Documentation for a customized version of software contains a paragraph that does not appear in the documentation for the basic version. Oct 18, 2015 4 reasons why single sourcing is still good strategy. Advocates of single sourcing maintain that managing content via single sourcing provides documentation and technical publications departments, and the software development companies that they are part of, with the opportunity to develop contentfocused, formatindependent, quality documentation. Jan, 2016 single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more and more widespread these days.
Citeseerx considering content management in a software. Of course, if you have a good content management system, it will help. Simply put, singlesourcing is regarded as a technology that can cut down on cost without a significant shift in process. Singlesource publishing services csoft international.
Submit a comment cancel reply your email address will not be published. Single sourcing has become increasingly practiced today. How to modularize using microsoft word as a single. Ptc arbortext software product suite arbortext software is an endtoend, singlevendor, dynamic product information delivery system that everyone can use the arbortext software product suite offers solutions at every stage of information development from defining, authoring, and illustrating to managing and delivering content. The process of producing multiple outputs from one single source of information. Writers of software documentation did not simply move from being writers of traditional bound books to writers of electronic publishing, but rather. Highbond vs flexrfp esourcing top software at capterra. William andrew publishing technical writing series.
Increasingly, however, one paper manual is not enough. Successful single sourcing allows you to create and maintain one single set of information and yet produce a range of different outputs. Please rank the significance of these topics in technical authoring. Writing for singlesourcing and localization dont use variables within sentences if you can help it word order. When you use single sourcing, all topics can be assembled and published by using the files topics in a single repository. Singlesourcing also eliminates duplicate work and facilitates the reuse of existing information, which. So i started applying a sort of similar technique for describing principles of singlesourcing similarly to how it has been done in programming. Some cmss single source the entire document and repurpose it for publishing. Single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more and more widespread these days. Each document in a set of reference manuals contains sections with the same content. The term single sourcing is used to mean a number of different things.
A preliminary study chungyang chen and wenlung tsai department of information management national central university jhongli 320, taiwan abstract project documentation is a requisite task to the success of a software development project. The best document management software for 2020 pcmag. How to modularize using microsoft word as a single sourcing. I have found over a number of years of teaching the concepts of singlesourcing that it is often perceived as very abstract and a lot to take in initially. Each topic file describes a single topic, concept, reference, or task.
The aestiva rfp software suite is saas, mac, windows, android, iphone, and ipad software. Acme budget software is designed to help both smes smalltomedium enterprises and large companies manage their budgets. Single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more. It can look for a single vendor with a solid reputation in development in their niche and use that vendor for multiple projects. Having a singlesource provides control over documentation and its versioning ensures that. I needed to modularize documents chunks, assemble modules in varying orders across multiple documents. David dayton and keith hopper this article reports on a survey of stc members that investigated technical communicators attitudes toward, use of, and experience with single sourcing andor content management. Benefits and risks of single sourcing scm supply chain. Singlesourced systems produce multiple outputs and versions that all originated from a. Filecenter is the lowcost leader in windows pcbased document management software for small offices. We can create new content for you or move existing content onto a single sourcing platform and deliver outputs to you, meaning you dont need to buy the software. Single sourcing and content management in technical communication. Single sourcing is the development of information content in a form that can conveniently be the basis for other forms of content. Certainly, there are pros and cons of singlesourcing vs multiple sourcing in software development.
Tradogram provides customizable tools to streamline your requisitions, purchase orders, rfqsrfisrfps, contracts, receiving and invoice matching. Its a more specific term, which refers to the technical communication in fields like computer software and hardware, aeronautics, chemistry, robotics, engineering, and other technical fields in its simple explanation, it means conveying complex. The benefits of centralizing and single sourcing your. Telecom invoices present a wealth of cost savings, refunds and often credits.
Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Ptc arbortext software product suite singlesourcing solutions. How to find the best content management system or any. Our hope is that the savings in time and cost will be invested in terminology management and quality source. There is a way to singlesource using ms word 2007 and later. Certainly, there are pros and cons of single sourcing vs multiple sourcing in software development. For technical document translation, consistency is critical for the. Singlesourcing best practices with multiple madcap flare projects. The decision to sole source an item, particularly for manufacturing has many benefits and risks to be considered. What happens if your sourcing events are not managed well. Flare is a good option for single sourcing documentation and particularly print documentation.
Singlesourcing is the use of a single document to produce other forms of documents, such as manuals and online help. Singlesource images and videos with capture and mimic maximize content reuse by applying the same rules used for text to movies, callouts and images to your projects. With single sourcing the idea is to record technical information only once and then generate various documentation views. The following table shows some of the advantages that are claimed for singlesourcing. Single sourcing is more than mechanical document conversion. Centralized control of critical data across multiple regions. Considering content management in a software development company. How to evaluate a vendor if you want to know how to find the best content management system or any other tool.
Using this method, one can develop modular content in one source document or database, and then assemble the content into different document formats for different audiences and purposes. Procureware combines powerful supplier management, sourcing, and contract administration w advanced tools for managing insurance certificates, diversity, and bid evaluations. Sourcing software streamlines the procurement process with rfp creation tools, supplier management, bidding auctions, and savings reporting. Document management solutions have evolved from simple file storage engines to sophisticated workflow and data classification systems. Producing pdf and web pages or help from the same source file or files. This company is a composite of various software development companies. Draganddrop functionality for rfx creation flexi pricebuilder to flip your pricing tables from ms excel into the module while drafting rfxs. Singlesourcing and small projects techscribe technical writing. Ptc arbortext software product suite singlesourcing. Five benefits of singlesource authoring for technical translation. If you need to share content between your own projects or collaborate with other people who may or may not even use flare, this webinar will help you select the best single sourcing option and avoid common mistakes. Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml dita lori fisher, program director for data management user technology, ibm corp. Ptc arbortext software product suite arbortext software is an endtoend, single vendor, dynamic product information delivery system that everyone can use the arbortext software product suite offers solutions at every stage of information development from defining, authoring, and illustrating to managing and delivering content.
The benefits of centralizing and single sourcing your language services 03082018 large global companies that have several departmentslegal, regulatory, packaging and labelingall with different content translation needs, often end up with each department. Advocates of single sourcing maintain that managing content via single sourcing provides documentation and technical publications departments, and the software development companies that they are. Building modular documentation is a valuable reference for those of us who seek to save time, effort, and money by implementing a productive method of creating information once and reusing it often. Singlesource publishing, also known as singlesourcing publishing, is a content management.
Apr 24, 20 single sourcing is the use of a single document to produce other forms of documents, such as manuals and online help. The concepts of single sourcing and information reuse have been talked about for many years in the technical communication community, but few if any companies have really. Your overall productivity and business efficiency may suffer on account. Your business may witness a plummet in cost savings. Jan 14, 2019 madcap flare is useful for enterprise companies that need to comply with regulations to produce large amounts of documentation, and companies that have dedicated technical writers who can be trained to use the software. Aestiva rfp features training via documentation, and live online.
What is the value of telecom expense management tem. Tips for finding the best cms for single sourcing your content. For many companies, sourcing decisions can be some of the most strategic in the organization. The concepts of single sourcing and information reuse have been talked about for many years in the technical communication community, but few if. Single sourcing an introduction by justin darley 12 january 2003 summary many documentation departments produce detailed and welldesigned paper documentation. It also includes ocr, search, and integration with cloud services. The allinclusive offering helps governments and companies streamline all rfx processes and construction bidding to save time, increase compliance, and improve.
Singlesource publishing or single sourcing is a content management. Single sourcing is a documentation method that allows reusing the information developed. Singlesourcing is the development of information content in a form that can conveniently be the basis for other forms of content. Leading technical writing software for authoring, managing, publishing content like knowledge bases, user manuals, onlineweb help etc. There are a number of current trends and approaches that managers and practitioner of a supply chain may consider to achieve a competitive edge and single sourcing is one of them. Manager of content management and training, skyward. Madcap flare is useful for enterprise companies that need to comply with regulations to produce large amounts of documentation, and companies that have dedicated technical writers who can be trained to use the software. The csoft global communications team already has single sourcing software licenses and is working on projects now. Single sourcing software is highly specialized and vastly increases productivity for content creators, making it a worthwhile investment. Singlesourcing is a software project not a documentation project if you want to know how to find the best content management system or any other tool. It allows one document to be used in different kinds of formats, thereby increasing the usability of the documentation. The paper focuses on the example of a software company and the potential improvements this company could achieve by pursuing a single sourcing management plan for their documentation. By single sourcing your content, you eliminate all duplicate copies of.
Resources for single source learning development ssld. Single sourcing also eliminates duplicate work and facilitates the reuse of existing information, which. It stores your files on the windows file system and not in complex databases. The benefits of centralizing and single sourcing your language services 03082018 large global companies that have several departmentslegal, regulatory, packaging and labelingall with different content translation needs, often end up with each department using their own language services provider lsp. For example, text prepared for a printed book might be prepared in a form that could also be used without additional authorial involvement or adaptation as any of. It combines easy scanning and file organization with powerful pdf creation and editing. Built by industry experts for industry experts, the highbond platform unites security, risk management, compliance, and audit professionals around a single source of truth.
That is why singlesource authoring software is also known as multichannel publishing software. Results show that stc members are in the early majority phase of. Your business may miss out on the best suitable supplier. Organizations need powerful tools now more than ever to keep their it, telecom and inventory expenses under control. Nov 11, 2004 for many companies, sourcing decisions can be some of the most strategic in the organization. Singlesource publishing technical communication body of. From the point of view of software development this concept is called normalization, in the programming world an important aspect of literate programming, and in the technical documentation world it is called single sourcing.
Benefits sole sourcing provides multiple benefits for an organization. Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml. How to find the best content management system or any other. Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml dita. Single source publishing, also known as single sourcing publishing, is a content management method which allows the same source content to be used across different forms of media and more than one time. The 5 principles of single sourcing in technical documentation. Online auctions are an integral part of the strategic sourcing process. Singlesourcing and small projects techscribe technical. Its a more specific term, which refers to the technical communication in fields like computer software and hardware, aeronautics, chemistry, robotics, engineering, and other technical fields. Tools supporting this approach typically store content in xml document format in a way that facilitates content reuse, content management, and. Although it is often confused with the process of converting paperbased documents into online formats, single sourcing is a writing strategy that enables technical writers to develop centralized information modules, then map them to distinct audiences and media. Also talks about the possibilities of expanding single sourcing beyond just learning content e. Singlesourcing and localization best practices with madcap flare laura dent freelance technical writer. Or, they can choose to find vendors with specific expertise in each project type and contract individually with them.
It doesnt simply mean writing technical content, as most people outside the niche assume. Singlesourcing documents is in globalvision international. Systems that use dita for single sourcing maintain content in individual topic files. Aestiva rfp is sourcing software, and includes features such as budget management, rfx management, spend management, supplier management, and supplier qualification. Sep 04, 2016 single sourcing is a software project not a documentation project if you want to know how to find the best content management system or any other tool. The following table shows some of the advantages that are claimed for single sourcing.
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