Hybrid document: user guide & training workbook

["Catherine Dexter" <Catherine_Dexter -at- picis -dot- com>]

Does anyone have experience not only merging documentation and training
groups but also merging deliverables? I mean one document that serves
the purpose of a user guide and training workbook. 

Background:
My company merged the documentation group with the training group to
remediate a dire shortage of training materials without hiring new
staff. To cover the need for both documentation (manuals and help files)
and training materials (presentation slides, classroom workbooks,
exercises), a hybrid deliverable was conceived: a slide presentation
with a workbook that combines classroom material with detailed product
information, with an index and TOC. The document also serves as a source
file for the online help system. Units replace chapters roughly and each
unit can be presented alone, combined with others for a specific
training event, or bundled with all others to produce an all-inclusive
workbook that takes the place of the user guide for the product.

We create a slide presentation and create a workbook around it,
inserting an image of a slide at the start of the corresponding topic.
Underneath we put documentation content (background information, tips,
warnings, procedures, index markers), plus classroom activities and
exercises, notes to the instructor, cross references. There is a lot of
conditional text. We're using FrameMaker 6 and mifToGo.

I'm struggling mightily to create a source file that serves three
purposes. Experiences that help answer the following questions would be
greatly appreciated:

-Does the deliverable work well for both audiences?  
-Any tips on information design that works for both audiences?
-Where can I learn how to do this more effectively?
-Is this an effective way of single-sourcing?


Thank you.

Catherine Dexter
Learning Designer
Picis Learning Services
Picis


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