Title: When is DITA Right for You? (and when isn't it?) Subtitle: A Decision Guide for the Curious
Short Summary: (<100 wds)
Do the benefits of DITA outweigh it's drawbacks for your organization? How
do you decide if it will work for you? Join Eric Armstrong as he explains
why he has recommended DITA in some cases, and recommended against it in
others. Be prepared to offer your own thoughts on DITA's pro's and con's,
and to hear the views of others.
Long Summary: (300-500 wds)
Do the benefits of DITA outweigh it's drawbacks for your organization? How
do you decide if it will work for you?
This session summarizes DITA's major features (without demonstrating them
or going into detail) and identifies the benefits those features can provide
for your organization and for your readers.
It also explains the costs inherent in the DITA model, so you can balance
those costs against the potential benefits, and so you know what kind of
investment you need to make to achieve DITA's benefits without imperiling
your deadlines.
Finally, it describes situations in which DITA is unlikely to repay the time
and energy you put into it.
About:
Eric Armstrong has been designing systems and programming computers since
before there were personal computers. A former employee of Sun Microsystems,
he is now an independent consultant who helps organizations get the most
out of their investment in DITA. His specialty is advanced web-production
systems, as exemplified by the open source project at http://kenai.com/projects/rudi,
which combines the power of Ruby, XSL-style transforms, and DreamWeaver
templates.