1. Creating Reusable Content
Using a Single Source for Information

2. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Creating Reusable Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 2 2

3. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Creating Reusable Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 3 3

4. Definition of Reusable Content
Reusable content is used by businesses and organizations so the same information isn’t constantly written over and over
Reusable content is stored in a central location to be accessed and used/modified by all parts of an organization

5. Definition of Reusable Content
Reusable content is written and/or compiled by a single person or a team of people
Reusable content is maintained in an unformatted master document
The content is located in a master document so writers can access to create information products
The content is unformatted so it can be styled according to the information product 5 5

6. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Creating Reusable Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 6 6

7. Examples of Reusable Content
Reusable content is a single source of information that can be used in more than one information product and output format
Examples of Information Products:
User’s guides and setup guides
Brochures and advertisements
Technician manuals
Example: A section of a car manual (such as “Changing Tires” for a particular model is reused in manuals for other car models of the same company and for online help

8. Examples of Reusable Content
Examples of Output Formats:
Printed manual in PDF format
Online help
Web site in HTML code
Customer support CD
Example: the user’s guide of a software product is available as a printed manual in PDF format, a Web site in HTML format, and as online help 8 8

9. Examples of Reusable Content (cont.)
Figure 1: Chart showing how several departments use content for different information products in different formats
Uses:
Product name
Description
Assembly instructions
Activation information
Technical Writing Department
To Create:
User’s Guides
Uses:
Product name
Price
Description
Feature List
Single source of information
Introduction to Structured Content Management with XML
by Kay Ethier and Scott Abel
Marketing Department
To Create:
Brochures
Uses:
Product name
Price
Description
Contact information
Online Content Writing Department
To Create:
Product Web Page

10. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Reusing Content
Modular Content
Conditional Text
Conversion Tools
Structured Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 10 10

11. Methods for Reusing Content: Modular Content
Modular content is written in chunks (or “modules”) of related information so the appropriate modules of content can be reused for different information products
Before writing, the various modules of information necessary for all information products are planned
Example: Descriptions, procedures, and lists 11 11

12. Methods for Reusing Content: Modular Content
After planning the necessary modules of information, they can be reused in different information products
Example: A product description is used in a user’s guide, online help, Web site, and brochure
Example: Billing information is used for a Web site only 12 12

13. Methods for Reusing Content: Modular Content (cont.)
Modular content is written so it can stand alone by avoiding references that:
Cannot be reused in a different information product
Example: The “Changing tires” section in a manual might say “as discussed in the overview” and thus can’t be reused for a quick reference guide that doesn’t have an overview
Cannot be arranged in a different sequence
Example: References to “see below,” and “the following section” 13 13

14. Methods for Reusing Content: Conditional Text
Conditional text is content tagged/marked as conditional so it appears only in certain renditions of the document (untagged content is used in all renditions)
Example: Products A and B use the same warranty information (untagged), except A has a 5 year warranty (tagged conditional for A), and B has a 3 year warranty (tagged conditional for B)
Example: A hardcopy user’s guide has a section called “Concepts” whereas the online version does not

15. Methods for Reusing Content: Conditional Text (cont.)
Conditional text is supported by authoring tools such as:
Adobe FrameMaker
Microsoft Word when used with a plug-in called Live Linx Conditional Text for Word
These tools allow you to:
Selectively include a piece of text in an output document by using predefined tags
Is maintained in one master document from which various information products are made

16. Methods for Reusing Content: Conversion Tools
Conversion tools convert data from one primary source output format into another output format automatically
Example: Content written for a hardcopy can be converted to online content
Conversion tools define conversion rules based on formatting styles in the primary source
Example: A “Body” paragraph tag written in FrameMaker can be converted to “Body” paragraph style in HTML output
Example: H1s written in a Microsoft Word document can be converted to topics in Online Help

17. Methods for Reusing Content: Conversion Tools (cont.)
Popular conversion tools:
Quadralay WebWorks ePublisher: converts print-based documents in MS Word or Adobe FrameMaker to online help, HTML , or others
Doc-To-Help for Word: converts MS Word documents to various online help formats
Adobe RoboHelp: converts HTML documents to various online help formats
PDF Online: converts PDF to MS Word format or vice-versa for free

18. Methods for Reusing Content: Structured Content
Structured content is information that has been broken down into chunks and labeled with keywords according to hierarchy and then organized in outline form
Example: The element “Changing Motor Oil” is labeled with the keyword “section title” and the first step in the procedure is labeled with the keyword “step”
The output format of structured content is produced according to styles defined for each keyword

19. Methods for Reusing Content: Structured Content (cont.)
Designing Step-by-Step Instructions
Writing quality instructions requires knowledge of the hardware or software, as well as skills in writing. Consider these questions when writing step-by-step instructions:
What's the reading level of the user?
What is their experience with computers?
Reading level of the users
Sample text.
Experience with computers
chapter title
list item 1
synopsis
list item 2
section title A
Paragraph 1A
Paragraph 2A
section title B
Paragraph 1B
Paragraph 2B
Figure 2: Keywords based on subject matter assigned to various document elements

20. Methods for Reusing Content: Structured Content (cont.)
Chapter
Chapter Title
Synopsis
List
Section
List Item 2
Section Title A
Paragraph 1A
Paragraph 2A
Section Title B
Paragraph 1B
Paragraph 2B
List Item 1
Speaker notes hint: tree structure
Figure 3: Outline representation of labeled modules in a document

21. Methods for Reusing Content: Structured Content (cont.)
The output format of structured content is produced according the style sheet defined for each keyword used in the information product
Example: The keyword “Product feature list” could be size 32 in black Arial font for the user’s guide and size 40 in blue Arial font for the brochure

22. Methods for Reusing Content: Structured Content (cont.)
Structured content labeled with keywords
Style sheets for each type of output format
Software that applies formatting rules in style sheet to content
User’s Guide
Web Site
Help System
Figure 4: Flowchart showing how structured content and style sheets come together in a software program to produce different information products 22

23. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools
Structured content can be reused by using software that supports one or more of the following:
Content Management System (CMS)
Extensible Markup Language (XML)

24. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: CMS
A CMS is a tool that enables users to:
Work with a variety of content such as text, graphics, videos, documents, etc.
Create and manage content using its own authoring interface or by integrating another third-party tool
Store content modules in a database
Categorize content modules stored in the database
Define the structure and format of an information product using “templates”

25. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: CMS (cont.)
Content created and stored in a CMS can be reused to create information products by:
Searching for content by category using query features of the database
Populating the pre-defined “template” of an information product using the searched content, similar to filling in an outline

26. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: CMS (cont.)
Popular CMS based solutions for publishing technical documentation are:
Author-it
Documentum Technical Publication Solution (TPS)

27. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: XML
XML is a mechanism to structure content by:
Storing chunks of modular content called “elements”
Describing each content module with a keyword like “tag” or “metadata”
Assigning “attributes” like “author” or “version”
Describing the structure of an information product in a definition file, either a Document Type Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema
Describing the format of an information product using style sheets

28. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: XML (cont.)
<chapter author=“John Smith”> <chaptertitle>Designing Step-by-Step Instructions</chaptertitle> <synopsis>Writing instructions requires knowledge of the products </synopsis> <list> <item>What's the reading level of the user?</item> <item> What is their experience with computers? </item> </list> <section> <sectiontitle>Reading level of the users</sectiontitle> <para>sample text</para> </section> </chapter>
attribute
start tag
end tag
element
Figure 4: A document written in XML. The callouts identify an attribute, start and end tags, and an element

29. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: XML (cont.)
Structured content in XML can be used to publish multiple information products by:
Searching elements using tags or attributes like
search for a ‘chapter’ with ‘title’, ‘Designing step by step instructions’ written by ‘author’, ‘John Smith’
search for all chapter titles and synopses, to create a preface chapter
Using elements to write within predefined structures
Applying formatting from style sheets

30. Methods for Reusing Content Structured Content Tools: XML (cont.)
Popular XML based solutions for authoring and reusing structured content are:
Arbortext
Xmetal
XMLmind
Adobe FrameMaker

31. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Creating Reusable Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Purpose of Established Writing Standards
Examples of Established Standards
Tips for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 31 31

32. Standards for Writing Reusable Content: Purpose of Established Writing Standards
Standards are predefined structures and writing guidelines followed within a company or industry to achieve one or more of the following:
Regulatory compliance: Medical companies doing business in U.S. must comply with FDA regulations
Industry conformance: U.S. military created the first industry content standard (CALS) to make information provided by thousands of its vendors more consistent
Information interchange: When companies or groups with common interests use the same standard, it facilitates information sharing or exchange

33. Standards for Writing Reusable Content: Examples of Established Standards
Individual companies usually adopt one of these established writing standards
DITA for topic-based documentation
DocBook for book-based documentation
SCORM for e-learning
S1000D for military equipment
SPL for pharmaceutical labeling

34. Standards for Writing Reusable Content: Tips for Writing Reusable Content
Some general advice for writing reusable content is:
Set user expectations
What information do they need?
How will they best get that information?
Plan all of the information products you intend to create and the elements they contain
Identify the content used
Identify the content that can be reused across different information products
Determine the best method for reusing content based on the restrictions of the information products you are creating
Define a style sheet for each information product 34 34

35. Overview Definition of Reusable Content Examples of Reusable Content
Methods for Creating Reusable Content
Standards for Writing Reusable Content
Pros and Cons of Reusable Content 35 35

36. Pros and Cons of Reusable Content: Pros
Increases the amount of consistent information in a variety of written material
Reduces the time and money spent writing multiple versions of the same content
Reduces the volume of content that needs to be written for the different needs of publications
Allows writers to quickly pull content from one source instead of regenerating content over and over
Reduces translation costs because reusable content needs to be translated only once

37. Pros and Cons of Reusable Content: Cons
Takes more time and resources for planning
Increases up-front work for organizing and composing source documentation
Requires new technology and tools for writing, storing, and reusing content
Requires at least 50% of the content to be reused across different information products to save time and money in the long run
Creating Context Sensitive Help Using Single Sourcing, STC India, Chennai 6th Annual Conference December 2-4, 2004.
Debjani Sen and Roger Dearth

38. References
Ament K, (2003). Single sourcing: Building modular documentation. Norwich, NY: William Andrew Publishing.
Rockley, A. Fundamental Concepts of Reuse. Retrieved 12/11/08, from Peachpit, Website:
Self, T. (March 2007). Semantic, Structured Authoring. Retrieved 12/11/08, from HyperWrite Consultancy and Training Website:
The Rockley Group, The Role of Content Standards in Content Management. Retrieved 12/11/08, from The Rockley Group, Website:

39. References (cont.)
Ethier, K. & Abel, S. (September 2004). Introduction to structured content management with XML. Retrieved 12/11/08, from CMS Watch, Website:
Sen, D. & Dearth, R. (May 2005), Creating Context Sensitive Help Using Single Sourcing. Retrieved 12/11/08, from STC , Website: