (podcast)
Elizabeth Patterson: Welcome to the Content Strategy Experts podcast, brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997, Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize, and distribute content in an efficient way. In Episode 50, we talk with attendees at the CMS/DITA North America Conference about how they have used DITA in their career and the challenges they have overcome. This is part one of a two-part podcast.
Smart content for marketing
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.
High return on high-design in DITA
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?
New LearningDITA course: The Learning and Training specialization
March 2025 update: We have moved LearningDITA to a new platform. The Introduction to DITA course is still free, and you can sign up for courses at store.scriptorium.com.
We are rolling out the newest LearningDITA course: The Learning and Training specialization. The specialization is for creators of instructional material, and this course explains how to use it.
Training new hires in technical communication
After an arduous job search process that took place during my senior year in the Professional and Technical Writing program at Virginia Tech, I was recently hired here at Scriptorium. One thing I have learned is that matching candidates, especially new college graduates, and jobs in the world of technical communication can be difficult.
Full transcript of DITA is everywhere podcast
Alan Pringle: Welcome to the Content Strategy Experts Podcast, brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997, Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize and distribute content in an efficient way. In episode 31, we discuss use cases for the DITA standard and how its adoption has spread beyond product content. What industries are using DITA and for what kinds of content?
DITA adoption beyond product content
We usually think of DITA as a solution for product-focused content development. More specifically, it’s used for developing customer-facing technical documentation and training content. And, as marketing and technical content have converged to deliver a more unified product content experience, DITA has served that need as well.
But what about content needs beyond products?
Full transcript of You are not unique podcast
Welcome to The Content Strategy Experts podcast brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997, Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize and distribute content in an efficient way.
In episode 27, we discussed the myth of uniqueness, or, the “we are special” syndrome. Unique needs of published content are not always the best criteria for determining content processes.
Full transcript of best practices for localizing DITA content podcast
00:00 Bill Swallow: Welcome to The Content Strategy Experts podcast brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997, Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize and distribute content in an efficient way. In episode 19, we discuss best practices for localizing DITA content.
Revisiting the ROI of DITA
This post is part of Scriptorium’s 20th anniversary celebration.
Back in 2011, I wrote a post on how to calculate the ROI of DITA.
Full transcript of specialization podcast
00:02 Gretyl Kinsey: Welcome to the Content Strategy Experts podcast brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997 Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize, and distribute content in an efficient way. In Episode 16, we discuss DITA specialization.
LearningDITA Q&A
Scriptorium is hosting a live, interactive question and answer session about the authoring courses on LearningDITA.com! Whether you want to go over a specific exercise or you just need some help getting started, bring your questions and join us for the discussion.
Full transcript of DITA Learning and Training podcast
00:03 Gretyl Kinsey: Welcome to The Content Strategy Experts podcast brought to you by Scriptorium. Since 1997, Scriptorium has helped companies manage, structure, organize, and distribute content in an efficient way. In episode 14, we discuss the DITA Learning and Training specialization.
Back to school: measuring content strategy ROI
Here in the United States, the summer is now officially over and students are back to school. For many, this means a change in routine and a fresh outlook on the remainder of the year. This is an excellent time to direct that fresh outlook to your content by measuring your content strategy ROI.
Beyond production: DITA transformations for QA
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.
Structured authoring and XML
Coauthored by Sarah O’Keefe and Alan Pringle
First published in 2001.
Structured authoring and XML represent a significant paradigm shift in content creation. Implementing structured authoring with XML allows organizations to enforce content organization requirements. The addition of hierarchy and metadata to content improves reuse and content management. These benefits, however, must be weighed against the effort required to implement a structured authoring approach. The business case is compelling for larger writing organizations; they will be the first to adopt structured authoring. Over time, improvements in available tools will reduce the cost of implementing structured authoring and make it affordable for smaller organizations.
