Where's the Beef for Enterprise Structured Content?

Posted on August 2017

A few years back, Wendy's did a series of advertisements with the woman above. She looked at burgers that were "mostly buns" and then called competing burger chains asking, "Where's the beef?" Wendy's had the answer. Very effective! (My daughter Katie informs me that there may be a generation gap here, so I have provided this link to one of the ads. Frank also tells me that I should point out that Beef can be a figurative term. You might think of beef or tofu, as he thinks of cookies.)

Organizations should ask where the beef is when thinking about moving enterprise information to structured content. We define structured content as the result of both structured authoring and structured mark-up with XML. Simply XML feeds your need for beef with Content Mapper software and an optional training system for Developing Great Structured Content. There's plenty of beef at the enterprise level for everyone at the table, not just Tech Pubs.

Information Consumers

These are your internal or external customers who use the content you create. They are the readers who need the right information, at the right time, on the right device, in their preferred language. If you don't get the right content to them in an accurate accessible way, then performance suffers. The enterprise loses customers, experiences compliance issues, increases support costs, discredits the brand, and more.

Simply XML Delivers the Beef for Information Consumers

Here is how:

Our cognitive-based approach to authoring gives readers the procedures, processes, principles, concepts and references developed and organized based on how the mind processes information.
Improved compliance is a result of accurate, reader-focused information.
Content Mapper's XML architecture facilitates one-button multi-channel publishing, so you or your information consumers can choose the best device/media for his/her needs—PDF, HTML, EPUB, Mobile, Help, and more.
Translation costs are minimized with efficiency and speed of delivery improved.
Your reader understands and performs more quickly and accurately.
Your customers increasingly see your organization as competent, professional, and well-managed.

Enterprise Authors

These are the employees and contractors who develop content. They want to operate with their preferred authoring tools, which in most cases means MS Word. They don't want to learn about XML and they will never use a technical XML editor like XMetaL, Arbortext, or FrameMaker. They want to efficiently and effectively do their jobs. You need to give them the tools and skills that they need to simply produce results.

Simply XML Delivers the Beef for Enterprise Authors

Here is how:

Your authors see a familiar MS Word user interface and get up to speed quickly.
Content Mapper hides the ugly but useful XML, whether DITA, Simply Structured, or another structure.
Because authors already know MS Word, almost no training is required to use Content Mapper. Our structured writing methodology is taught in a web-based instructor-led seminar.
No one needs to learn the nuances of all 600+ or even 50 DITA elements
Your authors will save valid XML to the repository.
With a powerful XML architecture underneath, content creation is separated from formatting and publishing content. Desktop publishing costs are minimized or eliminated and organizations have calculated their savings at a whopping 30-50%.
Reuse is easy at many levels with starter templates, fragments, tables, images, and broader content reuse facilities. This improves start-up time, improves consistency, and eliminates recreation of duplicate content.

Publishing Departments

These are the organizations that print or manage web-based, mobile, and other content. They are under tremendous pressure to deliver just enough, just in time information. They operate in a controlled environment driven by work-flows, versioning, and deadlines. They know about XML and may have been using some form of it for years. However, they have been frustrated with the lack of quality and consistency received from individual authors and departments. This has caused substantial costs in time and money related to conversion and re-work.

Simply XML Delivers the Beef for Publishing Departments

Here is how:

All published content is created from a single source file.
An XML standard with metadata (intelligent content) lets the publishing group react swiftly and efficiently.
When MS Word-based authors save valid XML, re-keying and editing are eliminated or greatly minimized.
Product information, documentation, and other critical content sits, ready to go, in a structure that facilitates simultaneous release on all media!
Publishing to HTML and mobile pleases customers because it is chunked and accessible, not only presented as a large inaccessible PDF.
It is easy to slice and dice content for various constituencies, even individuals, based on the actual needs of information consumers.

IT Departments

IT Departments have their own pressures. Personnel and financial resources are no longer limitless. Everyone wants their____ (fill in the blank) today, tomorrow, this week, but never "when you get to it." Outsourcing has often been a chosen, but sub-optimal alternative.

Simply XML Delivers the Beef for IT Departments

Here is how:

You don't have to train authors to use a complicated XML editor. Content Mapper offers a familiar MS Word-based interface. Many organizations give new authors a Quick Reference Card and a demo, then off they go producing great content.
Author installation, training, and support can usually be offloaded to user departments saving IT resources.
Configuration options and reuse administration is streamlined and efficient.
With entrenched custom XML publishing, Content Mapper can often use XML transforms to let the author see a simple view. The content is saved in the repository as valid XML to leverage the large sunk investment in publishing systems.
Content Mapper can also be effective in more complex XML environments with round tripping of specialized content back and forth between MS Word and the technical staff who use an XML editor.
Legacy Content conversion is based on MS Word styles. It can often be accomplished by authors rather than expensive technical staff.

Conclusion

Implementing an enterprise content standard, you and your organization will

save money,
save time,
increase customer satisfaction,
improve the brand,
improve compliance, and
meet other content goals.

There's plenty of beef (tofu or cookies) to go around with Simply XML and Content Mapper. Contact us (hello@simplyxml.com) for more information and requirements.