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> Part of the problem was that the XML, single-source solution was imposed
> on a staff that really didn't want to do it. They were comfortable with
> the old document development process. Each person considered themselves
> Writers (note the capital W) and some had false illusions about being
> graphic designers as well.
>
> Going back two previous employers, we had an SGML system that worked
> extremely well and the writers loved it. The difference I think was in
> the self-perception of the writers.
It could be that, or it could be that the process change was not well
implemented. All too often new processes are imported from outside the
organization and imposed wholesale. This almost never works. Process change
is, well, a process. Principles and tools from the outside are good, but the
process itself needs to be home grown and nurtured lovingly over time. And
it must always start with the recognition of business problems that everyone
who is a part of the process understands and is committed to solving. If it
starts as an attempt to introduce a technology rather than an attempt to
solve a business problem, it is doomed.
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Mark Baker
Analecta Communications
www.analecta.com
+1 613 614 5881
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