Times have changed. In these days of tight budgets, technical communicators are producing more types of output, and have learned to welcome technologies that will help them work more efficiently.
What Is Content Reuse?
Content reuse, as the name implies, lets you take advantage of information that has already been created. For example, the online help and the quick reference card can reuse a procedure that appears in the user manual. The marketing brochure can reuse a high-level introduction from the reference manual. Lively Web pages targeting different audiences can reuse some of the graphics and descriptions prepared for a sedate annual report.
Many approaches to content reuse are available, ranging from delivering information as both PDF and HTML Help files, to complex systems that deliver selected information tuned for specific users. Control of the common material might begin by simply storing the files in a designated location on a shared drive, and evolve to a complex database system.
Where Can I Learn More About Content Reuse?
Numerous articles and books are available to help you learn about content reuse and single-sourcing. The following articles, listed alphabetically by title, provide a starting point. (For full publication information, see the annotated bibliography.)
Cross-Media Publication: Obey the Content Master. Bill Rosenblatt ties content reuse to the idea of a content master, similar to the master of a movie, which could have a director’s cut, a theatrical release, and a version for a DVD or VCR. Rosenblatt makes the surprising suggestion that the Web version of a document should be the master version, with the print and PDA versions deriving from it. The article touches on XML and some of the tools that can be used in single sourcing.
How to Write Information So You Can Use It Again. Saul Carliner briefly explains how to prepare information for reuse by creating modules of text. He also explains how to reuse copyrighted material.
King of the Highway. In the early days of the Internet), Matthew J. Cutler addressed the use of existing content and moving it to the Web. Most of his advice is still applicable today. Cutler recommends digestible sections or file of around 500 words, with links to the remaining material. He suggests rewriting material to achieve the friendlier tone often used in writing for the Web, and in a corporate setting, recommends assigning a content manager to make sure that the friendly tone doesn’t get out of hand.
Single Sourcing White Paper. Joann Hackos and Ann Rockley start by explaining that converting the same files for PDF and help files is not the same as single sourcing.
By breaking the documents into components and identifying common information, writers can reuse the content, rearranging it as needed. The consistency of the documentation set improves, and the close evaluation of the content may lead to reorganization that improves usability. Rockley and Hackos describe a development process that starts with analyzing the content, and finishes with usability testing and training the writers. This white paper is the nucleus from which both authors have developed books and numerous articles.
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Most recent update: 06/20/04
Author and Webmaster: Elizabeth Kent