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Unlike Andrew, I am a proponent of single sourcing in certain environments.
I find that just as work in a non-single-sourcing environment can be crap,
so too can single-source documentation be crap. Conversely, just as work in
a non-single-sourcing environment can be well done, so too can you write
good quality single-source documents.
The question is, can your writers write? Are they professionals? Are they
buffoons?
I agree with Andrew wholeheartedly that you have to look at what you are
documenting and delivering and figure out if single-sourcing is worth it. Do
you reuse or can you reuse significant amounts of content? If not, then
don't bother single-sourcing. Do your staffing levels and time to complete
your projects permit you to treat your various deliverables each as a
separate project? If so, then you might not need single-sourcing.
Can writers get creative with application of styles? No. Are writers at
liberty to create their own styles on-the-fly? No. Is it important to stick
rigidly to the templates? Yes. If this bothers you, you should not use
single-sourcing.
I use single-sourcing in a production environment for a software
manufacturer. I create PDFs, for print and online delivery, online help (CHM
format mostly), and publications aimed at a specific audience. By the
latter, I mean I create one document and output different content for
newbies, intermediate users, and advanced users. I find that single-sourcing
lets me quickly make changes and speedily deliver my publications.
Some numbers:
I use FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher Pro. With solid knowledge of
FrameMaker, no knowledge of WebWorks Publisher I developed templates I could
use, tested them, amd implemented them within three weeks. After the first
publications set, I spend two or three days revising the templates to cover
for inefficiencies and to improve output.
FrameMaker + WebWorks Publisher cost $1,400. Plus $1,000 for WWP training.
That's $2,400. Two writers at my company produced documentation that five
writers at one similarly-sized competitor produced, and that another
similarly sized competitor used three writers and a manager. By
similarly-sized, I mean in terms of types and quantity of documents
released. It doesn't matter exactly what the writers got paid, but you can
understand that the salary of the two writers at my location did not match,
in total, the salary of the five writers, or three writers plus manager, at
the other locations. There was an overall savings that paid for itself by
the end of the second project.
Thus, if you only ever create and deliver one project, I suppose the
up-front costs of single-sourcing might not be worth it.
Finally, obviously, with only two writers, it is easy to control the
templates. However, not everybody needs or should have WebWorks Publisher.
Thus, those few who do should be responsible for maintaining the templates.
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