TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
RE: Real value (was implementing single-source) (Long)
Subject:RE: Real value (was implementing single-source) (Long) From:Pam Mandel <pmandel -at- nimble -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 10 Nov 2000 13:02:34 -0800
We dropped a packet on an XML authoring tool only to find that we also
needed a content mgmt system that cost another packet _and_ a series of 3rd
party plug ins to get what we would have got if we'd gone straight to a
vanilla HAT. Which we ended up springing for anyway, annoying the guy we'd
convinced that we needed to spend all this money on and XML tools. Oops. You
can spare me the chastisement about doing our homework, please, I've already
chastised myself in front of the executive team. Ultimately we decided that
focusing on the content was more important than focusing on the environment
in which we delivered that content. Since we're a V1 product, we have enough
worries without getting bogged down in authoring implementation details.
Don't get me wrong, I still want to pursue single-sourcing, but the further
we looked in to it, the harder it got to implement. Not something we wanted
to take on when faced with documenting a brand new product with a brand new
team. Nope.
<I dispute the ROI of any large, complex documentation systems. I think the
money is better spent on training, education, and competent management for
technical publications departments. I would rather send my writers to a
programming boot camp and make them more intelligent writers than burn
thousands on an overly complex and rigid documentation system.>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver! (STC Discount.)
**NEW DATE/LOCATION!** January 16-17, 2001, New York, NY. http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.
Sponsored by SOLUTIONS, Conferences and Seminars for Communicators
Publications Management Clinic, TECH*COMM 2001 Conference, and more http://www.SolutionsEvents.com or 800-448-4230
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
