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The RealWorld DITA 2009 ConferenceConference on the Darwin Information Typing Architecture
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Speaker and Presentation DetailsInformation on all presentations, including technical, basics, dog-and-pony, and more will be listed here. Create a DITA Compliant CMS on a Dime Using Adobe Products(Thomas Aldous, Adobe Systems) Are you in the beginning stages of structure adoption and CMS integration and you need to create a DITA Compliant CMS without a meaningful budget? The answer may be to use FrameMaker 9.0 and any WebDav compliant CMS (VersionCue for example) and you will have a robust DITA XML Editing and versioning system. Tom Aldous will explain how Adobe provides the tools to edit and manage your unstructured, structured, and xml content within the FrameMaker environment. He will also explain Adobe' s philosophy for supporting the webdav open standard for CMS connectivity with its full DITA 1.1 support. As your requirements grow, you can migrate your content to enterprise level solutions when requirements and budgets increase with no content manipulation needed to extract your content using existing resources. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Thomas Aldous Tom Aldous is President of Integrated Technologies, Inc. Tom has successfully overseen several corporations' move from unstructured authoring to DITA-based content generation. Tom is well-known in the Documentation Arena and has been a speaker at many documentation-related forums. He is also well-known for his exceptional DITA Knowledge and successful FrameMaker plug-in development for FrameMaker Software. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Adobe FrameMaker and DITA Maps(Thomas Aldous, Adobe Systems) Are you in the beginning stages of structure adoption and CMS integration and you need to create a DITA Compliant CMS without a meaningful budget? The answer may be to use FrameMaker 9.0 and any WebDav compliant CMS (VersionCue for example) and you will have a robust DITA XML Editing and versioning system. Tom Aldous will explain how Adobe provides the tools to edit and manage your unstructured, structured, and xml content within the FrameMaker environment. He will also explain Adobe' s philosophy for supporting the webdav open standard for CMS connectivity with its full DITA 1.1 support. As your requirements grow, you can migrate your content to enterprise level solutions when requirements and budgets increase with no content manipulation needed to extract your content using existing resources. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Thomas Aldous Tom Aldous is President of Integrated Technologies, Inc. Tom has successfully overseen several corporations' move from unstructured authoring to DITA-based content generation. Tom is well-known in the Documentation Arena and has been a speaker at many documentation-related forums. He is also well-known for his exceptional DITA Knowledge and successful FrameMaker plug-in development for FrameMaker Software. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITADoclet tool and DITA Java API solution - benefits(Mariana and Michael Alupului, IBM) The session will explore the benefits of using the automated DITA development tools to generate Java API reference documentation from Java source code. The DITA solution represents a software tool and method for examining Java API source code, extracting the embedded documentation, and generating Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) files that contain corrected documentation and comment tags for the missing tags or documentation. Presentation Level: advanced Tools Used (at a minimum): Javadoc, DITADoclet, Eclipse, Rational Software Architect Industries (others may apply): for technical communication teams for all industries Keywords: DITA, DITADoclet, Java, API, Javadoc About Mariana Alupului Mariana Alupului is an Information Developer for IBM Rational Software. In addition to documenting and leading API documentation projects for Java, VB, C++, in software programming environment, she is a member of the IBM Corporation team that developed the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) XML specialization for writing language-conformant reference documentation for API libraries. Mariana developed DITADoclet to complete Java DITA API specialization. Mariana is the lead of the corporate Java API guidelines workgroup and a member of the corporate ID Technical Writers Council. She has presented Java DITA API solution at the Society for Technical Communication (STC) "Beyond the Bleeding Edge" session (2005) and DITA/TechComm Conference (2008). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Content Management Presentation TBA(Mitch Amiano, Agile Markup Corporation) Presentation description coming soon. About Mitch Amiano Mitch is an experienced professional with extensive background supporting engineering organizations' processes in software development, change and configuration management, and quality tracking applications. Mitch is also experienced in numerous software languages -- just about losing count -- but his original interest in SGML was motivated by the question of how markup could reduce or eliminate coding. He began using markup in 1994 for software development and product specifications, using AWK to implement a markup language for parameterizing and composing blocks of Informix-4GL and C code, coupling them with SQL queries to generate code; consequently he enjoys XSLT programming. He is co-author with Kay [Ethier] Whatley, Conrad D'Cruz, and Michael Thomas, of the WROX title "XML Problem Design Solution". About Agile Markup Corporation The name "Agile Markup" conveys the convergence of effective practice in software and technical documentation. As ubiquitous as XML now is, many tech workers and medium-sized businesses still consider it a bit of a mystery. Agile Markup Corporation is a small business focused on helping clients repair existing infrastructure and getting "over the hump" when incorporating new technologies. Clients have included small businesses, universities, and manufacturers. Frequently, other ISVs and consultants have used Mitch to back-fill a need for XML skills. Mitch recently earned a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics from North Carolina State University, and is exploring for new opportunities to build the business and serve. He volunteers on the Rolesville NC Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and organizes the Raleigh Durham Web Design meetup. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Dynamic Content Delivery - coupling run-time DITA processing and transformation with open services and semantics(Michael Beaver, IBM)
Presentation Level: advanced Tools Used (at a minimum): dita, java, json, atom, http, servlets, javascript, ajax Industries (others may apply): industry-agnostic (mostly centering around content delivery on the web) Keywords: web services, rest, ajax, widgets, microformats, run-time, dynamic content delivery About Michael Beaver Michael Beaver is a Software Engineer with IBM Lotus, working in the Information Development Center. Michael has a long working history with many facets of technology, ranging from web development and emerging technologies to business intelligence and telephony. Currently Michael is building solutions to allow greater proliferation and customization of product-centric documentation, laying the foundations for community contributions and collaboration, and generally making the information more fluid, available, and relevant. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Collaboration Via Reuse: Are We There Yet?(Don Bridges, DCL) Many organizations are looking at XML technology to foster collaboration by using reusable ‘chunks’ of information across the organization. XML offers an efficient foundation to enable collaboration by reusable content. But while their is technology to facilitate this; your content, your architecture, your organiazation and your management probably aren’t. Bridging silos of information and developing a clear content strategy are a key aspects of making sure that the right information is always presented. This session will look at micro (human-based) and macro (computer-based) approaches to understanding content reuse to get your system and you boss on-board. Best practices for designing for effective reuse and helping the organization to move towards true collaboration will be provided.
Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Don Bridges Biographical data coming soon. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Overview of DITA 1.2 (tentative)(Kristen James Eberlein, IBM) More information about this session coming soon. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Kristen James Eberlein Kristen James Eberlein is an Information Architect for IBM Internet Security Systems. She has worked with DITA extensively since 2004; her experience includes migrating several large libraries from SGML to DITA and developing strategies for helping writers manage the transition from book to topic-based writing. More recently, her work has focused on developing DITA training, instructional materials, and best practices workshops. In addition to DITA, her interests include usability, prototyping, and information design. She is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and a member of OASIS, the DITA Technical Committee, the DITA Adoption Committee, and the Editorial Board for dita.xml.org. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Designing your DITA reuse strategy (tentative)(Kristen James Eberlein, IBM) More information about this session coming soon. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Kristen James Eberlein Kristen James Eberlein is an Information Architect for IBM Internet Security Systems. She has worked with DITA extensively since 2004; her experience includes migrating several large libraries from SGML to DITA and developing strategies for helping writers manage the transition from book to topic-based writing. More recently, her work has focused on developing DITA training, instructional materials, and best practices workshops. In addition to DITA, her interests include usability, prototyping, and information design. She is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and a member of OASIS, the DITA Technical Committee, the DITA Adoption Committee, and the Editorial Board for dita.xml.org. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITA in an agile software development environment: Lessons learned, so far!(Tricia York Garrett, Susan Carpenter, Brandy Byrd Gantt, and Karen Deen, IBM) This session shares our best practices and observations, from a software documentation team whose product has adopted agile development within the past year. We'll discuss our preparation for the agile transition and its effectiveness. You'll learn about a set of agile principles and techniques, such as "zero technical debt," including how we extrapolated the techniques to information design, architecture, authoring, editing, testing, quality control, and delivery during the development of product information. Benefits and considerations related to our strong, flexible foundation in DITA sourcing will be discussed. Presentation Level: beg/int Tools Used (at a minimum): IBM DITA Wiki, DITA authoring and build tools (in general) Industries (others may apply): covered (all appropriate): software development Keywords: agile development, lean methodology, user stories, iterative development, scrum teams, Stakeholders, Backlog, collaborative authoring, project management, quality planning and assurance, Editing, Terminology, information architecture, information design, Build, publishing, translation About Tricia York Garrett Tricia York Garrett is an Information Architect for the IBM WebSphere Application Server software products. She helped to migrate the product's HTML and SGML documentation source to DITA in 2003. Now, the vast majority of the approximately 60,000 pages in the product's latest documentation web site are sourced in DITA. Tricia likes applying DITA to meet new and sometimes unexpected user requirements at reduced cost and brainstorming new ways to reuse the team's DITA source. In her 11-year stretch on the information development team, Tricia has held several roles, including strategist, writer, planner, editor, and build manager. Tricia's academic background is in journalism (advertising management) and computer science. About Susan Carpenter Susan Carpenter is an information development manager for IBM's WebSphere Application Server family of products. With others, she wrote IBM's proof-of-concept DITA-based build process in 2002 and managed build evolution for WebSphere Application Server documentation until 2007. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Rochester and a Master's degree in Science Communication from Boston University. Her continuing education includes course work in C, C++, Java, and XSLT programming. About Brandy Byrd Gantt Brandy Gantt is a technical editor for IBM WebSphere Application Server software products. She edits content from the information development team as well as contributed content from stakeholders outside the information development team. Since editing in an Agile software development environment, she has provided writing education to nontraditional writers, in particular, to ensure high-quality, customer-facing documentation. Her Bachelor of Arts degree is in English from Clemson University, and she earned a Master of Science degree in Technical Communication from North Carolina State University. Brandy also has experience as a technical writer, marketing communications editor, and corporate communications specialist. About Karen Deen Karen Deen is a writer for the IBM WebSphere Application Server product. Before becoming a writer, she did customer support for the product and tools support for computer chip designs. She is one of a dozen people that developed the agile methodology for the IBM WebSphere Application Server product, and currently acts as an agile coach in addition to her writing duties. She earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Case study: Using DITA in a web service for easier, more reliable linking to our documentation pages(Tricia York Garrett, Susan Carpenter, and Frances Overby, IBM) This session describes a repeatable solution to a common set of problems. You'll receive an overview of a project in which DITA maps and a standard web service application are being used to provide flexible, maintainable http;// links among a variety of technical documents from various organizations. Before this project, links coded in our software product interface often would break, or could not be known or tested prior to product delivery. With Phase 1 of the solution, links can be authored and tested prior to product delivery, based on document draft locations or even using the anticipated file name. The links are coded with the web service as an intermediary. After product delivery, the service directs the links to the actual document locations. Sourcing the documents in DITA plays a key role in being able to maintain and update the DITA maps that the service uses to identify the latest document locations. With Phase 2 of the solution, links are coded to provide the service with a product task performance context, such as "Configuring widgets." The service returns a list of documents that pertain to the task context. The documents might or might not be sourced in DITA. An example of using Phase 2 is the capability in our information center pages for users to request a variety of highly relevant documents such as demonstrations, books, developer articles, and such. Presentation Level: beg/int (assumes familiarity with DITA) Tools Used (at a minimum): None (technology: Web services application) Industries (others may apply): all are appropriate: generally applicable (used for software documentation) Keywords: web service, Indirection, Redirection, Linking, context-sensitive help, data capture About Tricia York Garrett Tricia York Garrett is an Information Architect for the IBM WebSphere Application Server software products. She helped to migrate the product's HTML and SGML documentation source to DITA in 2003. Now, the vast majority of the approximately 60,000 pages in the product's latest documentation web site are sourced in DITA. Tricia likes applying DITA to meet new and sometimes unexpected user requirements at reduced cost and brainstorming new ways to reuse the team's DITA source. In her 11-year stretch on the information development team, Tricia has held several roles, including strategist, writer, planner, editor, and build manager. Tricia's academic background is in journalism (advertising management) and computer science. About Susan Carpenter Susan Carpenter is an information development manager for IBM's WebSphere Application Server family of products. With others, she wrote IBM's proof-of-concept DITA-based build process in 2002 and managed build evolution for WebSphere Application Server documentation until 2007. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Rochester and a Master's degree in Science Communication from Boston University. Her continuing education includes course work in C, C++, Java, and XSLT programming. About Frances Overby Frances Overby is an information developer for the IBM WebSphere Application Server software products. She has been the team lead for the Web services component for the WebSphere Application Server V6.1 Feature Pack for Web services and for the WebSphere Application Server V7.0 release. She has participated as a writer within an agile software development environment to the Feature Pack for SCA and the EJB component teams. Before joining the information development team over three years ago, she spent part of her IBM career in mobile and wireless computing software development, and in software testing where she organized and managed a customer focused integration test team. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Math Education from East Carolina University and a Master of Mathematics degree from North Carolina State University. Frances enjoys complimenting the information development team with her development and test experiences. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DitaWiki project: A Native DitaWiki(Jeff Jagoda, IBM) The goal of the IBM DitaWiki project is to create a "walk up and use" collaborative authoring tool for professionals who are not necessarily technical writers. The DitaWiki uses DITA as source eliminating the need for content conversions and bringing all of the advantages of structured authoring to the table. Modular design practices and the use of web services technologies allow the Wiki to suit a wide varieties of needs ranging from a single editor interface on a local machine to multiple editor interfaces all leveraging federated content from across an enterprise. This presentation will cover the following:
Presentation Level: intermediate Tools Used (at a minimum): dita, php, java, servlets, javascript, dojo, ajax, xsl Industries (others may apply): applicable to all (used for creating documentation) Keywords: dita, wiki, collaborative authoring, dita application development About Jeff Jagoda Mr. Jagoda graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in December of 2007 after completing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with minors in Business Administration and Physics. He is a certified Red Hat Engineer. His experience includes working as a Quality Engineer at Red Hat and developing Java and C profiler tools (JProf) for IBM in Austin. He has been working with Don Day and Michael Priestley on DITA Authoring tools like the DitaWiki and the Dynamic Information Framework since the the summer of 2008. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Concept, Task, Reference: A practical guide to choosing the right topic type(Larry Kunz, SDI Corporation) Concept topics and reference topics both contain background information to support the steps in task topics. But what makes a concept a concept? What makes a reference a reference? And why does it matter? This talk will explore some best practices and provide guidelines that you can apply to almost every "what if" situation. It will also offer tips for assigning good file names to topics. Presentation Level: beg/int Tools Used (at a minimum): Base DITA specification Industries (others may apply): All Keywords: Concept, task, reference, file naming, names for files, cross references, topic types, choosing topic types About Larry Kunz Larry Kunz is a project manager and writer with Systems Documentation, Inc. (SDI) in Durham, NC. In 30 years as a writer, manager, and planner he has experienced first-hand the transition from book-based documentation to today's integrated information delivery of information from a wide range of sources using different formats and media. Larry has managed and provided content for traditional technical writing projects and marketing projects. He holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the George Washington University, and a BA from the College of William and Mary. He is a Fellow in the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and currently heads up the Society's strategic planning effort. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITA in Action: A Case Study(Andy Lewis, RADVISION) This session describes a case study of one company's move from unstructured documentation to structured DITA content. At RADVISION we produce documentation sets for ourselves and three OEM partners, spanning variants of six different products and around 50 different manuals and online helps. This case study will demonstrate how RADVISION has moved from authoring in unstructured FrameMaker with the help of more than 20 conditional tags, four sets of variables maintained in MIF files, and two different template sets cross-converted using TemplateMapper, to a DITA/XML-based paradigm built around structured FrameMaker 7.2 and the DITA-FMx plug-in. We will also see how the sophisticated RADVISION workflow makes use of a number of other FrameMaker plug-ins, including BookVars (by Scott Prentice at Leximation), and ABCM and XRef Wizard (by Russ Ward at West Street Consulting) to create and manage this large set of deliverables from a single library of DITA topics. The session will address related issues such as efficient use of ditamaps, attribute-based content filtering, preserving variables during XSLT processing, and modifying cross-reference identifiers. Presentation Level: int/adv Tools Used (at a minimum): FrameMaker 7.2 or later, DITA-FMx plug-in, BookVars plug-in, ABCM plug-in Industries (others may apply): all appropriate Keywords: DITA, XML, FrameMaker, DITA-FMx, structured content, content reuse About Andy Lewis
Andy has overseen the company's move from unstructured authoring to DITA-based content generation in structured FrameMaker, and has introduced a sophisticated workflow using a selection of FrameMaker plug-ins, FrameScripts and customized WebWorks ePublisher stationery. Andy is a regular presenter at meetings of the Israel FrameMaker Users Group and has spoken on issues including the TemplateMapper plug-in, adding structure to content using FrameMAker conversion tables, attribute-based filtering with the ABCM add-on, and generating DITA/XML content via DITA-FMx. A former teacher of English as a Foreign Language, Andy holds a BA in History of Art & Italian, and an MA in Linguistics. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITA and DITA OpenToolkit Overview(Pam Noreault, SOPHOS) Audience – New DITA users Most DITA implementations use the DITA Open Toolkit for publishing DITA content. The Open Toolkit is managed separately from the DITA standard and provides a collection of tools and sample files. This session will provide an overview of DITA and the DITA Open Toolkit. It will discuss how to get the DITA Open Toolkit installed, as well as how to build the sample DITA files. As time permits, the session will also provide information on some of the “easier” PDF and CHM file customizations. This session will cover:
Presentation Level: Beg/Int Tools Used (at a minimum): DITA files and DITA Toolkit, IDIOM FO plug-in that is packaged with the DITA Toolkit Industries (others may apply): Covers all industries. Keywords: DITA, DITA Open Toolkit, PDF Customization About Pam Noreault Pam Noreault has 15 years experience in technical documentation and training. She is a Technical Documentation Manager at Sophos, Inc. and she teaches three Technical Communication Courses at Columbus State Community College. Additionally, Pam holds a B.S. in Secondary Education from The Ohio State University and an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from Wright State University. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Customizing DITA PDF Output(Pam Noreault, SOPHOS) Audience – DITA users who are comfortable with XML and XSL This session will focus on customizing PDF output using the DITA Open Toolkit and the Idiom FO plug-in. During the session, sample PDF customizations will be shown as well as a walkthrough of the changes made to accomplish some of the PDF customizations. As time permits, the session will also demo how to customize a PDF. This session will cover:
Presentation Level: Int/Adv Tools Used (at a minimum): Text editor such as notepad, IDIOM FO plug-in that is packaged with the DITA Toolkit Industries (others may apply): Covers all industries Keywords: Customizing DITA PDF, PDF Customization, DITA PDF Output About Pam Noreault Pam Noreault has 15 years experience in technical documentation and training. She is a Technical Documentation Manager at Sophos, Inc. and she teaches three Technical Communication Courses at Columbus State Community College. Additionally, Pam holds a B.S. in Secondary Education from The Ohio State University and an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from Wright State University. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Creativity or Confusion? The Case for Word-, Phrase-, and Sentence-level Reuse(Mark Ogden, acrolinx North America, Inc--late speaker change) Analyses of large document sets, translation memories, websites, and knowledgebases indicate that migrating to structured authoring can significantly reduce translation/localization time and cost:
In a corpus of a million sentences, consistent use of a single, approved sentence instead of multiple variations on the theme, could reduce translation requirements by 250,000+ sentences. At an average cost of $2 or more per sentence. Per language. Come to this session to learn how new tools can expose this redundancy, help you deal with it effectively, and significantly reduce translation costs and time-to-market. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Mark Ogden Mark Ogden is the North American Sales Director with acrolinx. Mark brings more than 20 years of diverse technology experience spanning the Information Lifecycle Management, Content Management, and e-Publishing disciplines. Prior to acrolinx, Mark held senior sales and business development roles at Innodata-Isogen, JustSystems, XMetaL Division, Xerox Global Services and Verity. Mark holds a BA in Communications from Villanova University, and is a Six Sigma Green Belt. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITA and Dynamic Publishing(Jon Parsons, SDL XySoft) Since DITA provides agility in authoring, can it also provide flexibility in delivery? This talk examines how an XML database such as DITA can provide automation and agility in the presentation of content through multiple publication channels. It is common knowledge that DITA is useful for creating content that will be delivered in several formats. Typically, this means that paper, PDF, and/or HTML versions of a document can be published simultaneously, ensuring content consistency across the various outputs. But with any of these formats, once the content is published, it becomes static—regardless of who uses it or how it is accessed. If you could preserve the richness of your mark up through your publishing process, your content could be dynamic. And if you could deliver an XML database to your users, your content could remain unformatted until the instant it is called up by the user. Well, now you can. Imagine being able to generate unique output at runtime based on skill level, language preference, viewing device, and user role/privilege. An agile delivery solution based on DITA data leverages the value of your metadata and structured content to provide a dynamic and automated multi-channel publishing process, enabling a single published XML database to serve an entire organization or program with personalized content for each user or group. Presentation Level: Intermediate Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): aerospace, defense, legal publishing, technology, manufacturing, medical, pharmaceutical, automotive, standards bodies Keywords: dynamic publishing, intelligent content delivery, dita cms, component content management, ccm, context-sensitive content, rich markup, applicability, portable xml database, cms to go About Jon Parsons Director, Product Marketing Jon Parsons has over 25 years of experience automating the creation, management, and delivery of content in multiple forms. Currently he works in product marketing at SDL XySoft, where he is responsible for XPP, an XML publishing engine, and keeps an eye on open standards relevant to content management and delivery. Prior to that, he was a writer, editor, tools developer, and publishing consultant for a large computer manufacturer. Long an advocate of generic mark-up and an enthusiast for XML, he has served on the Board of Directors of OASIS, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Keynote Presentation: How DITA Changed the TechComm Landscape(Julio J. Vazquez, SDI Corp.) DITA is dramatically changing the TechComm profession. I trace the evolution and history as a backdrop to my real message, which is where we're going from here. In this talk I will describe why DITA has gained such support in the community and what differentiates it from just using XML to encapsulate information. I will then describe a few of the trends coming that help prove that the DITA standard has longevity. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Julio J. Vazquez Julio Vazquez is currently an information architect with SDI. In his previous career with IBM, he was on the corporate team that defined DITA and wrote the first article on the language in April of 2002. He has presented at STC-Carolina, DITA East and DocTrain West and DITA North America on various topics. His first book on DITA, Practical DITA, presents an approach to understanding how to write using DITA from the ground up. He is a contributer to the Yahoo! DITA User's Group and is a staunch DITA advocate. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Keynote Presentation: DITA is Not Enough(Julio J. Vazquez, SDI Corp.) While it may seem that learning DITA will continue your viability as a technical communicator, the language alone will not guarantee your future. This dialogue targets some of the fallacies, addresses a few of the realities and will, hopefully, spur some controversy about the future of technical communications, DITA, and your role. Presentation Level: TBA Tools Used (at a minimum): TBA Industries (others may apply): TBA Keywords: TBA About Julio J. Vazquez Julio Vazquez is currently an information architect with SDI. In his previous career with IBM, he was on the corporate team that defined DITA and wrote the first article on the language in April of 2002. He has presented at STC-Carolina, DITA East and DocTrain West and DITA North America on various topics. His first book on DITA, Practical DITA, presents an approach to understanding how to write using DITA from the ground up. He is a contributer to the Yahoo! DITA User's Group and is a staunch DITA advocate. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++DITA By the Bucketful: Applying DITA to YOUR Content(Leigh White, Allscripts and Mollye Barrett, CM Pros) Two-part workshop. You must sign up for this set of presentations in advance, and attend both parts. Limited registrations available. You may be turned away if you do not register in advance and claim one of the few available seats. Are you looking to migrate your existing content to DITA but not sure where to start? Most legacy non-structured content requires significant reorganization in order to fit the DITA model, and this workshop will help you identify the right DITA topic types and elements for your content and put you on the path to a strategy for migration. By the end of the workshop, you will have begun reorganizing your content into the DITA model, identified some areas for reuse (if applicable) and created a small map of topics on which you can build going forward. Because this workshop is highly interactive, spaces are limited. If you have not already pre-registered, you must do so by contacting the conference organizer. The workshop facilitators will contact you for the sample of your content that you intend to bring to the workshop. This sample should be something self-contained, and of a sufficient length to be representative of your content as a whole--for example, a chapter of a manual. The facilitators can then become familiar with your sample and be ready to offer comments and guidance immediately. (If confidentiality policies prohibit your sending the sample beforehand, please indicate.) The workshop is completely hands-on, involving, in many cases, a significant physical reorganization of your sample. Please bring a printed copy of your sample (printed one-sided), scissors, sticky notes, index cards, highlighters, and tape. Attendees must be pre-registered and must bring some representative hardcopy samples of current content to serve as working files. A laptop is not needed. Presentation Level: beg/int Tools Used (at a minimum): *robust* sample of attendees' own content, markers, highlighters Industries (others may apply): software and hardware documentation, process documentation, etc. Keywords: content modeling, information architecture, structured authoring, XML markup About Leigh White Leigh White is a technical communicator with over 15 years of experience as a content creator, content manager, and production coordinator. One of her primary interests is exploring ways that small technical publication groups can leverage existing tools and improve processes to maximize the reuse of their content, improve their efficiency, increase their offerings and save their sanity. To accomplish these goals, Leigh advocates that effective technical communicators need to be more than writers; they need to be part programmer, part designer and part project manager. She is also a devotee of XML and structured documentation and she believes that DITA might just save the world. Her other professional interests include DTD and XSLT design, FrameMaker template design, and relational database design for small, proprietary content management systems. Leigh has spoken at a number of conferences, including the Frame Maker Chatauquas, Tech Comm/DITA, and the Summer XML Conference. She also presents a series of "DITA In a Day" workshops covering content modeling, authoring, and production using the DITA Open Toolkit. About Mollye Barrett Mollye Barrett is Principal at ClearPath, LLC. She is a veteran content management and technical communication consultant at ClearPath, where she develops strategies for optimizing content, improving the authoring environment and planning for business continuity. In her work with technical publication groups to implement XML-based content management systems, Mollye presents vendor-neutral content management options that focus on business case, document and workflow analysis, single-source writing and translation. Mollye has implemented XML-based content management systems for both print and online delivery and is a long-time FrameMaker user. Non-profit roles includes Marketing Communication Director for Content Management Professionals (CM Pros), Senior Member of Society for Technical Communication (STC), Immediate Past President of the STC Wisconsin Chapter and founder of the chapter mentoring program. Mollye has presented at many conferences including STC, Lavacon, TRI-XML, FrameMaker Chautauquas and DITA/TechComm.
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Andy Lewis leads a technical writing team at RADVISION where he oversees the creation and maintenance of multiple documentation deliveries to RADVISION and its OEM partners.
