Download - Single Sourcing Deconstructed
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
STC Toronto – March 11, 2003Presented by the Toronto Single-sourcing Special Interest
Group (SIG)
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
WelcomeIntroductions: Single-sourcing and our panelProcess and PlanningCreating Single-source ContentDelivering Multiple OutputsQuestions and Answers
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Toronto Single-sourcing SIGFormed in September 2002Meet third Thursday of each monthFor more information visit http://www.stctoronto.org
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Your panellistsModerator: Andrew BrookePlanning: Rob HannaFrameMaker: Michele MarquesWord: Byron Hills
Our Moderator: Andrew Brooke is a technical writer at InSystems. Andrew is the Job Bank Manager and Volunteer Manager for the Toronto STC chapter and writes “Career Corner” for the chapter newsletter. He is an active member of the Toronto Single-sourcing SIG.
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Single-sourcing overviewDefining single-sourcingAbout this presentationPlanning your single-sourcing projectCreating structure
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Working definitionsSingle-sourcing is any process used to systematically
create information products from a single defined source of information.
or
“Writing information onceand using it many times”
- Ann Rockley, 2001
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
About this presentationDraw from Ann Rockley’s
presentationCover off three stages in delivering a
single-source projectUse the résumé as an example
Planning
Authoring
Delivery
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Planning and processDefining your objectivesAnalysing your audienceDefining your source and structure
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
What are our objectives?Key objectives include:
Produce a résumé that is easy to update and tailor for each new job application.
Maintain various versions: Short/Long; Technical Writer/Team Lead; Contractor/Employee.
Maintain various formats including: Word, HTML, PDF, and ASCII text.
Showcase help authoring skills by producing a Windows help version.
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Can single-sourcing help?Single-sourcing will…
Improve the consistency of informationSave on maintenance and customization effortsImprove the quality of the contentRequire significant upfront planning and investment
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Return on investment (ROI)Expect return on investment if…
The document is deliverable to clients or is tied directly to a product or service
The document has a long life expectancyMany updates can be expected over timeSeveral variants may exist at any one timeParts of the document are reused elsewhereI can expect to recover my actual costs
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Who is my audienceHR DepartmentPlacement AgencyHiring ManagerAutomated systems
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Selecting a sourceDoes a source already exist?Do multiple sources exist?How will you resolve discrepancies between various
sources?Create your definitive source of information
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Building a structureDoes a structure already exist?Does it require modification for single-sourcing?Take a linear document and make it modular
Break the document into its component parts
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Resume structure Resume title
Objective Target 1 Target 2
Personal Profile Education
School Location Date Degree
Professional Experience Company Location Position Tasks Accomplishments
Skills Skill name Experience level Last used Years used
References Name Position Company Contact
E-mail Telephone
Description
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Creating single-source contentHiding and displaying single-source contentReorganising single-source contentSpecial considerationsWhat happens next
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Hiding single-source contentWhat to emphasize?
Different jobsDifferent tasksDifferent education
How?Applying conditional text
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Conditional textSet up & apply tags
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Conditional TextView all conditions
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Conditional TextShow leadership condition
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Conditional TextShow writing condition
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
ConsiderationsConsistency is required for good output
Consistent style of writingConsistent mark-up of conditions
FrameMaker limitationsConditions for multiple purposesText tagged with multiple conditionsCannot use conditional text to rearrange your content
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Reorganizing contentWhat is presented first?
Education at top vs. Education at bottom
How?Inserting files as content objects
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Inserted text objectsContent objects can be:
EducationExperienceObjective
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Inserted text objectsResume files contains content objects
Résumé 1
Objective
Résumé 2
Objective
Education
Work History
Work History
Education
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
ConsiderationsConsistency is required for good output.Planning decisions on how small are content objects.Planning decisions on whether headings go within
content object or within the document.Also influenced by desired outputs and those
limitations.
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
What Happens Now?Print different versionsPDF different versionsUse a tool to convert to Help, Web, etc.
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Delivering multiple outputsSingle-sourcing with WordRelevant featuresOne exampleSingle-sourced output
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Single-sourcing with WordWord: Show of handsMore useful than you may thinkWhat to expectWhat can we do with Word without VBA?
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Single-sourcing with MS WordBall & Chain
vs. single-sourcing
Linda ChungSenior Technical Writer
123 Queen St EToronto, ON M4N 3R8Tel 416 555-1212Email: linda.chung@lascan .ca
To write twice as much documentation in half the time.
Really Bi g CorpOct 99 - PresentHelped develop a single sourcing pro ject that lorem ipsum ad ve lor.
Small En terprisesJune 98 - Sep 99Lorem ipsum ad v elor dolot.
Objective
Experience
Small En terprisesJune 98 - Sep 99Lorem ipsum ad v elor dolot.
Doc 1.pdf
Doc 1.pdf
Doc 2.hlp
Doc 2.hlp
Doc 3.doc
Doc 3.doc
Object d
Object a
Object b
Object c
1 ton
Data Source
Workflow
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Thinking about single-sourcingWord Features
Master & sub documentsMail mergeLinks to a databaseSearch & replaceAuto-correct; AutoTextParagraph stylesTemplates (.dot)BookmarksFields for referencing informationMacros and VBA (power, but with a learning curve)
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Simulating variables in WordSearch and replace placeholdersDoc properties (incl. custom) link w/ fields“Ask" fields or a VBA formReal variables with VBA; link with fields
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Simulating conditional textSearch & hide (or delete) styles; or coloursHierarchical styles; set parent as hiddenSort tagged DB table, hide unused rows"IF" Fields
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Different versionsSearch and replace folder names for different source filesRename different source files (e.g., for different
languagesSearch and replace bookmark names in inserted dummy
fields'IF' fields applying bookmarks per doc type
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Change order of objectsOutput fields in sortable table;AutoText/AutoCompleted fields on-the-fly;'IF' fields applying bookmarks per doc type;Separate template w/fields for each doc;
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
ConceptSometimes using features together ends up being more
than the sum of 'parts'
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Resume1.docContains AutoText:Include Text Fields
{Bookmarked text}
One exampleAutoText shortcuts on-
the-fly, orTemplate for each
versionSource data changes --
reflected in outputStyles tied to output
documents
DB.docContains
BookmarkedText
[Objective: to write]
Resume1.docContains AutoText:Include Text Fields
{Objective: to write}
Resume2.docContains AutoText:Include Text Fields
{Objective: to write}
[Objective:
to lead]
{Objective: to lead}
{Objective: to lead}
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Components in Some DetailDB.docPDF.docHLP.doc
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
HLP and PDF SamplesHLP sample and PDF sample;Change some source data and rebuild outputs;
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
Single-sourcing with MS WordThinking out
of the boxDoc 1.pdf
Doc 1.pdf
Doc 2.hlp
Doc 2.hlp
Doc 3.doc
Doc 3.doc
Object d
Object a
Object b
Object c
Linda ChungSenior Technical Writer
123 Queen St EToronto, ON M4N 3R8Tel 416 555-1212Email: linda.chung@lascan .ca
To write twice as much documentation in half the time.
Really Bi g CorpOct 99 - PresentHelped develop a single sourcing pro ject that lorem ipsum ad ve lor.
Small En terprisesJune 98 - Sep 99Lorem ipsum ad v elor dolot.
Objective
Experience
Small En terprisesJune 98 - Sep 99Lorem ipsum ad v elor dolot.1
ton
Single-sourcing Deconstructed©March 2003 R.Hanna, B.Hills, M.Marques
ReferencesFor more information
http://www.stctoronto.org http://www.stcsig.org/ss/index.htm http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com