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. Singlesourcing is the development of information content in a form that can conveniently be the basis for other forms of content. Single sourcing is more than mechanical document conversion. Sourcing software streamlines the procurement process with rfp creation tools, supplier management, bidding auctions, and savings reporting. Singlesource publishing services csoft international. Jan, 2016 single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more and more widespread these days. 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. Nov 11, 2004 for many companies, sourcing decisions can be some of the most strategic in the organization. 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. Please rank the significance of these topics in technical authoring.
Singlesource publishing technical communication body of. 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. Producing pdf and web pages or help from the same source file or files. Our hope is that the savings in time and cost will be invested in terminology management and quality source. 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. Single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more.
The term single sourcing is used to mean a number of different things. Singlesourcing is the use of a single document to produce other forms of documents, such as manuals and online help. Whether purchasing goods or services, a few items or a few thousand items, procureports eauction tool can generate signi. The following table shows some of the advantages that are claimed for singlesourcing. Writing for singlesourcing and localization dont use variables within sentences if you can help it word order. How to find the best content management system or any. Single sourcing software is highly specialized and vastly increases productivity for content creators, making it a worthwhile investment. What happens if your sourcing events are not managed well.
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. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. 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. I needed to modularize documents chunks, assemble modules in varying orders across multiple documents. 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. How to modularize using microsoft word as a single sourcing. A survey of stc members consent form because you were included in a small random sample of stc members, your information is vital to achieving the purpose of the survey even if you do not use single sourcing or content management. Systems that use dita for single sourcing maintain content in individual topic files. Organizations need powerful tools now more than ever to keep their it, telecom and inventory expenses under control. How to modularize using microsoft word as a single. The best document management software for 2020 pcmag. Singlesourcing best practices with multiple madcap flare projects. The csoft global communications team already has single sourcing software licenses and is working on projects now. Single sourcing is a documentation method that allows reusing the information developed.
Single sourcing is the development of information content in a form that can conveniently be the basis for other forms of content. The aestiva rfp software suite is saas, mac, windows, android, iphone, and ipad software. 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. Document management solutions have evolved from simple file storage engines to sophisticated workflow and data classification systems. Writers of software documentation did not simply move from being writers of traditional bound books to writers of electronic publishing, but rather. It can look for a single vendor with a solid reputation in development in their niche and use that vendor for multiple projects. There is a way to singlesource using ms word 2007 and later. 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. So i started applying a sort of similar technique for describing principles of singlesourcing similarly to how it has been done in programming. Simply put, singlesourcing is regarded as a technology that can cut down on cost without a significant shift in process. Acme budget software is designed to help both smes smalltomedium enterprises and large companies manage their budgets. Benefits and risks of single sourcing scm supply chain. 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.
Flare is a good option for single sourcing documentation and particularly print documentation. 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. Singlesourcing and localization best practices with madcap flare laura dent freelance technical writer. Certainly, there are pros and cons of single sourcing vs multiple sourcing in software development. Singlesourcing also eliminates duplicate work and facilitates the reuse of existing information, which. Telecom invoices present a wealth of cost savings, refunds and often credits. Each topic file describes a single topic, concept, reference, or task. Also talks about the possibilities of expanding single sourcing beyond just learning content e. The 5 principles of single sourcing in technical documentation. With single sourcing the idea is to record technical information only once and then generate various documentation views.
Highbond vs flexrfp esourcing top software at capterra. Increasingly, however, one paper manual is not enough. Five benefits of singlesource authoring for technical translation. Centralized control of critical data across multiple regions.
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. Submit a comment cancel reply your email address will not be published. Each document in a set of reference manuals contains sections with the same content. The decision to sole source an item, particularly for manufacturing has many benefits and risks to be considered. Single sourcing and reuse in technical documentation is getting more and more widespread these days. Single sourcing also eliminates duplicate work and facilitates the reuse of existing information, which. The process of producing multiple outputs from one single source of information. Single sourcing and content management in technical communication. Draganddrop functionality for rfx creation flexi pricebuilder to flip your pricing tables from ms excel into the module while drafting rfxs. 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. Successful single sourcing allows you to create and maintain one single set of information and yet produce a range of different outputs.
For technical document translation, consistency is critical for the. Documentation for a customized version of software contains a paragraph that does not appear in the documentation for the basic version. Filecenter is the lowcost leader in windows pcbased document management software for small offices. Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml.
Considering content management in a software development company. Rather than copying and pasting between documents, you can be more efficient since all content authors can choose the required topics from the repository and then assemble and publish the topics as needed. It can make working with complex documentation much more efficient. Results show that stc members are in the early majority phase of. 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. Singlesourced systems produce multiple outputs and versions that all originated from a. When you use single sourcing, all topics can be assembled and published by using the files topics in a single repository. Single sourcing an introduction by justin darley 12 january 2003 summary many documentation departments produce detailed and welldesigned paper documentation. Aestiva rfp is sourcing software, and includes features such as budget management, rfx management, spend management, supplier management, and supplier qualification.
Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml dita. Citeseerx considering content management in a software. 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. The laborintensive and expensive work of editing need only be carried out once, on only one document. 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. Tips for finding the best cms for single sourcing your content. Having a singlesource provides control over documentation and its versioning ensures that. Some cmss single source the entire document and repurpose it for publishing. 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. The benefits of centralizing and single sourcing your. 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. 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. 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.
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. Your business may witness a plummet in cost savings. 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. For many companies, sourcing decisions can be some of the most strategic in the organization. Online auctions are an integral part of the strategic sourcing process. This company is a composite of various software development companies. It combines easy scanning and file organization with powerful pdf creation and editing. It doesnt simply mean writing technical content, as most people outside the niche assume. Apr 24, 20 single sourcing is the use of a single document to produce other forms of documents, such as manuals and online help. Singlesourcing and small projects techscribe technical writing. Your overall productivity and business efficiency may suffer on account. Or, they can choose to find vendors with specific expertise in each project type and contract individually with them. What is the value of telecom expense management tem. Tradogram provides customizable tools to streamline your requisitions, purchase orders, rfqsrfisrfps, contracts, receiving and invoice matching.
It stores your files on the windows file system and not in complex databases. Singlesource publishing, also known as singlesourcing publishing, is a content management. 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. Oct 18, 2015 4 reasons why single sourcing is still good strategy. Leading technical writing software for authoring, managing, publishing content like knowledge bases, user manuals, onlineweb help etc. Singlesourcing documents is in globalvision international. It also includes ocr, search, and integration with cloud services. Case study moving from single sourcing to reuse with xml dita lori fisher, program director for data management user technology, ibm corp. 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.
Benefits sole sourcing provides multiple benefits for an organization. The following table shows some of the advantages that are claimed for single sourcing. Aestiva rfp features training via documentation, and live online. Of course, if you have a good content management system, it will help. It allows one document to be used in different kinds of formats, thereby increasing the usability of the documentation. Ptc arbortext software product suite singlesourcing. The concepts of single sourcing and information reuse have been talked about for many years in the technical communication community, but few if. How to evaluate a vendor if you want to know how to find the best content management system or any other tool. Resources for single source learning development ssld.
Tools supporting this approach typically store content in xml document format in a way that facilitates content reuse, content management, and. Singlesource publishing or single sourcing is a content management. Manager of content management and training, skyward. Ptc arbortext software product suite singlesourcing solutions. Singlesourcing and small projects techscribe technical. Built by industry experts for industry experts, the highbond platform unites security, risk management, compliance, and audit professionals around a single source of truth. Certainly, there are pros and cons of singlesourcing vs multiple sourcing in software development. Discusses a largescale case of apply single sourcng practices to a large team of developers across several organizations, outsource developers and geographic separation. Single sourcing has become increasingly practiced today. William andrew publishing technical writing series.
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