Re: Multi-language/translation

Ann wrote:
> The challenge in providing content in multiple formats (e.g., 
> paper, web, online help) is really not all that difficult. 
> What you need is a set of good stylesheets that take the 
> content and "transform" it to the desired media. This is often 
> not part of the content management system, it is often part 
> of the "delivery" tool that is integrated with the content 
> management system. We have found that most content management 
> systems do not support the output of content very well unless 
> they are constrained to a single output (e.g., web).

But lots of "delivery" tools force you into a web-centric model which is of no use to us.

I'm happy to set up stylesheets, etc, but I need something that allows me to manage the amalgamation of chunks into a coherent "document".

> The challenge is in appropriately designing the content for reuse 
> in multiple information products (e.g., help, paper-based manual, 
> wireless device). This is where information architecture comes in. 
> Please see my other email response to the question concerning the
> relationship between content management and information architecture.

I have been a technical communicator for 10+ years and for most of that time I have been single-sourcing paper and online help so I am well used to building an information architecture, both for usability by readers, and for reuse in multiple information products.

I agree this is fundamental to the solution but it is not an issue in our case (I am actually reading "Managing Enterprise Content" at the moment and there haven't been any surprises in there for me yet, it's good common sense that is unfortunately not all that common - if only I can get my boss to read it!).
 
> We need to look at more than just content management tools to 
> effectively support our needs. A good content management "solution" 
> consists of effective authoring tools that enable us to create modular 
> (object-oriented) content, a content management system that allows 
> us to manage and control our content be it unilingual or multilingual 
> (and integrate with a good memory translation tool), and a delivery 
> tool that allows us to output our content into multiple formats (e.g., 
> web, pdf/paper, wireless). I haven't found a single content management 
> system that effectively handles the whole process.

Again I have to say "but"... there are still very few CMS that aren't fixated on web content and consequently don't allow a tool chain to be built that handles all types of output. 

There seems to be two ends of the spectrum, systems that only understand the requirements for websites and systems that were once DMS that don't handle content as chunks very well. I'm not saying there aren't systems out there, but they are few and far between and it takes a lot to unearth them from the plethora of vendors that claim that their systems will do everything (for a price).

> XML is becoming the standard these days. DocBook is the most 
> mature standard though it may not meet everyone's needs. It was 
> specifically designed for the software industry and contains a 
> large number of tags (~300). Many organizations start with DocBook
> and simplify or customize. 
> Others create their own DTDs/Schemas. Note that the most complex 
> part of the DTD/Schema is not creating the DTD/Schema (e.g., coding), but 
> rather designing the content models that the DTD/Schema are based on.

This is the strategy we are persuing at the moment and we are starting as simply as possible. 

Our pilot document is a glossary covering all our products. This should allow us to build a very simple content model (basically boiling down to GlossDef and GlossTerm with some containment elements) but will allow us to experiment with complexity in terms of metadata and trialing multiple languages.
 
> The Society for Technical Communication has a list serve devoted 
> to single sourcing (the concept of writing content once and using
> it many times in multiple media). You might consider joining that 
> forum for a discussion on how people produce their documentation. 
> www.stc.org.

As far as I can see this is only open to STC members (a practice I find increasingly annoying). 

For anyone interested in a free list, there are a couple of Yahoo groups - 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/singlesourcing-mgmt/ a very quiet list.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xml-doc/ also quiet at the moment but can get fired up (in a good way) when discussion is provoked.

and my own (fairly new) http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/oz-communicators/ which is loosely restricted to Australia but covers all aspects of communication including XML, CMS, etc. <shameless plug>

Cheers
-Melanie
                                                                      

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