Documentation 3.0

Thei Geurts

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Introduction

• In the year 2008 Thei Geurts and Kees van Mansom developed the

concept of Documentation 3.0.

• We presented the concept in the same year at the ISTC Conference

in Eastwood.

• Some time after the presentation, we renamed the concept of

Documentation 3.0 into Smart documentation.

• This presentation contains the slides that were presented to the

members of the ISTC in Eastwood.

The last page contains links to the speaker notes, a blog article

and a white paper about Smart documentation.

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Documentation 3.0:the next phase in technical communication!

ISTC Conference 2008

24th September 2008

Thei Geurts

Kees van Mansom

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Introduction

Who are these guys? And what are they

talking about?

Kees van Mansom

Thei Geurts

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Introduction

Who are these guys? And what are they

talking about?

Introduction

• Context and impact

• Documentation 1.0 and 2.0

• The shift

• Documentation 3.0

• Feedback

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Context

People Stuff

Deals

make

is used by

do about

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Stuff

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People

Documentation

Manufacturing

Purchase

Product Development

Service

Users

Marketing

Sales

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Deals

The challenge

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Content Context

Content Context

Documentation

Manufacturing

Purchase

Product Development

Service

Users

Marketing

Sales

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High impact

• Continuous change

• Control

• Agility

• No splendid isolation

• The whole chain

• The whole lifecycle

• Customer centric approach

• Context sensitive

• Focus on use

• Focus on re-use

No time to lean back

No revolution, but evolution

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Documentation 1.0

• Product centric documentation

• Task and function based

• Focus on generic audience groups

• Multiple tools depending on the goals and audiences

• Documentation is an isolated process

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Documentation 2.0

• Process centric

• Primarily function based

• Focus on single sourcing

• Re-use

• Standardised toolbox

• Documentation is a collaborative

process

“This is only the box

The sheep you asked for is

inside”

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The shift

“Maybe we should

ask our users what

information they

need, instead of

just providing them

with everything we

want them to

know.”

“I want to shave my sheep”

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Documentation 3.0

• Customer-centric

• Based on the demands of the individual user

• Bridging the gap between content and context

• Focus on adaptability to constant changes

• Using multiple sources

• Increased focus on collaboration

• Adding semantic technology to the

standardised toolbox

• Using a knowledge-centered approach to documentation

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Semantic Technology: What is it?

Information

Co

nte

xt

Knowledge

Semantic Technology enables the transition from

information to knowledge 17

Knowledge = Information in context

Information

Co

nte

xt

My CAT unit is

not listening to

my voice

commands

I have not given

my CAT a

system name

yet.

I can’t issue voice commands because my

CAT unit can’t recognize it’s name yet.

Actions:

• Give the system a name

• Reinitialize the name repeatedly

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How does it work?

Data and

content

Meanings and

knowledge

Instruments

decision tree classification calculator dictionary search navigate

Knowledge

Models

CAT User’s Manual

How can I issue voice

commands to my CAT

Unit?What actions

do I have to

perform?

Meanings and

knowledge

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Example: What to do with the unit during vacations

• Our context:

• We are the owner of a CAT

unit

• Our situation:

• We want to go on vacation

• Our question:

• What should we do with our

CAT unit during our vacation?

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Choices and options

• Relevant questions:

• Should I take my CAT unit with me?

• If yes: How should I transport my CAT unit to my

destination?

• If no: Should I store the unit onsite or offsite?

• What do I need to do for onsite maintenance and

storage?

• What do I need to do for offsite maintenance and

storage?

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User experience: let the computer decide for your users!

Context model

Who benefits from it?

• Customers

• Service employees

But also:

• Product architects

• Sales employees

• Marketing

• Business partners

• Field engineers

The whole product life cycle!

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Product life cycle support

Documentation

Manufacturing

Purchase

Marketing

Product Development

Sales

Users

Service

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What do we need to get started?

CMS or other authoring

environment

High Quality technical

documentation

Models & taxonomies

Instruments

(Web) Application

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Feedback

Would this work for you?

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Further reading

• A blog article about Documentation 3.0 and Smart documentation

can be found here.

• The original ISTC presentation with speaker notes can be found on

www.eurosapiens.com. Please look for Documentation 3.0.

• A white paper with the title "Improve Product and Brand engagement

through smart documentation” can be found here.

• See also the other publications on www.eurosapiens.com.

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