Introduction to DITA: Best Practices + CCMS Integration

When it comes to writing and structuring DITA topics, following best practices is crucial for creating efficient, reusable content. In this blog post, we'll dive into key strategies that help you get the most out of your DITA implementation.  

From modular writing to maintaining consistency, and even managing workflows within a Component Content Management System (CCMS), we'll explore actionable tips for crafting clear, adaptable documentation.  

Note: If you missed part one of our series on DITA, check it out here.

Best Practices for Writing and Structuring DITA Topics

Let’s kick off part two by looking at some best practices for writing and structuring your DITA topics. There are four important things to remember as you create your content.

Think Modular

Write self-contained topics that can stand alone. Each topic should focus on a single concept, task, or piece of reference information. Avoid including information in a topic that relies on context provided by other topics.

Structure your topics to facilitate reuse. Think about how the content might be repurposed across different documents or outputs.

Use Clear, Concise Language

Avoid jargon and complex sentence structures that might confuse the reader. Write for your audience. Consider the knowledge level and needs of your readers when crafting content.

Focus on Consistency

Use a style guide to maintain consistency in terminology, tone, and structure across all topics. Consistent use of language and format improves readability and helps with content maintenance.

Standardize the use of elements such as headings, lists, and tables. This not only ensures uniformity but also simplifies the authoring process.

Plan for Reusability

Implement content reuse techniques like conrefs (content references) and keyrefs (key references) to avoid duplication. By reusing content, you can maintain consistency and reduce the effort required to update documentation. Plan your content strategy with reuse in mind. Consider the different contexts in which a topic might be used and write it in a way that makes it adaptable to those contexts.

DITA and CCMS Integration

A Component Content Management System (CCMS) is designed to manage content at the component level (i.e., topics, maps, and other DITA elements). It provides version control, workflow management, and the ability to manage content variations for different outputs.

To use a CCMS to manage your DITA content, following these steps:

1. Import Content: Import your DITA topics and maps into the CCMS. Organize them into components that can be independently managed.

2. Metadata Management: Use the CCMS to apply and manage metadata, such as tags for content categorization and searchability.

3. Version Control: Implement version control for your DITA content. This allows you to track changes, revert to previous versions, and manage multiple versions of the same content.

4. Publishing Workflows: Configure workflows in the CCMS to manage the authoring, review, and publishing process. This ensures that content is consistently reviewed and approved before publication.

Workflow Management in a CCMS Environment

A CCMS provides robust workflow capabilities to help you manage your DITA content.  

Collaborative Authoring: You can enable multiple authors to work on different parts of the documentation simultaneously. The CCMS tracks changes and manages conflicts to ensure that all contributions are seamlessly integrated.

Review and Approval: You can set up review workflows that involve subject matter experts (SMEs), technical editors, and legal reviewers. The CCMS facilitates the review process by allowing reviewers to annotate content and track changes.

Localization Management: If your content needs to be translated, use the CCMS to manage localization workflows. The system can handle content variations for different languages, regions, or customer segments, ensuring that localized content is consistent with the source material.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

If you're still struggling, you aren't alone. We've seen some common issues technical writers run into. Let's look at a few and learn how you can overcome them.

Learning Curve for New Authors

Provide training sessions and workshops for new authors to familiarize them with DITA. Offer mentorship programs where experienced DITA authors can guide newcomers.

Managing Large Documentation Sets

Break down large documents into manageable submaps. Use the CCMS’s search and filtering capabilities to quickly locate and update specific topics.

Handling Multiple Output Formats

Leverage the DITA-OT’s transformation scenarios to automate the generation of different output formats. Customize the output stylesheets to ensure consistent branding across formats.

Troubleshooting Tips for DITA Authors

You may face some issues working with DITA, especially if it’s all new to you. In our experience, these are three common challenges we see, and how you can overcome them.

Do You Have Broken Links in DITA Maps?

Use the validation tools in your XML editor to check for broken links before publishing. Most editors will highlight any unresolved references, allowing you to fix them before generating output.

Are You Having Trouble Reusing Content?

If reused content isn’t appearing as expected, check the conref or keyref paths to ensure they are correctly configured. Ensure that the referenced content is accessible and has been correctly tagged.

Is Your Content Not Publishing Correctly?

Review the transformation logs generated by the DITA-OT for any errors or warnings. These logs often provide detailed information on what went wrong during the publishing process.

What’s Next?

Part 2 is done. We’ve covered some best practices working with DITA, how to set up your DITA project in a CCMS and looked at some common challenges and troubleshooting tips. In part three, we’ll talk about some advanced topics, and close out the series with some tools and resources to help you further your education on working with DITA.