Paper 124

TITLE: Encapsulated Information: Teaching Common Design Principles

AUTHORS(s) & AFFILIATION(s):Rebecca Matson, Computer Associates

KEYWORD(s): information design, encapsulation, education, single sourcing, writing techniques

PRESENTER / CONTACT PERSON:Rebecca Matson

CONTACT EMAIL: Rebecca.Sukach@ca.com

ABSTRACT:

Writing for multiple, diverse audiences can be a challenging process, especially when faced with documenting complex software products. Content management software offers a ready solution to the mechanical problems of content delivery to multiple audiences across multiple media. Using content management, writers can easily reuse content and graphics from deliverable to deliverable, between related products and projects. Through information reuse, writers can produce guides, help systems, quick references, and so on that take advantage of the format without repeating unnecessary information.

However, the challenges that face the writer are not simply the tools, but also the design principles underlying content management. This paper is a case-study that explores the challenges of teaching writers to create encapsulated content. The insights presented in this case-study are drawn from instructors' experiences in presenting a course in content encapsulation to approximately 50 technical writers, employed by a traditionally mainframe-based software company. Class attendees' professional experience ranged from 6 months to 25 years. This paper identifies fundamental information design principles found to be equally applicable to the design of both traditional documentation and encapsulated content.

Last modified October 28, 2001 by Scott Tilley.