Another Perspective on Single-Sourcing — Interview with Sarah O’Keefe

October 23rd, 2006 | Posted in Tech Writer Voices No Comments »

In this podcast, Sarah O’Keefe talks about how to implement single-sourcing, particularly for writers with medium-level reuse needs, such as those using RoboHelp and Word. Additionally, she discusses the resistance writers have to change, how to calculate business costs versus savings, and tool options for producing online help and print deliverables.

Specific topics in this podcast include:

Determining whether you need to single-source or not
Strategies for RoboHelp users who produce both print and online help
Avoiding the copy-and-paste method of reuse
Three solutions for medium-level reuse: Flare, AuthorIT, and Framemaker/Word with WebWorks ePublisher
Challenges for large companies such as airline industries
Helping authors cope with change
Pitfalls with single sourcing
Calculating business savings/costs of single sourcing
User habits for reading content online and in print
Conceptual shifts when writing for a single-source output

Links mentioned in the podcast:

Scriptorium (Sarah’s company): http://scriptorium.com
White papers at Scriptorium: http://scriptorium.com/papers.html
Other resources at Scriptorium: http://scriptorium.com/resources.html
Char James-Tanny’s Compare/Contrast HAT matrix: http://hat-matrix.com/
Scriptorium blog (“Palimpsest”): http://www.scriptorium.com/palimpsest/
Sarah’s email: okeefe@scriptorium.com

To make a comment on the podcast, call Tech Writer Voices Skype e-voicemail number at 727-493-2139 and leave a message. Alternatively, use the comment feature on this post or e-mail tom@idratherbewriting.com.

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