ASME's Digital Path Initiative: Don't Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain!

ASME Digital Path Initiative: Don’t Make
a Molehill out of a Mountain
Brian Trombley and Robert Wheeler
@dclaboratory @wheelerr #LavaCon @LavaCon

About the Speakers
Brian Trombley has over 30 years experience in helping clients
implement content oriented processes and technologies for all aspects
of publishing across a wide range of industry verticals.
An early practitioner of structured content methodologies, Mr. Trombley
was at the forefront of the SGML and XML revolutions and has helped
clients successfully manage change and convert and leverage content
for maximum business value.

About the Speakers
Robert Wheeler has 20+ years of STM/STEM publishing experience
ranging from the front end of production, working with authors, to
online publishing and archiving, and almost everything in between.
Currently the Director of Publishing Technologies at ASME, he
worked previously at AIP as the Product Manager and Operations
Manager of the online publishing platform, Scitation, and the
Production Operations Support Manager for their in-house
typesetting division.
He also worked at Springer/Kluwer Academic as part of a small team
devoted to the planning, design, and implementation of electronic
initiatives across the enterprise, spearheading a number of projects
focused on XML content and digital workflows.

About Us
DCL
DCL blends years of conversion experience with cutting-edge technology and the
infrastructure to make the process easy and efficient.
• World-Class Services
• Leading-Edge Technology
• Unparalleled Infrastructure
• US-Based Management
• Complex-Content Expertise
• 24/7 Online Project Tracking
• Automated Quality Control
• Global Capabilities
• Document Digitization
• XML and HTML Conversion
• eBook Production
• Hosted Solutions
• Big Data Automation
• Conversion Management
• Editorial Services
• Harmonizer™

About Us
ASME
ASME’s mission is to serve diverse global communities by advancing, disseminating and applying
engineering knowledge for improving the quality of life; and communicating the excitement of engineering.
•Founded in 1880 and Headquartered in New York, NY
•Over 140,000 members in over 150 countries
•Over 200 Sections and 32 Technical divisions
•600 technical standards improving the safety and efficiency of boilers, elevators, cranes, nuclear energy,
pipelines, and many other areas
•ASME Standards used in over 100 countries
•ASME members provide engineering and technical expertise to policy makers in Congress, the White
House Office of Science and Technology policy, and key federal agencies
•Holds more than 30 technical conferences annually
•Offers over 200 professional development courses in multiple formats
•ASME's online Digital Collection features over 30,000 journal articles and more than 30,000 conference
proceedings papers as well as eBooks
•Nearly 250 mechanical engineering landmarks and collections of historical importance designated since
1971

Agenda
• Context/Intro
• How We Invited Failure (or some semblance
thereof)
• Some Tips/Tools/Themes
• How We Salvaged/Saved Face
• What We're Doing Differently Now
• Homework
• Questions - anytime

Context/Intro: STM (Science,
Technology, & Medicine) Share of Publishing

Context: STM and SDO (Standards
Development Organization) Share of Publishing
1%

Context/Intro
SDO Share of Publishing SDO Share of STM Publishing

Context: Codes and
Standards
• A standard consists of technical definitions
and guidelines that function as instructions
for designers/manufacturers and
operators/users of equipment. At ASME,
these are written by volunteer committees
comprised of SMEs.
• A code is a standard that has been
adopted by one or more governmental
bodies and is enforceable by law.

Context: DPI (The Digital
Path Initiative)
Goal

Path Initiative)
But, seriously, highlights were:
•Strong version control (single source)
•Round tripping with committees
(authors/revisers)/facilitate rework
•Enable multi-channel distribution
•Enhance quality
•Change tracking
•Speed to market

Path Initiative)
Practically speaking:
•Improve process
•Improve accuracy
•Produce Word files for
Committee use
•Get rid of the paper
workflow/automate

Context: BPVC (Boiler &
Pressure Vessel Code)
BPVC
•ASME's Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code has
pioneered modern standards-development and is
in use in 100 countries around the world. The
BPVC is used in industries such as electric power-generation,
petrochemical, and transportation,
among others.

BPVC
•It consists of 31 products
•The highest level element in the books range from section,
subsection, part, to division….
•Has evolved over one hundred years of development
•Unusual requirements regarding heading & label
numbering…
•Variety of content
•Variety of styles
•Lack of standard hierarchy

…that’s a horse of a different color…

How We Invited Failure
(or some semblance thereof)
What behaviors invited failure?
•Limited communication/sharing with partners
•Lack of responsiveness
•Lack of fully devoted/engaged time & resources
•Micromanaging (with limited, devoted internal
resources)
•Running in emergency mode
•Which made our development partners and team
members…

stand on their heads and perform.
(It took this person 2 years to be able to do it. From http://todayswhisper.com/standing-on-head.)

Early Decisions that Created Challenges
•Jump from 20 page PoC to 17,000 multi-book
standard…
•Desire to “over-automate”
•No parallel production
•Pick partners/change partners
(not entirely by choice)

How did we miss the mark?
•Limited perspective on project
•Gauging and communicating the level of
complexity
•Project plan treated as page production
rather than a software development

• Lack of well-defined
business requirements
– Developing, while in
production, while
designing
– Adding complexity as we
delved into details

• Buy in
– Limited stakeholder involvement, communication,
and, essentially, promotion
– No framework for decisions on content/presentation
standardization, and protocols for interactions with
committees
• Vision
– If the product is a book, then it should look the same
as it always has (near sighted)
– Judge progress based on pages rather than quality of
XML

Some Tips/Tools/Themes
Basic elements of a project:
•Resources/Cost
•Time
•Scope

Define Scope
•Content
•Technology and Development
•People
•Processes
•Stakeholders
•Reporting and Milestones
•Time and Cost

Choosing Partners
•Responsiveness
– how well do they listen, respond to actual questions
– speaks to cultural match and ability to collaborate
•Have they worked with like companies on like
projects
– can they show this/do they have examples
– did they correct you on anything or bring things to the table
you hadn’t considered
– references: speaks to their ability to gauge the scope of
the project and deliver

• How long have they been in this space
– speaks to the above, as well as stability
• Size of the company and, as a customer, where
do you sit in the client list
• What is their approach and will it match with
yours
– can you devote the time they expect, e.g., they are
doing agile and you stand in as the business owner
• If consulting, have them describe steps in their
typical hand off

How do you respond
to an emerging
project?
Two other borrowed key
themes regarding any
project/product:
•Minimum viable product
•Ease of use

Change Management
•Create Urgency
•Form a Powerful Coalition (build a team)
•Create a Vision for Change
•Communicate the Vision
•Remove Obstacles
•Create Short-Term Wins
•Build on the Change
– create a foundation for further improvement
•Anchor the Changes in the Culture @dclaboratory @wheelerr #LavaCon @LavaCon

How We Salvaged/Saved Face
Inheriting a project midstream
(This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked to do this…)
•Respect
– The project structure (if there is one)
– Team members
• leverage their expertise and knowledge of prior choices
• don’t second guess everything that has been done to date
– Time
• e.g., try not to create new levels of reporting that will take
time away from actual progress
• try to limit questions to higher impact or bigger picture

• Get a lay of the land
– step back and look, this is actually easier coming in
from the outside
– read any documentation/specifications you can get
your hands on
• Build relationships
• Listen (be responsive)
• DON’T CHANGE THINGS FOR THE
SAKE OF CHANGE

How do you determine what to reconsider?
(Question everything? Not practical.)
•Almost instinctual reaction
– The impact of change | what kind of bang for your
buck
– Is it worth the effort/cost (my version of ROI)/how
much will it help
•What can be salvaged
•Correct and progress

What We're Doing
Differently Now
• Building on/help build industry standards
• Find methods to support variation in a
sustainable manner
• Building stronger/more active relationships with
standards committees
• Getting more involved in the standards creation
and revision process
• Simplify wherever possible (instead of
automating “everything”)
• Work to minimize variation

What We're Doing
Differently Now
• Find methods to support variations and
exceptions in a sustainable manner rather than
develop programs/systems to account for all
(always on the lookout for the “elegant hack”)

What We're Doing
Differently Now
• Communication and more communication
– reaching out to stakeholders, development partners, etc.
– getting feedback, being responsive
– build confidence
• Responsiveness and flexibility with the four
basic elements:
– Resources
– Time
– Scope
– Money

What We're Doing
Differently Now
• Chunk the project right out of the
gate/working in an iterative, staged approach
-- build a foundation to build on
• Considering an intermediary layer to simplify
content prior to composition (or transform to
HTML, ePub, metadata feed, etc.)
• Always mindful of ease of use and minimum
viable product

What We're Doing
Differently Now
What would we have done differently if we
began now?
•Start small
•More collaboration across all stakeholders
•More content analysis with collaborators
•Isolate issues and pose to stakeholder team
– get team ownership
•Work in defined sprints
•Make time for lessons learned

What We're Doing
Differently Now
What would we have done differently if we
began now?
•In production, create
key user(s)
(i.e., Guinea pigs)

Homework | References | “…We hold
these truths to be self-evident…”
Scrum's Values
http://agileatlas.org/atlas/scrum
All work performed in Scrum needs a firm basis of values to serve as a
foundation for the team's process and principles. Through the use of teamwork
and continuous improvement, Scrum both creates these values and relies on
them. The values are Focus, Courage, Openness, Commitment, and Respect.
•Focus. Because we focus on only a few things at a time, we work well together and produce
excellent work. We deliver valuable items sooner.
•Courage. Because we are not alone, we feel supported and have more resources at our disposal.
This gives us the courage to undertake greater challenges.
•Openness. As we work together, we practice expressing how we're doing, and what's in our way. We
learn that it is good to express concerns, so that they can be addressed.
•Commitment. Because we have great control over our own destiny, we become more committed to
success.
•Respect. As we work together, sharing successes and failures, we come to respect each other, and
to help each other become worthy of respect.
If an organization will let Scrum do its work, they will discover the benefits from Scrum and will begin
to understand why these values are both needed by Scrum, and engendered by Scrum.

Community/Engagement
The ER&L (Electronic Resources and Libraries) opening keynote by
Amy Sample Ward in 2011 focused on the community-driven model (&
design), and posed some striking fundamental thoughts that are
applicable to any community (or team) and engagement:
•The community needs to drive: collaboration ensures sustained
engagement, and should include design
•Passion is the key motivator for community
•Adoption is currency
•Communication & transparency is essential
•Cyclical cycle creates the opportunity for innovation and iteration
•Know everything about your community—actually make a map
•The work is not the goal

The Power of Simple
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Leonardo da Vinci
Simple is:
•Sustainable
•Efficient
•Transparent
•Direct
•Intuitive
•Logical

Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
Implementing Change Powerfully and Successfully
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm)
1. Create Urgency
2. Form a Powerful Coalition (build a team)
3. Create a Vision for Change
4. Communicate the Vision
5. Remove Obstacles
6. Create Short-Term Wins
7. Build on the Change (create a foundation for further improvement)
8. Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

Have Questions?
Brian Trombley
National Sales Director,
Data Conversion Laboratory
(603) 377-4500
btrombley@dclab.com
Robert Wheeler
Director, Publishing Technologies
ASME
(212) 591-8493
wheeler@asme.org

ASME's Digital Path Initiative: Don't Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain!

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (16)

Similar to ASME's Digital Path Initiative: Don't Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain!

Similar to ASME's Digital Path Initiative: Don't Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain! (20)

More from dclsocialmedia

More from dclsocialmedia (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

ASME's Digital Path Initiative: Don't Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain!