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


Toronto Single-sourcing SIGFormed in September 2002Meet third Thursday of each monthFor more information visit http://www.stctoronto.org


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 overviewDefining single-sourcingAbout this presentationPlanning your single-sourcing projectCreating structure


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


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


Planning and processDefining your objectivesAnalysing your audienceDefining your source and structure


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.


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


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


Who is my audienceHR DepartmentPlacement AgencyHiring ManagerAutomated systems


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


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


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


Creating single-source contentHiding and displaying single-source contentReorganising single-source contentSpecial considerationsWhat happens next


Hiding single-source contentWhat to emphasize?

Different jobsDifferent tasksDifferent education

How?Applying conditional text


Conditional textSet up & apply tags


Conditional TextView all conditions


Conditional TextShow leadership condition


Conditional TextShow writing condition


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


Reorganizing contentWhat is presented first?

Education at top vs. Education at bottom

How?Inserting files as content objects


Inserted text objectsContent objects can be:

EducationExperienceObjective


Inserted text objectsResume files contains content objects

Résumé 1

Objective

Résumé 2

Objective

Education

Work History

Work History

Education


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.


What Happens Now?Print different versionsPDF different versionsUse a tool to convert to Help, Web, etc.


Delivering multiple outputsSingle-sourcing with WordRelevant featuresOne exampleSingle-sourced output


Single-sourcing with WordWord: Show of handsMore useful than you may thinkWhat to expectWhat can we do with Word without VBA?


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


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


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)


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


Simulating conditional textSearch & hide (or delete) styles; or coloursHierarchical styles; set parent as hiddenSort tagged DB table, hide unused rows"IF" Fields


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


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;


ConceptSometimes using features together ends up being more

than the sum of 'parts'


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]


{Objective: to write}


{Objective: to write}

[Objective:

to lead]

{Objective: to lead}

{Objective: to lead}


Components in Some DetailDB.docPDF.docHLP.doc


HLP and PDF SamplesHLP sample and PDF sample;Change some source data and rebuild outputs;


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.


Objective

Experience

Small En terprisesJune 98 - Sep 99Lorem ipsum ad v elor dolot.1

ton


ReferencesFor more information

http://www.stctoronto.org http://www.stcsig.org/ss/index.htm http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com