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I'm sorry if I inadvertently said something insulting. I spent some time as
a consultant, and discussed many cock-eyed initiatives foisted on pubs
teams.
Many companies have technical documentation reporting in to other functions
as an additional responsibility. Some of those folks don't have a clue, but
need to log 'achievements' to weigh in at appraisal time. Then come the
buzzwords, the XML, Single-sourcing, DITA, and whole bunch of popular (read
fad) solutions.
The problem with this industry is that there are lots of solutions to pick
from. The problem is that implementing a solution often introduces problems
that didn't exist in a system that happened to work pretty well to begin
with.
I hope this background explains that I wasn't trying to be snide, but
because your initial post barely mentioned 'interactive documentation' and
asked for a tool to use to create it, I wondered if you were facing what I'd
seen and been through before.
I haven't seen your addition to the thread. If you provided more specifics
on interactive documentation, I may be able to provide some info. We're
planning some pioneering work in interactive dynamic documentation, and I
may be able to share some of that info with you offline if it fits in with
what you're doing.
Chill,
Ed
On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 10:31 PM, Shannon Wade <SWade -at- daktronics -dot- com> wrote:
> Ed,
>
> Yes, people at our company have a clue. If you're implying that I don't,
> then I obviously didn't state my question accurately. I am looking for
> information regarding the use of software to create documentation that
> allows the user to click on portions of the manual and see different
> processes shown using AutoCAD models. I posted a follow up to this post
> later on. If you have anything constructive to add to the discussion, please
> feel free to contact me and the list. I'm sure we'd be interested in hearing
> what you have to say.
>
>
>
> Shannon Wade
> Technical Writer
>
> tel 605.697.3219
> website www.daktronics.com
>
>
>
>
> From: Edwin Skau [mailto:eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com]
> Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 10:51 AM
> To: Shannon Wade
> Subject: Re: Interactive documentation
>
> What does your company mean by 'interactive documentation' ? Do they have a
> clue, or is this just someone's idea of earning brownie points by creating a
> 'buzzword' goal?
>
> Ed
>
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 3:18 AM, Shannon Wade <SWade -at- daktronics -dot- com> wrote:
> Our company is looking at creating interactive manuals to supplement our
> paper copies.
>
> What experience do any of you have with this transition? What software do
> you use? What skill set do you hire for to execute these projects?
>
> Please reply to my email as well as to the list as I subscribe to digest.
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Shannon Wade
> Technical Writer
>
> tel 605.697.3219
> website www.daktronics.com
>
>
>
>
>
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