Single Source: Yay, Nay, or TBD?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Anne Allaire Burke wondered: <<... what people think of single 
sourcing.  I am on the fence about it -- leaning heavily towards not 
yet convinced that it "works" for all documentation types.>>

In theory, SS does indeed work for all documentation types. In 
practice, the difficulty that often prevents success lies in two areas: 
defining what you really mean by "single-sourcing", and defining what 
needs you're trying to meet. Misunderstanding either area produces 
ineffective results.

<<For example, I don't like the idea of converting my hardcopy user 
guide into an identical online version.>>

That's not SS; it's shovelware. SS is about writing material that 
should be identical (e.g., the description of the contents of a field 
or the meaning of a checkbox) only once, then reusing it everywhere 
where that same information would be appropriate. Since you'll present 
the same information in the same way in both locations, you can reuse 
that information rather than having to write different (and potentially 
contradictory) chunks of info. for each use.

SS is also about providing alternatives to that otherwise identical 
information where reusing identical information would be inappropriate. 
For example, if you're single sourcing a chunk of content for both a 
Wizard (or similar computerized assistance) and a printed manual, the 
Wizard might replace a screenshot equipped with callout arrows with a 
circle drawn around each relevant interface item, in sequence, to point 
out what the user must do next. The same information is pointed to in 
the same sequence, but in very different ways.

<<I feel that online documentation (Help, etc.) is used and learned 
differently (from the user perspective) than it's hardcopy 
counterparts.>>

Unquestionably. Among other things, online help is always contextual 
(the right help appears for each specific context), whereas printed 
matter is noncontextual (i.e., you have to seek out relevant topics 
rather than having them automatically presented to you). There are 
other differences, such as the fact that poorly designed online help 
usually competes with the software for control of your screen whereas a 
printed manual lies outside the screen, but it's the contextual aspect 
that is probably most significant.

Another thing to keep in mind: Both online help and printed docs are 
inherently unsatisfactory because they take the user out of their task 
(getting something accomplished), and replace that with a new task 
(finding information). There's a growing move towards embedded 
assistance which provides as much help as possible directly within the 
interface so that users leave their actual task as rarely as possible. 
This is difficult to single-source in the traditional sense, because it 
ties more tightly to the interface, but it can still be done with 
thought and care.

--Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROBOHELP X5: Featuring Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author
support, PDF and XML support and much more!
TRY IT TODAY at http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrl

WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT: New! Document review system for Word and FrameMaker
authors. Automatic browser-based drafts with unlimited reviewers. Full
online discussions -- no Web server needed! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.