I was reading JoAnn Hackos article on easy DITA authoring solutions and it got me thinking about what the word “easy” means in regard to DITA or any similarly complex technology. Can an editing interface make DITA easy? Some DITA consultants that I know complain bitterly about tools that make that claim. DITA may be many… Read More »
Ask what minimalism is (in a Tech Comm context), and you are likely to get a recitation of the four principles of minimalism. Per JoAnn Hackos, the four basic principles of minimalism are ♦ Principle 1: Choose an action-oriented approach ♦ Principle 2: Anchor the tool in the task domain ♦ Principle 3: Support error… Read More »
Every documentation tool has a built in information design bias. When you choose a tool, be it FrameMaker, DITA, AuthorIt, a WIKI, or SPFE, you are implicitly choosing an approach to information design. If you don’t understand and accept the design implications of your tool choice, as many people do not, you are setting yourself… Read More »
Do we write documentation to fulfill a responsibility, or to create a business asset? Are we striving to meet a set of requirements pronounced by either convention or regulation, or are we striving to increase corporate revenues and contribute to shareholder value? The question is provoked by an interesting discussion with Jonatan Lundin in the… Read More »