Re: Documentation Management Systems

["Lech Rzedzicki" <xchaotic -at- gmail -dot- com>]

This is a very broad area to cover and there are some excellent books
too (starting with Ann Rockley's), white papers, case studies,
webinars, one dealing with the idea should go through at least some.

Then you have to start with yourselves by defining what you want you
use the system for, what is is supposed to do and how. Only once you
have clear and realistic requirement, can you start looking for a
vendor.
Crrently there are two manners in which the software can be delivered:
-a single purchase + maintenance agreement later on
-Software as a Service
If there are no compliance or security problems for the software to be
hosted on the vendors machine, perhaps that's the route to go.

Regardless of your choice, always ask about adhering to standards, W3C
for HTML and CSS, XML are good examples.
If you build your solution around open standards, it is easier to
migrate, should the vendor be unable to deliver to your requirements,
or you discover that you need to go in a whole new direction etc.

I mentioned the SaS (Software as a Service) from the very beginning,
since regardless, of how insanely high the initial cost are, the main
problem is to keep the whole thing up and running, so focus most of
your question around what does maintenance agreement cover? What are
the costs? What is the response time etc.
Talk about the system itself, it's capacity and performance, room for
future growth, simplicity of use etc.

Once you're there, let me know ;)



On 4/25/07, Karen Murri <kmurri -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote:
> What questions should we be asking (ourselves, our IT folks, and vendors)
> while we shop for, purchase, and setup a documentation management system.
>
> (I tried to find stuff in the archives, but search didn't cooperate. I'd
> take pointers to previous threads, too.)
>
> Karen Murri
> HYPERLINK "http://www.km-wordsmith.com"www.km-wordsmith.com
>
>
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-- 
Lech Rzedzicki
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

Now shipping: Help &amp; Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help &amp; Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com

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