FLOSS Manuals: The OTHER FM for PDFs

Some writers truly hate Adobe Acrobat and any tool that can do the job better is worth a shot, particularly if it’s open source and easily navigated. Flossmanuals.net introduces FLOSS which does a lot of the single desktop Acrobat Pro’s job - collaboratively and open source.

Could FLOSS be the new Acrobat Pro killer?

FLOSS could bridge the gaps between Subject Matter Expert (SME) authoring of content and true documentation. For the specific purpose of supporting open source collaborative efforts this is heaven sent. Most open-source dev teams are simply not able to have those wonderful team meetings for doc review either for financial or time management purposes.

Update: Anne Gentle’s site talks about an event called a Booksprint that FlossManuals.net is doing for technical writers in support of open source programs.

I’ve been reading Janet Swisher’s review of FLOSS Manuals. She examines the pros and cons of Wiki briefly and explains the problem / solution of FLOSS definitively:

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In my five part segment last year I examined how well the XBox 360 might be combined into eLearning and also Technical Communication in general over this new settop box / gaming system. Now even more aspects are becoming compelling and pushing the advantages of the Microsoft XBox 360.

“Xbox LIVE is the world’s fastest-growing online social network on TV,” said John Schappert, corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment LIVE, Software and Services Business at Microsoft. “We doubled our membership the past two years, growing from 3 million to 6 million, and then from 6 million to 12 million.

The Old Is The New

Understand that the ‘New XBox’ is the old XBox 360 with updates. As a matter of course, I believe it’s a short step away from using Silverlight content if it’s not already doing so in this update.

Instead of revamping the hardware within the box, MSFT poured resources into programming updated content and…

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I’m a little late for this… But early for next week.

Kicking off with this great post:

The goal of many of the Web 2.0 tools is to reduce the overhead. Think of it as a “flat tax” for interactions, in that many of the philosophies of Web 2.0 are around transparency and participation, in addition, everyone is equal.

If you look at MySpace, LinkedIn, Youtube or other social networks, there is no hierarchy and pretty much everyone is equal (yes there are administrators for such systems who have greater powers).

Who keeps the Internet going? No one really, there are some agreed upon standards so that one computer can talk to another, and information can be displayed in a common format, and that is about it.

By the way, my condolences for this writer’s situation; I was in similar circumstances just last year with my dad.

Web 2.0 for Collaboration and Learning - This should be titled Web 2.0 Collaboration 101. Part of a six-week course set up in order to encourage exploration of the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the way we use information.

Top Three Web 2.0 Tools for Online Education - A quick roundup which would get just about anyone started in basic collaboration online.

(8) Online Collaboration Tools - New Technologies and Web Services

9 Principles for Implementation: The Big Shift - Check out the principles for managing change. I think this applies across the spectrum and isn’t only limited to traditional schools.

Ten Trends: Educating Children for Tomorrow’s World - Specifically, Trend 3: Social and Intellectual Capital will become the Primary Economic Value in Society.

Death, Taxes, and Collaboration

Getting to the gut-check level of hard truth of whether all our TechComm lives will be forever changed - Is India (Outsourcing) Winning?

Recently I’ve been examining the outsourcing market in India. Part of this came out of my extremely detailed analysis of Adobe, however I also investigated innovation in India. One further study I recently did was analyzing the STC India earnings comparison between US / North American technical communicators and India-based technical communicators. 

J Schwan, Managing Partner of Solstice Consulting just returned from a meet and greet trip overseas to India.

I visited four different potential partners yesterday. One was a smaller startup of really smart software engineers, one was essentially a sweat shop (20 programmers packed in a 12×12 room, a very hot room) and the other two were large publicly traded companies.

I’m really glad I came because on paper, the first two firms looked the same and visiting their development center proved they were very, very different.

Here’s a sketchy SWOT analysis based on my research:

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When Twitter first came out, I wondered if it would ever fit into the mainstream. I had no interest because, in the words of one article, people were Twittering what they had for breakfast and other complete nonsense.

I didn’t see the use for me. Why would I waste the time to Tweet (send a short Twitter message) a meal or read someone else’s Tweets. Maybe for a celebrity, but not for me.

That was until the October 2007 wildfires. Being able to receive evacuation notices and gauge the amount of progress and success of the effort was critical to all San Diegans. We were all connected. We were informed. Twitter, and the adoption by tech-savvy EMS teams made that a reality.

Being able to receive it all on my cell phone in SMS short message format was, in my opinion, priceless.

Shortly I’ll start beta testing a similar product created by a San Diego company. This Twitter successor has some greater potential in the realm of audio and pictures - MMS vs. SMS technology along with the standard Twitter features.

While this already exists in several products on the market, I know the people involved with this one so I’ll see what they have going on that’s different. There’s definitely a podcast in it somewhere.

Twitter and Blogging

It’s been long used for updating your ‘power commenters’ about a new blog post. Debbie Weil’s BlogWrite for CEOs latest blogging tip:

The way to get attention for your blog these days is to tweet your new blog post to your “followers” on Twitter.

According to Wikipedia, prominent usage of Twitter has included emergency personnel and others:

Many organizations (such as the Los Angeles Fire Department^[5]) have embraced the technology and put it to use in situations such as the October 2007 California wildfires.

Prominent Twitter users include U.S. presidential candidates Ron Paul,^[6] John Edwards, Barack Obama,^[7] and Hillary Clinton.^[8]

Higher education is also using the technology to relay important information to students in a more timely manner. Such is the case with The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering.^[9]

Twitter and Technical Communication

I’m gathering information about Twitter or other SMS usage with TechComm. Could you see any use for Twitter with Technical Communication? Perhaps in notifying team members on a time crunch that updates are ready to review?

Or Twitter missing a link - is it yet one more piece of technology which hasn’t quite matured enough?

While I’ve been working feverishly these past two months on my NorCal project, Paul Pehrson talks about MadCap’s Blaze beta on his blog Technically Speaking » Early Review: MadCap Blaze. He specifically mentions MadCap’s new collaborative workflow tool:

If your reviewers don’t have Blaze or Flare installed, MadCap is introducing a new product called X-Edit Express — a free tool your reviewers can use to review, make suggestions and light edits, and submit back to you. All my SMEs can install X-Edit Express, and I can use Blaze/Flare to submit the file to them for editing.

They open it in X-Edit Express, do their review, and click Save. The file will show up again for me as being reviewed. I can open it to see what changes/annocations they made.

X-Edit Express isn’t available for review yet, but I’ll give you my comments on that one once I’ve had a chance to evaluate the program.

Replacement for Microsoft Word or…?

I can see Blaze being useful and complementary to Word however X-Edit pushes the envelope. Sharon has a great couple of workflow diagrams on her blogpost: Beta, beta, everywhere which show where it belongs in the workflow.

In my December 2007 MadCap corporate headquarters visit and subsequent interview of Mike Hamilton we talked about workflow and specifically about Word.

I think one of the tougher questions I asked him was whether or not it was an intent of MadCap Software to compete with Word. In my podcast program we find the relevant segment within the Hamilton podcast:

27:00 (minutes through podcast)
Mike answers the question about Word competing with Flare or Blaze. Since the MadCap –products are a complete workflow, does it compete with Word?

28:15
Getting granular about Word vs. Flare in typical generic user usage – where the breakpoint comes in.

30:15
Strategy and policy for supporting new Microsoft releases. Mike includes Internet Explorer web browser, Word, and operating system support in his answer.

Briefly, Mike answered that MadCap was not looking to create a Word replacement and that MadCap intended to work with Microsoft products as a valued Microsoft partner. My opinion is that… X-Edit was designed with a specific (ahem) industry problem in mind…

Hey SME, Don’t touch that template!

IMO, X-Edit fits well in preserving a doc template so it can’t be horked down by fatfingering.

With Sharon’s website showing the template form of X-edit and Mike’s previous statement I figure that either Word or X-Edit will be great for sourcing information and X-Edit Express wraps it up for those who don’t need to write it, just read and be heard.

Killer Application: Helping begin corporate conversations…

Ann Gentle has a complementary article about corporate conversations which IMO, is a critical application for this tool.

Imagine the Technical Support staff having a Web 2.0 window into documentation, becoming empowered to review the docs as they are published and implement troubleshooting into a software workflow.

Here’s yet another great article from Just Write Click >> Technical writers and conversations:

I had an “ah ha” moment at SXSW Interactive, when one of the social media metrics panelists Rohit Bhargava said he sees three areas or channels for measurable conversations - Public Relations, Marketing (Sales), and Customer Support.

For me, those three categories crystallized this connection: where our role as tech pubs is strongest in an organization, that’s where we might start successful conversations.

… Tech support seems the best alignment for many companies, as Charles Jeter’s follow-up points out. Tech publications that drive down support costs are another area where value proof lies.

Ann, you’re on a great thread with the conversations bit. Getting corporate cultures to open up and use Web 2.0 smartly is critical to their success against their competition.

Threat Assessment - Adobe TCS will lose even more ground…

My opinion is that Blaze coupled with X-Edit Express is what we called in the military a ‘Force Multiplier’. It’s another technological smart bomb, just like MadCap’s newly released Analyzer.

It will help the overall workflow of the Technical Communications Manager / Team Lead by allowing their subject matter experts (SMEs) to comment freely without impacting the installed software cost. This is a low (zero) cost high yield product befitting a hard look.

If this were the 1980s and the Cold War, X-Edit Express would be Star Wars or the smart bomb. As it stands, it’s just another reason not to renew the licensing on existing Adobe Acrobat Professional.

I’ll have to try it before I claim it beats the DevBlog concept, but I won’t be shocked if it kills my old workflow standby and raises the bar for MadCap’s competition.

I figure that X-Edit Express will compete with Adobe Acrobat’s reviewing workflow and will easily compete with the ‘next generation’ of Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite as Adobe moves towards true single-sourcing. 

As a free tool for reviewers it removes the requirement of a licensed copy of Adobe Acrobat for reviewing. It also swings into the single-sourcing workflow that FrameMaker so desperately needs - with a wrecking ball.

I’ll be watching Paul’s blog closely for more industry information - he’s really stepped up as an MVP in the MadCap community.

Mike, Sharon, that name has got to go…

Okay, I hate to knock MadCap, but I hate the X-Edit  / X-Edit Express name already.

On the (very) bright side this is what you get when your core competencies are user experience and programming and the brain trust won’t (waste)spend a lot of money on marketing weenies.

I’m sure the product will work excellent regardless of its name, I’m just being picky. 

My two cents: Stick with the tradition of a one or two syllable name.

Flare. Blaze. Mimic. Capture. All sound memorable. Like Rocky. Legend. Matrix. Halo. 

Besides, MadCap’s not staffed by ‘haters’. They can take a ding or two from little old me!

Related posts (some external):

• MadCap’s VP Mike Hamilton Speaks! (Dec 7th, 2007)
• DevBlog Collaboration | Your Internal Process Holy Grail
• Web 2.0: one man writes » Conversation V.I.P.s
• Technically Speaking » Early Review: MadCap Blaze
• Sharon’s MadCap Blog » Beta, beta, everywhere
• Communication from DMN » Staying on top of changes
• Just Write Click » Technical writers and conversations

Continuing our discussion from eDMS Roshambo Part 1 | Reviving PnP Workflow and eDMS Online Content Management with Analyzer, Electronic Document Management Systems (eDMS) has a large presence in enterprise server software. Companies which rely on Policy and Procedure (PnP) compliance must handle and update internal documentation to comply with Federal, State and industry standards.

All of that costs money. These eDMS servers are not cheap. There are also SaaS models that keep it affordable, but the monthly cost is still fairly high. Most are direct enterprise models with onsite installation and maintenance. Integration of these eDMS systems is, as you might imagine, somewhat intensive.

Wikis versus eDMS / DMS - (Electronic) Document Management System

The power of wikis in a corporation is hotly debated, however the concepts of wiki collaboration are widely accepted. The question becomes how to get there.

Currently the position on Wiki collaboration has been carefully pushed back and forth - see How Wikipedia Works (Or Doesn’t) | Can Corporations Use Wikis? where the Stanford Business School sources put forth their objections to Corporate Wiki use.

Update Jan 21: My thoughts on Wikis in Corporations are disputed by none less than Stewart Mader!

Stewart’s book, Wikipatterns, is attractive and is first on my soon-to-read list. I actually stood in Barnes & Noble less than a month ago and my mom held it up and asked me if I wanted it. I couldn’t since I was unfortunately buried in research. Check out Stewart Mader’s well-worded rebuttal of my comments.

Now that Stewart has mentioned my site I’m holding out to buy an autographed version of Wikipatterns.

Let’s look at the eDMS collaboration workflow first.

From Wikipedia on Workflow within a DMS:

Workflow is a complex problem and some document management systems have a built in workflow module. There are different types of workflow. Usage depends on the environment the EDMS is applied to.

Manual workflow requires a user to view the document and decide who to send it to.

Rules-based workflow allows an administrator to create a rule that dictates the flow of the document through an organization: for instance, an invoice passes through an approval process and then is routed to the accounts payable department.

Dynamic rules allow for branches to be created in a workflow process. A simple example would be to enter an invoice amount and if the amount is lower than a certain set amount, it follows different routes through the organization.

From Wikipedia on Collaboration within a DMS:

Collaboration should be inherent in a EDMS. Documents should be capable of being retrieved by an authorized user and worked on. Access should be blocked to other users while work is being performed on the document.

This brings its own challenges, particularly if the document is large in scope, right? Which is where things tend to fall apart. Bringing all these different parts of a ‘document’ together, with the right styles in both appearance and verbage is where docs managers and info architects usually have job security.

It also happens to be where MadCap is targeting the usate of their improved MadPak with the Analyzer.

Rock Paper Scissors (RoShamBo): Wiki beats separate desktop tools & an eDMS

So here’s one blogger’s recent take on why to use a Wiki to do collaboration.

From Blog on Wiki Patterns: Why using a wiki instead of email or documents will multiply your collaboration effectiveness:

Because of its complex structure, the EDMS tends to compartmentalize content instead of letting relationships emerge, so it becomes a veritable black hole.

The wiki does a much better job because it allows emergent organization of content - people don’t have to decide which folder or section to put it in, they can tag it so it appears alongside other similar content. Also in a wiki, the fact that you put content directly on a page instead of uploading a file means it requires less effort for someone else to find it.

If it’s on a page, I can:

1. see it immediately, and
2. add to or edit it immediately.

The fact that I can see it immediately means I’m less likely to get distracted by the mechanics associated with downloading, opening, etc., so I’m more likely to remember something I might want to add. Then, the fact that I can edit it so easily means I’m more likely to make my contribution.

That’s the real power of the wiki.

I’ve already talked in a previous post about the disadvantages of PDF or other ‘black hole’ technologies with information.

Wikis provide a similar advantage to a help authoring workflow I was using five years ago with RoboEngine / RoboHelp and currently use MadCap Flare to author. So that’s nothing new, as long as that content can be repurposed and isn’t siloed the end user is helped quicker and it’s easier to update and distribute.

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Everyone knows what Roshambo is - rock, paper, scissors. It’s a quick to learn children’s game with its basic roots in human psychology. Apply this to an area, say Policy and Procedure.

Documentation Management or What’s with all this stuff on the H Drive?!?

The existing concepts - eDMS with separate DMS documents, implementing and overseeing a corporate wiki, or the RoboHelp Server each have different strengths.

There’s a great article pointing out the pros and cons of eDMS vs Wikis that I have planned for Part 2.

With Part 3 I’ll go into the history and technology of the RoboInfo Server - a/k/a RoboEngine a/k/a RoboServer a/k/a RoboHelp Enterprise

So now we have a nice easy Roshambo with strengths and weaknesses in each. I’ll also wrap up with where I will be recommending my clients to improve their procedures.

Existing Paradigm: eDMS

Within an eDMS Word documents, disparate help files, PDFs are all available yet siloed with content that cannot yet be single sourced. Editing workflows vary from product to product but none are core technology and are stagnant in quality. The eDMS price point is upwards from $10,000 for the India-based developers into the mid five or low six figures for top of the line eDMS integration.

So cost is a weakness. It’s also risky for a middle manager to have to make recommendations on adopting usage. Editing is normally either a multi-desktop tool evolution or some sort of half-baked internal editing tool within the eDMS.

Proposed use: Wikis.

Wikis are easy for multiple users to use, however dealing with recommended corrections tends to lead towards anarchy without consistent management and oversight. Not a lot of corporations are thrilled about the open-editing functionality and that limits Wiki adoption currently.

I’ve not seen much to change my views from the research I did last year, How Wikipedia Works (Or Doesn’t) | Can Corporations Use Wikis?

Dan from Astoria has a great position contrary to mine. He feels that existing corporate controls will tend to triumph over the anarchy.

So if you take the notion of a corporate blog and loosen the filters to “evolve” it to a wiki, is this the equivalent of letting a pack of hyenas into your living room?

A lot of pundits seem to think so, however, with the proper review and approve mechanisms there is no reason to assume you can’t maintain the same level of control. The benefits of a wiki as an input mechanism to a documentation process that had previously been behind an information firewall are vast.

My response is in the comments and basically states that if a corporation is willing to listen to the unvarnished truth without punishing the contributors, they will be able to get the wiki job done.

I personally am skeptical about corporations not killing the messenger.

Yesterday’s Faded Glory: RoboInfo Server / RoboHelp Enterprise

RoboHelp / RoboInfo with the RoboServer is one method I’ve used for the past few years. RoboHelp can import content in, but it’s siloed and wrapped in proprietary format once it’s in. With the RoboServer other source information can be indexed. The Adobe Technical Communications Suite (Adobe TCS) brings things to ‘almost single source’.

In my opinion the Adobe TCS strategy with bundling the Acrobat 3D is that people will start drawing all of their documentation instead of writing it. Sort of like IKEA furniture instructions. I am beginning to believe that Adobe doesn’t know the true definition of Technical Communication, or they are attempting to change that definition.

Disrupting the Doc Management Roshambo - Analzyer and MadPak

MadCap’s solution set of the MadPak with their Feedback Server has been making a debut with its innovative Web 2.0 interface. Now, with the addition of the soon to release MadCap Analyzer, we’re looking at a true Roshambo contest for data management and documentation managers. 

After sitting down to take a sneak peek at the MadCap Analyzer, I’m realizing that workflows as we know them for documentation are about to make an abrupt shift upwards in efficiency. As far as I know, MadCap’s Analyzer will release sometime this January.

Analyzer is breaking that rock-paper-scissors deadlock with a wrecking ball.

Since keeping documentation as simple as possible is the hardest task to accomplish, Analyzer allows a Documentation Manager the capability to review consistency quickly, a task that would normally take hours or days to complete is now a matter of minutes and can be run on a daily basis.

I’ll post a review of Analyzer shortly, having first seen its close to release version just this week.

What I’m guessing is that the MadPak will fit nicely into an existing eDMS solution, bringing Web 2.0 capabilities and advanced authoring assistance directly into the documentation team’s grasp.

My proposed adoption: For managers who have eDMS, use of the MadPak with the new Analyzer will make their doc teams sing their praises louder than Vikings sending heros off to Valhalla.

For small companies who have data silos and have a need for single sourcing that data, FrameMaker, Word, and RoboHelp content can all be aggregated with MadPak. That’s if you’re planning on spending less money later on by having all the information in one place.

For Wiki proponents, read my article How Wikipedia Works (Or Doesn’t) | Can Corporations Use Wikis? because the quoted Harvard Business School professors do the Wiki adoption point much better justice than I could in one or two paragraphs.

Clive on Learning had this to say about the space:

RapideL Enhance, which works with Microsoft Word to generate Flash-based courses, but this is a big step forward.

There’s no doubt that desktop tools such as Articulate and Captivate have their advantages, not least in terms of performance, the ease with which large files can be manipulated, and the freedom they allow for authors to work offline. I would have no hesitation for reaching for one of these tools if I was working on a project alone.

Where online tools have the edge is when you’re working collaboratively as a team - writers, graphic designers, subject-experts, a/v specialists, reviewers and so on - and when you are likely to be producing a large number of modules that share assets such as text, images, audio and Flash movies.

Working online, any member of the team can view the current status of a module, add new elements or suggest changes. There’s only ever one current version and this can be exported at any time for deployment on an LMS or on CD-ROM.

Wow. Somehow I’m not the only one who’s seen the blending and fusion of Technical Support and Technical Writing. Technical Support through Web 2.0 supplies a conversation to their users who are in desperate need of help.

Repurposing that conversation’s content provides a cornerstone for a savvy company’s knowledge base. An interesting concept for Technical Communicators to consider, along with figuring out the workflow to make life easier and not overwhelming.

Content, Technology, and Instruction - The User Assistance Triangle

I’ve always thought Technical Communication breaks into three distinct user assistance skill sets - Content, Technology, and Instruction.

Rarely have I seen those who master all three and it is difficult to imagine how many years Technical Communicators train, through independent writing along with formal college, eventually through the Masters degree level for most.

The frustration point seems to come for most in attempting to adapt to the technology that is changing much more rapidly than the English language does; providing the challenge in honing that side of the triangle.

Technology Consulting - Filling In The Knowledge Gap

Technical Communicators and Instructional Designers that I’ve had the pleasure to work with hire consultants (such as my company provides) for the Technology side. We in turn listen to what they need to accomplish and either train them directly in how to accomplish that, create the workflow for them, or do the tasks to get the job done.

Stateside Tech Support - Fashionable Yet Again

Career Technical Support technicians and engineers however, trend successfully into the Instruction and Technology elements. With a successful Knowledge Base and product usage demonstrations, the crossover into Content is complete.

A seasoned Technical Writer could easily reshape that Content and really make it shine even in is the age of wikipedia and Web 2.0 pushing Content out. 

From one man writes » Conversation V.I.P.s

I left a comment on the Cherryleaf blog, which I’ll expand on here, but the jist was that I think Technical Communicators are (can be, should be) the social web of the workplace…

…Whether we like it or not, our primary role SHOULD become information guardians. That will mean less writing, and more knowledge/information management and architecture.

It will mean a shifting of skill sets towards new areas, where there is no best practise only gut feel, and the embracing of openness.

Information will still need to be filtered, focussed and published, but once you’ve set it free, you’ll also need to nurture it as it develops. The delivery of information, naturally, becomes paramount.

We are the ONLY people (in the IT space) that can fill this role properly, and so getting a foot on the rung now will stand us in good stead.

Embracing Web 2.0, and thinking about content rather than documents is a small step but a vital one.

And my favorite part which reinforces the same threads of my entire site’s thesis:

Might the lines between technical support and technical authors start to cross over?
Yes. There are already signs that this is happening. Ultimately, a conversation friendly company won’t care WHO is doing the talking, as long as the conversation is taking place.

What we’re looking at is, in this writer/technician’s humble opinion, is the new requirement of the skill set of effective written communication within the ranks of Support Technicians. This is a change that is going to require stronger skills within the support ranks than merely answering phone calls, although that will always be part of their jobs.

Web 2.0: Making Elite Technical Support Compelling

This effective communication beyond the firewall is a competitive edge. The first-language English speaking population may actually make a comeback in Technical Support and keep their positions stateside if that edge is valid.

When it comes to your company’s Technical Support, those who can reach out with Web 2.0 and touch their audience will reap the rewards. Those elite Technician’s companies will flourish as their audience, the existing users along with the potential new customers of their services, comes to trust their judgement and in turn, trust the company who employs them.

They will become the heavy hitters among the front lines of a corporation’s marketing force simply through doing their job correctly and communicating effectively on a personal basis with those they support.

We’re seeing the beginning of a shift in thinking. Outsourcing technical support to those who cannot communicate effectively within Web 2.0’s framework doesn’t engender the same loyalty to a user community. Corporate Authenticity will play an even stronger role in customer loyalty because those who are not authentic aren’t going to play well with savvy consumers who don’t want to arbitrarily plunk down hard cash every year for ‘mandatory upgrades’.