Managing DITA (Nov 2015)
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The document discusses the management and strategic use of the DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) standard within organizations, emphasizing its potential for enhancing content reuse, integration, and flexibility in enterprise content management. It addresses the challenges faced during implementation, the importance of defining realistic goals, managing expectations, and the need for effective stakeholder engagement. The author, Joe Gollner, highlights the critical nature of adaptability and leadership in navigating the complexities of DITA adoption and ensuring its perceived value within organizations.
Managing DITA (Nov 2015)
- 1. Managing DITA How to get the most from what DITA has to offer Joe Gollner @joegollner
- 2. DITA What’s the Big Idea? Dangers Signs Challenges to be overcome Management Tactics Best practices to be deployed Just Rewards Reflecting on outcomes Topics
- 3. DITA changes things A standard enjoying broad adoption & support An expanding array of commercial & open source tools An increasing emphasis on extending the reach of DITA across the enterprise • Lightweight DITA A framework for facilitating content reuse A framework for adapting markup to meet needs What’s the Big Idea?
- 4. DITA attracted immediate attention & enthusiasm. It struck a chord with customers & product vendors. The DITA Message Spreads Mobilizing the Industry
- 5. Momentum Carries DITA into New Territories DITA becomes the starting point for a new breed of enterprise content management solutions
- 6. Landscape of enterprise content management is chaotic DITA initiatives are thrust into the middle of it • Business applications, enterprise information governance, product management, corporate marketing, legal, engineering…. DITA Enters the Fray
- 7. DITA opens doors Connecting content sources previously kept separate Enabling integrated services previously not possible This flows from the extensibility of DITA Permitting the incorporation of a wide range of details Integration is a challenge New to Documentation Teams Opening the Pandora’s Box of Integration
- 8. The Integrated Nature of Content Content Channels Data Expertise Goals Feedback Audiences Content is a complex composite artifact DITA allows us to treat content as content
- 9. FLASHBACK – Unleashing Organizational Forces 2012
- 10. Expanding implementations Lead to expanding demands • On DITA as a standard • On DITA as a shared solution • On DITA Product vendors Pleasing everyone becomes (almost) impossible Leads inevitably to one of: Over-extension of the standard Re-architecture of the standard • Isolating essential constants Broadening Adoption brings Escalating Pressures
- 11. Failure to Move Forward Condemns the industry to a peripheral status Cuts off vendors from the robust funding associated with enterprise mandates & solutions Withholds from enterprises a fundamental capability that is desperately needed • The ability to manage & leverage content as a strategic asset The Necessity of Moving Forward
- 12. Danger Signs – The Challenges that Await
- 13. Expect questions & criticism from everywhere Content is not well understood as an area for investment Others want the funding Content seen as a cost Traditional view Not see as part of the product offering Cue the Critics
- 14. IT Groups Have little if any awareness about content technologies Therefore they do not acknowledge it as an area of legitimate investment Will oppose the introduction of unfamiliar supporting technologies Will seek to redirect allocations to their projects Information Technology (IT) Groups
- 15. Organizational Shocks Can strike at any time Will force budget & personnel allocations to be revisited Content Management projects that are insufficiently flexible will be hammered by these changes • Adaptability is critical and often missing Major Shifts in Priorities
- 16. Change is always hard “We fear change!” Garth Algar It entails uncertainty & risk It threatens hard won security in practical knowledge (e.g., tools) Disciplinary biases often reinforced amid change Only hearing familiar voices Resistance to Change – Clinging to the Familiar
- 17. DITA CMS Misalignments Different stakeholder perspectives on role & nature of the DITA CMS Conflicting agendas between Documentation team, Marketing & IT Documentation Team Leader unprepared for the fight Result: Big costs, long delays, frustrated users & customers Some Recent (Bad) Experiences
- 18. Successive shocks & setbacks can deflate the drive forward Everyone is susceptible Can lead to a retreat back to familiar territory • Refinement of details • Incremental savings • Reduced value • Certain death May or may not be a conscious decision Losing Hope
- 19. Moving Forward – Management Tactics
- 20. Defining realistic goals That are still compelling Dealing with the Silver Bullet mentality Executives are often susceptible to “magic solutions” Will often assume an initial investment solves everything Will assume that things will be simpler than they in fact are Will have little patience for complications & explanations Managing Expectations
- 21. The Selection & Sequencing of Project Investments Of vital importance Too Large The risks associated with it becomes too great The scale of investment required absorbs budget Too Small Falls below executive visibility Does not win influential allies Does not attract new money Managing Investments (Picking your Fights)
- 22. Balancing the interplay between: Time Investments Results Tell a credible story & sustain it as events unfold Find a sustainable investment curve Self-funding steps Sell the benefits as realized Managing Progress
- 23. Technology & processes have a natural tendency towards complexity Doubly true for content management projects Steer towards sustainability Open & Adaptable technology Reasonable investment & support profile Careful management of specialization & customization • Determine where the value is… Managing Complexity
- 24. Organizations need help to move forward They do not have the tools or expertise to proceed alone Supplier community must be engaged & managed Suppliers are generally good Their goals are not always the same as yours Their perspective will have been formed by their past An important project element… Managing Suppliers
- 25. Migrating to DITA & a CMS places demands on team And on the Team Leader People will often struggle To see how the changes will impact them To see how they will adapt To muster the energy that change demands This calls for Leadership Assuming responsibility Managing the Team
- 26. A key battleground will be how the DITA project is seen Is it seen as a source of innovation? As a benefit to customers? Is it seen as a sink hole of spending with elusive gains? Take the initiative Find ways to connect to the customer domain • Sometimes called “inoculation” • Customer accolades as armor Managing Perception
- 27. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) Immersed in their specialties • Often exhibit disciplinary biases • Often inclined to combativeness In constant demand Extremely busy Essential sources of expertise Engaging SMEs is • A constant challenge • Increasingly essential Striking Win-Win bargains is both hard & necessary Managing Stakeholders: Experts
- 28. Learning how to Play the Game You need to become a player Bringing something to the table Bargaining win-win deals The Political Architecture Projects need to prioritize tasks that provide bargaining chips Projects need to sidestep contentious areas until ready Extoll any & all progress… Stay on the radar Managing Stakeholders: Executives
- 29. The Consolations of Content Management
- 30. A moving force behind standardized markup languages I have unilaterally declared him the Spiritual Father of XML Embodying the best intentions that pushed for expanding the reach of open content standards He believed that open content Was a force for good in the world Its benefits would be wide-reaching Worth committing your life to Remembering Yuri Rubinsky (1952 – 1996) Photo courtesy Rick McGinnis
- 31. The realization of benefits & their acknowledgement is always elusive It is in the nature of content to have a complex relationship to outcomes All of the preceding tactics need to be pursued Don Quixote achieves many good results By sheer dint of persistence Even if he does not see it The Real Secret: The Road is Hard but Don’t Give Up
- 32. Other Dangers? Other Tactics? Discuss
- 33. Connections Joe Gollner Managing Director Gnostyx Research Inc. www.gnostyx.com @gnostyx jag@gnostyx.com Twitter: @joegollner Blog: The Content Philosopher www.gollner.ca
- 34. To Morrow to Fresh Woods and Pastures New Gnostyx Research Inc. equips organizations with the tools and knowledge they need to make the most of their content. As an independent content solution provider that specializes in leveraging open standards and extensible technologies, Gnostyx offers: strategic guidance implementation assistance learning resources extensible technology components Contact: info@gnostyx.com Twitter: @gnostyx