The best of 2015
Let’s wrap up 2015 with a look back at popular posts from the year.
Scriptorium wishes you the best for 2016!
Tag: content strategy
Tips for developing a taxonomy in DITA
When you’re coming up with a metadata strategy for your content, you should start by developing a taxonomy, or a hierarchy used to organize metadata. A taxonomy will help shape your metadata strategy and make implementation of that strategy possible. In this follow-up post to Making metadata in DITA work for you, you’ll learn some tips for creating a taxonomy that will succeed in helping your audience—both internal and external—find what they need.
Content strategy versus scope creep
Content strategy implementations require substantial planning, coordination, and hard work. The effort involved in keeping planned work moving along can be difficult. Scope creep–discovering new requirements along the way–can potentially derail your entire effort if you’re not careful.
Content should not be an obvious tourist
When you travel, do people ask you for directions and address you as if you live in the area? I’ve had that happen a few times, and friends and colleagues have shared similar experiences.
You may not stand out as an obvious tourist on your travels. But does the content you distribute fit in as well across different environs?
Unsung heroes of DITA (premium)
For some content developers—especially those using DITA for the first time—any features of DITA that go beyond the basics can seem intimidating. But sometimes, a special feature of DITA might be exactly what an organization needs to solve one of its content problems and save money. Features like conref push, subject scheme, and the learning and training specialization could play a powerful role in your content strategy—and they’re not as difficult to use as you might think.
Lean content strategy
Lean manufacturing begat lean software development which in turn begat lean content strategy.
What does lean content strategy look like?
Plumber’s guide to content workflows
Last week I was working in my home office when I heard an odd hissing sound. Upon investigation, I found that my hot water heater had decided to empty itself onto the basement floor.
Fortunately I had some failsafes in place; the heater’s pressure release valve was doing its job by routing scalding hot water onto the floor, and my floor is slightly slanted toward a drain in the floor. This got me thinking (because my brain is oddly wired this way) about failsafes in content workflows.
Localization: are you the weakest link?
There is an old proverb that says, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” While many of the links in the chain could be quite strong, it only takes one weak link to break the chain. There is one process chain in particular where this proverb rings true: localization. However, more often than not, little or nothing is done to identify and strengthen the weakest link in that process.
Content strategy amateur hour
“My team is looking into how we can use <incumbent tool> to handle our new content requirements.”
That’s what I heard from a manager during a recent phone call about a company’s expanding content needs. The tools-focused response made me cringe.
