Re: Why Aren't Open Source Tools Being Considered?

[Bill Lawrence <lawrence -at- mayaviz -dot- com>]

Here's one reason why open-source systems aren't considered.

I was the lone writer at a very small software company, and was hired 
largely because of my ability to set up an XML system using open source 
tools.  I created a Docbook-based, single-source system using the 
Docbook Modular Stylesheets.  The graphics were built in Open Office 
Draw or the GIMP. The document repository was a CVS system that I'd put 
together.  It all worked great...for me.  However, when I left they had 
huge difficulty in finding anyone that:

a) Knew anything about Docbook or XML in general.
b) Knew XSLT and a scripting language, so that they could work with the 
customizations that I had made.
c) Knew enough about single-source documentation to make sense of how 
the modular system worked.
d) Knew enough about graphics programs in general to adapt to the open 
source tools.
e) Knew what CVS was.

I left considerable notes about what customizations I'd made, how the 
system worked, etc.  I also showed one of the engineers how the 
publishing system worked before I left so that they could pass the 
knowledge on to the new tech writer.  That was pointless.  Because they 
couldn't find anyone with the requisite skills, they eventually hired 
someone that had Frame and Webworks skills instead and recreated the 
docs in Frame.  So for them, the cost of originally opting for open 
source tools was extreme.

The cold, hard fact of the matter is that for every TW that you can find 
that can understand how to use open-source tools or can adapt to them, 
there are a hundred that can't without considerable training. 

Cheers,

Bill Lawrence


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