Topic-Based Authoring: Getting Your Feet Wet

Next publicly scheduled workshop: September 21, 2010, at the ISTC conference Technical Communication UK, Oxford, England.
Also available as an onsite 1 or 2-day workshop (pdf). To discuss, contact Linda.

Developed and presented by: Linda Urban

Topic-based authoring is a technique for writing content as discrete, stand-alone pieces (“topics”) that can be combined and reused in different ways.

The topic-based approach has been getting a lot of attention recently because it is an integral part of DITA (the Darwin Information Typing Architecture) and other XML-based solutions. However, topic-based authoring has actually been around for quite some time, and does not require DITA or XML.

Using a topic-based approach can improve consistency and usability of information, and can make it easier to reuse topics in different contexts. It can also simplify maintenance, speed up the review process, and facilitate shared authoring.

This hands-on workshop provides an overview of topic-based writing concepts and principles, and then lets you try your hand at using a topic-based approach. We will define key concepts (such as topic, information type, and element), look at examples of different types of topics, and discuss pros and cons of a topic-based writing approach.

You will get a chance to work with actual content, as you

Identify and define information and topic types
Chunk linear information into topics
Assess what kinds of changes are required to make individual topics work effectively for users
Consider how to connect and cluster topics, to provide a cohesive collection of information for users, even when content is complex

Along the way, we will touch on related questions such as:

How long should a topic be?
What's the difference between topic-based writing and structured writing?
Do you need to use DITA to benefit from topic-based authoring? Do you need a content management system?
Just how hard is the shift to a topic-based approach?

Recommended: Please bring a sample of your own content to consider during the workshop (10 to 15 pages, printed single-sided).

A laptop computer is NOT required.