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I've stressed in the Daily Technical Writing Articles series the important need for technical writers, be they junior or senior, specialized or generalized, to practice lifetime learning. Why? The continual improvement movement, if you will, is merely an observation. Increasingly competitive industry segments raise the stakes, requiring all players to up their skills. A clear understanding of the role of structured content in enterprise document management is important for any tech writer or documentation specialist.
Effective technical writers must be familiar with the role of structured content in enterprise documentation (regardless of whether they are tasked with actual structuring and the use of particular tools). Especially in large enterprises, structured content empowers IT departments and the company overall by providing a range of benefits, as listed below.
It should be noted that structured content and documentation coincidentally achieves some of my "Eight Pillars of Technical Writing," including consistency.
Tech writers good at structured content get jobs
What is Structured Content?
Structured content is a way of organizing and creating content using a predefined set of rules, templates, and standards. It involves breaking down information into smaller, reusable components or modules that can be easily managed, shared, and repurposed across different platforms and formats.
Structured content is a valuable approach for technical writers because it promotes consistency, reusability, collaboration, adaptability, and efficient maintenance of content. It offers several benefits, as listed below.
Adaptability: Structured content can be easily adapted to different output formats, such as print, web, or mobile devices, without the need for extensive rework. This flexibility allows technical writers to reach a wider audience and ensure that their content is accessible on various platforms.
Collaboration: Structured content makes it easier for multiple technical writers to collaborate on a project, as they can work on different components simultaneously without the risk of duplicating efforts or creating inconsistencies.
Consistency: By following a set of rules and templates, technical writers can ensure that their content is consistent in terms of style, tone, and formatting, which is crucial for maintaining a professional image and making the content easier to understand.
Maintenance: With structured content, updates and revisions can be made more efficiently, as changes to a single component will automatically be reflected in all instances where it is used. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures that the content remains up-to-date.
Reusability: Just like how SpaceX and other aerospace companies repeatedly use their rockets, structured content allows technical writers to create content components that can be reused in multiple contexts. This often resalts in saving time and effort. For example, a single module about a specific feature can be used in various user manuals, online help, and training materials. The reusability of structured data takes the consistency and efficiency of templates to the next level.
Understanding structured content can boost your career
Document Structuring Tools
There are several document structuring tools and approaches that can be used for creating structured content, many of which work well in large and distributed enterprise organizations. Some of these include:
AsciiDoc: A human-readable, lightweight markup language that can be used for creating structured documentation. It supports features such as tables, lists, and cross-references, making it suitable for technical writing.
Content Management Systems (CMS): Many CMS platforms, such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, offer features for creating structured content. These platforms often provide customizable templates, content types, and taxonomies that can be used to organize and structure documentation.
DITA XML (Darwin Information Typing Architecture): A popular way to add structure to enterprise documentation and is important for the reasons listed below. Structured content like DITA XML is important for enterprise documentation because it promotes consistency, reusability, scalability, collaboration, multi-channel publishing, efficient maintenance, and compliance with industry regulations.
DocBook: An XML-based markup language specifically designed for technical documentation. It provides a rich set of elements for structuring content, such as chapters, sections, tables, figures, and code examples. DocBook is widely used in the open-source community and has strong support for publishing to various output formats.
MadCap Flare: A comprehensive authoring and publishing tool that supports structured content creation. It offers features such as single-sourcing, conditional text, and multi-channel publishing, making it suitable for creating structured documentation.
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Markdown: A lightweight markup language that allows authors to write content using a simple, easy-to-read syntax. While not as structured as DITA or DocBook, Markdown can be used in combination with other tools, such as Git and GitHub, to create a structured documentation workflow.
reStructuredText (reST): A lightweight markup language that is part of the Python documentation system. It offers a flexible and extensible syntax for creating structured content and can be used in combination with tools like Sphinx for generating documentation.
Schema dot org: A collaborative effort by major search engines (Google, Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo) to create a standardized vocabulary for structuring data on the web. While primarily focused on web content, Schema.org can also be used for structuring technical documentation, as it provides a flexible and extensible set of elements for describing various types of content.
XML-based Custom Schemas: Organizations can create their own custom XML schemas tailored to their specific documentation needs. These schemas can be designed to enforce a consistent structure and format, while also allowing for flexibility and extensibility.
Learning about structured content is low-hanging fruit
Good Luck
For technical writers looking to expand their horizons, find a new job, or appeal to fresh clients, getting smart on structured content is a great fit. Based on how such skills improve a tech writer's resume and overall competitiveness, doing a little research and completing some training is truly the proverbial low-hanging fruit.
Whether it's a popular markup language like DITA XML or DocBook or a tool like MadCap Flare or WordPress, get some training (and perhaps certification) under your belt. It might help you qualify for jobs where you would otherwise be thrown in the circular file.
But that's just my opinion. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
— Curt Robbins, Senior Technical Writer
P.S.: I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.
