The Rocky Road to DITA

The Rocky Road to Dublin
ﬂickr: ro-silva, Cliffs of Moher
Toni Mantych, ADP, and Sarah O’Keefe, Scriptorium
The Rocky Road to DITA

About the presenters
@tonimantych @sarahokeefe #rockyDITA
ﬂickr: Buddha Dog. Portola Valley, California, USA

Toni Mantych, @tonimantych
❖ Information Architect, ADP
Sarah O’Keefe, @sarahokeefe
❖ Founder and President, Scriptorium

DITA Implementation
Therapy Session
Toni Mantych, ADP, and Sarah O’Keefe, Scriptorium
D
RAFT

Questions, please!
❖ Fill out an index card and pass it up.
❖ Use the #rockyDITA hashtag on Twitter.
❖ Use the microphone.
ﬂickr: Buddha Dog. Caves Cove, Tennessee, USA

ADP project overview
ﬂickr: Eva Luedin

ADP project overview
❖ 60 writers
❖ Mostly RoboHelp
❖ Implementing DITA, CCMS, topic-based writing
❖ Business case: Localization, reuse, and quality
❖ The business case was easy.

We expected smooth sailing.
ﬂickr: zoomzoom

Maybe a few small surprises…
ﬂickr: amardilo

But instead…
ﬂickr: joiseyshowaa, Bangladesh

What made the road rocky? 
(“Agenda”)
❖ Complex conditions
❖ Resource constraints
❖ The matrix: Inﬂuence without authority
❖ Building skills

Complex conditions
ﬂickr: shannonpatrick17,Houston, Texas

Complex conditions
❖ So. Many. Meetings.

Graphics
helped.
Somewhat.

Balance and focus
❖ Value of reuse
❖ Complexity of conditionals

Don’t focus only on
maximizing reuse.
Complexity is
expensive.
dangerousroads.org, Swindon, UK

We had
resource
constraints.
ﬂickr: infomatique, Ormond Quay area, Dublin

We had resource constraints.
❖ Not enough people.
❖ Not enough funding.

Addressing resource
constraints
❖ Hire consultants for expertise and quick wins to
build momentum
❖ But focus on building knowledge internally

What to do
about lack of
experience?
ﬂickr: deepakkt, Chinnakallar Falls, Valparai, India

What to do about lack of
experience?
❖ Use consultants wisely
❖ Start learning early
❖ Build your team with care
❖ Plan your project to accommodate learning

The consultant paradox
❖ Expertise = quick wins and
momentum
❖ Overreliance = Can’t
manage project internally
ﬂickr: barelyﬁtz

Bust through the paradox.
ﬂickr: urbanwoodchuck, Tennessee?

Use consultants properly
❖ Hire consultants for expert knowledge at
project start
❖ Get quick wins to build momentum
❖ Insist on knowledge transfer
❖ Grow team expertise over time
ﬂickr: urbanwoodchuck, Tennessee?

Without knowledge transfer,
you aren’t a client,
you’re a hostage.
ﬂickr: Yellowstone National Park

Project expertise
Project start Pilot Implementation Maintenance
Consultants Staff

External Internal
Consultants Staff

Start learning early
❖ Informal DITA knowledge acquisition
(LearningDITA.com and others)
❖ Read
❖ Attend conferences and learn from others’
mistakes (like right now!!)

Build your team with care
ﬂickr: North Dakota Department of Transportation

Build your team with care
❖ Early adopters
❖ Thrive on learning independently
❖ Build esprit de corps

How to build the team
ﬂickr: junaelo242a, Chile

How to build the team
❖ Diverse skills and attitudes
❖ Continuous learning
❖ Very different from core job
❖ Requires trial and error
❖ Risk perception varies

Accommodate learning
ﬂickr: Jerald Jackson, Spring, Texas, USA

Accommodate learning
❖ Give early adopters small, low-risk projects
❖ Make mistakes early
❖ Understand that some people like uncertainty
and others fear uncertainty

Into the matrix
ﬂickr: robertpaulyoung.
Giant’s Causeway

Into the matrix (organization)
❖ Inexperienced matrix team
❖ No in-house experience is the standard
❖ New hires won’t solve the problem because
they have no social capital
❖ Best case is someone who by coincidence had
previous experience

Matrix management
❖ Clearly deﬁne roles, responsibilities,
expectations
❖ Accountability
❖ Establish a communication strategy
❖ Pre-arrange a method for dealing with conﬂicts

Learning
ﬂickr: dennyarmstrong. Mogolion, New Mexico, USA

Map from
“old way” to
“new way”

Learning
❖ Train early and often
❖ Uncover issues with the implementation
❖ Discover unmet needs
❖ Use collaboration systems
❖ Tip page with list of shortcuts
❖ Best practices from experience

How to stay on track
flickr:explore_photography

Real-life project management
Graphic:GretylKinsey

Prerequisites versus learning
during the project
ﬂickr: ro-silva. Giant’s Causeway

Prerequisites versus learning
during the project
❖ Flexibility
❖ Willingness to learn
❖ Perseverance
❖ Motivation
❖ We can teach the rest, but only if the person
wants to learn

Questions?
ﬂickr: alexranaldi, Cliffs of Moher

The Rocky Road to DITA

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The Rocky Road to DITA