It has been a while since my last post…. Unfortunately plans on paper do not always turn into articles on our blog…
I would like to share with our readers some exciting UI design improvements we are bringing to LiveTechDocs. This partial revamp of the site is based on user feedback and ideas.
A recurring question about on-demand applications is security. Is it really safe to upload my enterprise data online? Do I still have full control over my data? We never worked with online application before so we are not so confident… When it comes to security, the list of users’ concerns can get long. However, one should also consider security from different angles to make the best choice.
LiveTechDocs co-founder, Teresa Mulvihill, was recently interviewed by Scott Abel from The Content Wrangler. You can see the details of the interview here.
The Content Wrangler is a fast growing website that publishes news and articles in the field of Content Management. The site also provides community features for people interested in networking in this field.
Documentation written for single-sourcing (topic based, like that found in DITA) has great potential for efficiency. Writing once and publishing in many publications (Developer Guides, User Guides, etc.) and many formats (pdf, html, HTMLHelp, etc.) turns into cost and time savings.
I had a coffee this week with Bob Sayton, Mr DocBook Stylesheets! Among other topics, we briefly discussed the benefits of extending DocBook to other communities than technical documentation.
Documentation teams need a fast and effective review process to move forward on their projects and deliver quality, timely content. Reviewers, may they be SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) or key organization authorities, are usually extremely busy and have limited time (or interest) to review documentation. Interesting dilemma, no?
Sharing XML documents during the writing and review process is a missing link in the XML publication chain. While Office or PDF applications help, they also add another extra-layer of complexity and loose the “XML awareness” of our initial document. That’s where LiveTechDocs comes into play.
Technical documentation is a prime beneficiary of XML technology, with standards such as DocBook and DITA. However, while XML revolutionized the way technical documentation is written, it did nothing to help documentation teams improve the collaboration process with the SMEs and other invested parties. In some cases, things got worse, with another layer of complexity added between the documentation team and the documentation stakeholders. Where is the missing link?
We are very happy to announce LiveTechDocs beta release.
LiveTechDocs collaboration service lets you share, browse, and review XML-based documentation projects. We currently support DocBook XML (4.x), an industry standard for writing technical documentation.
In LiveTechDocs, all the project files, tasks, and activities are accessed securely in one place. Technical writers notify the team when the documentation is updated, reviewers attach their comments directly on the documentation page, and the project manager tracks and validates the comments and the project progress.
Interested to learn more? Register now or try our demo project!
The LiveTechDocs Team
support@livetechdocs.com
I was one of the lucky US visitors to assist in the OASIS Open Standards conference in Sydney. This two-day event organized by Allette Systems (well done guys!) gave a great perspective on topics such as Open Office Standards (ODF and Microsoft Open XML), best practices to integrate and benefit from standards, and how one can use standards to save Australia from terrible droughts - like the one they had in 2007.