If you have watched a TV show or movie in which characters travel the world in a Gulfstream, you have seen a company that elevates aviation to an art form. Sleek lines, luxurious cabins, and an ongoing pursuit of excellence are what we see onscreen.
Behind the scenes, there is DITA. Flight manuals, operators manuals, handbooks, and other content is sourced from one set of DITA materials. Gulfstream then publishes it in a system to PDF that is as functional, professional, and sharp looking as the airplanes they support.
How Gulfstream is doing this, though, is another story. It includes highs and lows of discovery, challenge, and success from open communications between partners. The experience of delivering the best looking and the best functioning documentation in the industry means months of effort to create a push-button approach to convert a DITA map to a finished digital PDF that provides a complete solution to online documentation for the cockpit.
This story is a continuing exploration of the boundaries of automation, compliance, design, and a desire to enhance the usability (and the re-usability) of content from creation to the final delivery. See how it works and what DITA can do to change the way we fly.
2. www.publishingsmarter.com
Travelling the world in a Gulfstream...
...elevates aviation to an art form. Sleek lines,
luxurious cabins, and an ongoing pursuit of
excellence are what we see.
Behind the scenes, there is DITA. Flight manuals,
operators manuals, handbooks, and other
content is sourced from one set of DITA
materials. Gulfstream then publishes it in a
system to PDF that is as functional, professional,
and sharp looking as the airplanes they support.
How Gulfstream does it is a story with highs and
lows of discovery, challenge, and success from
open communications between partners.
The experience of delivering the best looking
and the best functioning documentation in the
industry means months of effort to create a
push-button approach to convert a DITA map to
a finished digital PDF that provides a complete
solution to online documentation for the cockpit.
This story is a continuing exploration of the
boundaries of automation, compliance, design,
and a desire to enhance the usability (and the
re-usability) of content from creation to the final
delivery. See how it works and what DITA can do
to change the way we fly.
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4. www.publishingsmarter.com
Patrick Porter
● Flight Crew Publications Manager
● Production Test Pilot
● Civilian Deputy to Military Program
Manager for the F-35 Lightning II System
Development and Demonstration Program
● United States Navy, Naval Officer
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6. www.publishingsmarter.com
Bernard Aschwanden
● Publishing Smarter: President
○ Content strategist, publishing technologies
expert, author, and geek-enough
○ Certified Technical Trainer
○ Content management
○ Topic-based writing
○ Structured content (e.g. DITA)
● Society for Technical Communications
○ Past President
○ STC Associate Fellow
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7. www.publishingsmarter.com
Key Takeaways
1. DITA/FrameMaker automation:
More than just a toolkit for PDF
2. Design and function create an
experience from the initial author
to the end audiences
3. Key considerations to have in
mind from the day you first think
about DITA
●
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Why DITA?
More than just technology
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● Direct integration with AEM
● Simple structure
○ Initial XML/Content@, S1000D,
discussions?
○ Do we build our own?
○ Discovered AEM uses DITA
○ Decided to explore a hybrid to
work with Gulfstream needs
○ Became apparent that it’s DITA
○ Simple/efficient to use
○ Context specific setup
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3 Publication
Templates (+1)
From one set of reused content
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Objectives:
● Automate publishing and
release for Planebook, Print,
Digital, Review (HTML5?)
● Create a digital workflow
○ Go paperless
● Comply with brand guidelines
○ Enforce consistency
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DITA and PDF
output
From one set of reused content
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● DITA OT vs FrameMaker
● Not having to worry about the
programming behind the scene
● Quick and visual author
environment
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Goals
And feedback from authors!
● Longer term, have authors work
in FrameMaker
○ Reviewers/others still see a close
mockup in AEM
● Helps with the immediate
feedback (QA work)
● Solid and positive feedback on
ease of use
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36. www.publishingsmarter.com
Key Takeaways
1. DITA and FrameMaker
automation: More than just
another toolkit for PDF
2. How design and function can
create a complete experience
from the author to the final
content consumer
3. Key considerations that you
should have in mind from the day
you first think about DITA
●
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