Switching to Structured FrameMaker

[Writer]

We are still at a sort of fledgling phase of our conversion to DITA, but one of the things I like the most is how easy it is to create a variety of deliverables or reconfigure a deliverable quickly. For example, we thought we were supposed to create one large document for a project, but we found out at the last moment that the project required four smaller documents. It was so easy to create new ditamaps to reorganize the topics. It took us only a couple of hours to recreate the deliverables.

Nadine

--- On Wed, 12/9/09, Eichelberger, Mark <mark.eichelberger at fiserv.com> wrote:

> From: Eichelberger, Mark <mark.eichelberger at fiserv.com>
> Subject: RE: Switching to Structured FrameMaker
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 3:10 PM
> As it turns out, I was about to ask
> this list the exact same question.
> We also have always used unstructured FM, but with the
> recent
> integration of documentation teams within multiple business
> lines
> throughout my company, I can see that structured FM may be
> considered as
> part of a solution for content reuse or for single
> sourcing.  I too
> would be interested in the responses to Nancy's questions.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com]
> On Behalf Of Nancy Allison
> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 2:09 PM
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Subject: Switching to Structured FrameMaker
> 
> Hi, all.. 
> 
> With regard to structured FrameMaker, I am very late to the
> party. In
> fact, I have never used it yet. There's a good chance I'll
> be asked to
> investigate whether it would be useful to my current
> client. I thought
> I'd get a head start on the issues by asking for
> information from people
> who have made the switch. Here are my questions:
> 
> --What was your documentation situation? (How many product
> lines, how
> many publications, how much single-sourcing, how much
> translation?)
> 
> --Why did you (or your manager) decide that it was time to
> switch to
> structured documentation? What kind of limit had you
> reached?
> 
> --What kinds of output do you create from structured
> FrameMaker? 
> 
> --Has structured FrameMaker made your work easier or more
> efficient? Has
> it improved the responsiveness or quality of your
> documentation?
> 
> Feel free to tell me something else, if my questions don't
> address your
> situation.
> 
> Thanks for all responses.
> 
> --Nancy
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