Confessions of a DITAfile: What’s IN and What’s OUT for Project Success

The truth is that DITA works as specified, but that’s just it. DITA is just a specification and nothing more. It is designed to give you freedom to develop a solution that satisfies your particular needs and requirements. It can be whatever you want it to be. This lack of restriction might seem simultaneously overwhelming and exciting. It might even blow your mind!

So, what really matters is your vision, goals, expectations, and how you approach implementation. If you think you can purchase a single DITA tool in a boxed package and then sit down and use it, you will probably be deeply disappointed and frustrated. The goal of this presentation is to set a realistic expectation for what you can do with DITA and how it will undoubtedly change your authoring experience.

After attending this session, you will be able to

• Understand what DITA is really about how people apply it and its related automation technologies to gain process efficiencies and avoid content errors
• See DITA for what it can or can’t do for you
• Have insight into the benefits corporations can get from using DITA
• Know when and when not to use DITA
• Set expectations for successful implementation
• Set exceptions for what vendors or consultants can and can’t do for you
• Avoid the top 10 top pitfalls
• Apply the top 10 tips for success

This session is appropriate for content authors, developers, and strategists who are now or will be in the future engaged in a DITA initiative, regardless of their experience level with DITA or content development.

Paula Toth

Paula Toth, Best Practices Leader—Single Sorceress, is the TechProse team’s in-house subject matter expert on DITA and single-source solutions. With nearly twenty years of experience in technical communications, she is passionate about helping organizations streamline and reuse their content. Paula has worked with TechProse since 1990 and has managed single sourcing projects for small firms and large corporations. For the last nine years, her focus has been single-source analysis, development, and information architecture. In addition to her work with these solutions, Paula has years of experience in information design, instructional design, content development, help system development, marketing writing, and process and procedure development.