Challenge: Accepted

As the Tech Pubs group slowly works to harmonize the various release documents, we are also looking at moving to a content management system. For us, this means moving topics from Madcap Flare into a repository. We will continue to use Flare for output, but we find that we need to use many of the same topics for different deliverables.

It makes sense to have one repository with topics organized into common topics and then topics specific to applications. Topics can be checked out for editing.

There is a department with a CMS already, and we can expand their system to accommodate our needs. This would work well, since there is some overlap in our deliverables.

However, this would mean that we need to convert to DITA. 

Our harmonization plan does include standardizing what type of information goes into topics. We did not get to the point where we were ready to define that standard. Moving to the established CMS decides that for us.

We will adopt the DITA standard that the current owners of the CMS use. Their topics have little variation from the DITA standard. We can take their standard and make it work for us. 

Converting topics to DITA is a huge project. Flare makes some things easy. We can specify DITA styles in the Flare CSS. We can specify the topic type, and we can add the short description.

Flare cannot help with the more difficult, time-consuming tasks. We need to reformat any complex tables. We need to rearrange topics into the DITA standard. Most importantly, we need to review each topic for its necessity and rewrite for consistent tone and content. 

We have over 4000 topics written over 12 years by at least ten authors in the US and the UK.

Consistency is the challenge. I look forward to it, as I'm sure many writers do. I will finally have the time to systematically analyze the content and update it for today's needs. I know at least one other writer has this same desire. Together, we will set the standard in tone that works on both sides of "the pond". 

The project will take over a year, but we will have updated, clean content that can be used by tech pubs, training and customer care.