The rise of Web 2.0 technology provides a platform for user-generated content. Publishing is no longer restricted to a few technical writers — any user can now contribute information. But the information coming from users tends to be highly specific. The two types of information can coexist and improve the overall user experience. User-generated content also offers an opportunity for technical writers to participate as "curators" — by evaluating and organizing the information provided by end users.

This white paper includes Flash movies.

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Structured authoring and XML represent a significant paradigm shift in content creation. Implementing structured authoring with XML allows organizations to enforce content organization requirements. The addition of hierarchy and metadata to content improves reuse and content management. These benefits, however, must be weighed against the effort required to implement a structured authoring approach. The business case is compelling for larger writing organizations; they will be the first to adopt structured authoring. Over time, improvements in available tools will reduce the cost of implementing structured authoring and make it affordable for smaller organizations.

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Moving a desktop publishing-based workgroup into structured authoring requires authors to master new concepts, such as hierarchical content organization, information chunking with elements, and metadata labeling with attributes. In addition to these technical challenges, the implementation itself presents significant difficulties. This paper describes Scriptorium Publishing's methodology for implementing structured authoring environments. This document is intended primarily as a roadmap for our clients, but it could be used as a starting point for any implementation.

This white paper assumes basic familiarity with XML and structured authoring. For more information about these concepts, refer to the Structured Authoring and XML white paper.

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The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is being positioned as the solution for XML-based technical content. Is DITA right for you?

This white paper describes the potential business advantages of DITA, provides a high-level overview of DITA's most important features, and then discusses how you can decide whether to develop a DITA-based XML implementation.

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FrameMaker provides solid support for XML-based authoring workflows. Its PDF and print output capabilities are stellar. Because FrameMaker combines authoring and publishing in a single application, configuring XML support can be quite challenging.

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In 2008, XML turns 10 years old. Today, an XML-based publishing environment is state of the art, but what will it be like tomorrow? Will we see the rise of better XML authoring tools? Will XML become as ubiquitous as HTML?

DITA is a free, pre-made XML document structure. That statement can lead to a few erroneous assumptions: if it's free, then it will cut down on costs, and if it's pre- made, it will cut down on labor. There are several things to consider when choosing a DITA solution. Does your staff have the skills to author in a DITA environment? Will additional training be required? Does DITA even match your content model, and if it doesn't, is it worth the effort to change?

Sarah's conclusion? "DITA may be free, but it's not cheap."

Getting your content into XML might be difficult enough, but once it's there, how do you turn it into something you can deliver? The Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) is a free and effective tool that can transform your XML content into HTML.

XML can benefit a publishing workflow in many ways: improving content reuse, consistency, and potentially automating much of the process. That all sounds wonderful, but XML is not the logical answer for everyone.

Implementing a structured authoring solution requires a significant change from the familiar desktop publishing routine to new tools, technologies, and processes. Switching to XML is going to cost time and money. Depending on your needs, it may not be the most efficient solution.