Managing implementation of structured authoring

Table of contents

Abstract

Implications of structure

Costs

Implementation effort

Summary

Implications of structure

In a structured authoring environment, you improve information management by grouping information into semantic units (elements) with meaningful names and associated metadata. For many authors accustomed to a desktop publishing environment, working in this structured context is difficult. In a paragraph-based template, writers have the option of ignoring or overriding settings; in a structured template, content must conform to the required structure.

It’s possible to develop and enforce templates in an unstructured environment. In our experience, writers accustomed to these environments generally have little trouble with structured templates. But for writers who have previously worked in a “template-optional” situation, the sudden implementation—and enforcement—of a particular structure can be shocking. This transition is comparable to the difficulties experienced in moving from longhand or typewriter–based work to word processing.

The structure that you develop for your workgroup needs to meet two—often conflicting—requirements. It must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate all of your information requirements but not so wide-open that no organization is imposed on the documents.

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Costs