DITA and Metadata on an Enterprise Scale

simplea.com
DITA and Met adat a on
an Ent erprise Scale
CMS/DITA North America | 2019
Kristen James Eberlein

simplea.com
Kristen James Eberlein
● Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee
● Principle content engineer, [A]; owner, Eberlein
Consulting LLC
● 17+ years working with DITA
[A] is the Content Intelligence Service. We help organizations reduce costs and increase the
business impact of content assets.
ke@simplea.com
kris@eberleinconsulting.com

simplea.com
Agenda
1. Audience poll
2. What is metadata on an enterprise scale?
3. [A] Content Intelligence Framework
4. DITA metadata mechanisms & their strengths and weaknesses
5. Looking beyond the DITA silo
6. Emergent practices for DITA metadata on an enterprise scale
7. Resources

simplea.com
Audience poll
1. Your DITA content has metadata (not including index terms, filtering
attributes, or @outputclass).
2. You are struggling with how to best implement metadata-enriched DITA.
3. You have successfully implemented a metadata strategy that enables you to
do smart things with your DITA content.
4. You are engaged with other parts of the enterprise on aligning metadata and
semantics for a unified customer experience.

simplea.com
Metadata on an
enterprise scale

simplea.com
● Most generally, “information about information”
● In DITA circles, metadata usually means “information that classifies,
describes, and identifies content”
● Primary purposes for metadata
○ Describe the content asset
○ Facilitate content retrieval and dissemination
○ Assist in preservation, retention, and archiving
○ Control access to content
○ Identify ownership of content
What is metadata?

simplea.com
What is “enterprise scale”?
● Multiple divisions or business units, each with their own tools, processes, people, and
terminology
● Content inevitably siloed within the divisions or business units
● Content authored in multiple formats, using multiple authoring tools
● Content stored in multiple repositories: DAM, CEM, CRM, Web CMS, document CMS,
DITA CCMS, etc.
● Content distributed through multiple channels
● New emergent channels: Voice, chatbots, augmented reality ...
Viable for use in companies with …

simplea.com
What is enterprise scale? (continued)
● New business drivers, such as plans to commercialize content through syndication,
which requires:
○ Finer-grained access to content (sub-document level)
○ Ability to license content based on particular subjects, rather than the entire
content repository
○ General current state: Metadata disparate, disjointed, inadequate to the
challenges

simplea.com
What is “metadata on an enterprise scale”?
● Let’s start with assumptions:
○ There will be NO master silo in which all content is stored …
○ We need to work with people “where they are”; that means accepting
that people will use multiple authoring formats, storage and
management applications, delivery platforms, terminology, and
taxonomies.
● And then move to the key questions:
○ How can we bring some order to the chaos?
○ How can make it easier for content to move within the enterprise?
○ How can we respond quickly (but intelligently) to demands for new
channels?

simplea.com
Metadata on an enterprise scale
○ Metadata that is designed, planned, and implemented to facilitate
movement of content throughout the enterprise
■ Across silos
■ Across different authoring formats
■ Into multiple output formats
○ Metadata that is designed, planned, and implemented to enable a rich,
pleasurable, and faceted experience for content consumers

simplea.com
[A] Content
Intelligence
Framework

simplea.com
[A] Content Intelligence Framework
• Separates structure and semantics.
• Structure is handled by the Master Content Model.
• Semantics are handled by the Master Semantic Model.

simplea.com
What is a Master Content Model?
● A map of how content is created, managed, published, translated, and
archived across the enterprise
● Includes authoring and delivery formats (the different representations
that content takes through the content lifecycle)
● Suggests a lowest-common-denominator content model, which includes
metadata
● Corollary to the IT concept of a master data model
● Not “one model to rule them all”!
Master Content Model

simplea.com
How does DITA fit into the Master Content Model?
● DITA provides the baseline XML representation. This is the equivalent of a
pivot language.
● In localization, a pivot language:
○ Is an intermediary language for translation. For example, Korean source
is translated to English before it is translated to German.
○ Reduces the number of source language/target language pairs.

simplea.com
And content authored directly in DITA is most efficient ...
DITA reduces the number of transformations
Source formats
(6)
Representations/Output
formats (7)
Infrastructure Formula
Number of
transformations
● Word
● Google Doc
● Custom
application
● HTML
● Markdown
● Framemaker
● HTML
● HTML5 + Schema.org
● PDF
● Legacy application #1
● Legacy application #2
● In Design
● Chatbot
Without DITA
# source formats
times
# output formats
6 ✕ 7
42
With DITA
# source formats
plus
# channels
6 + 7
13

simplea.com
Metadata +
structure
Master Content
Model
Metadata-
enriched,
structured
content
Thesaurus
Taxonomy
Ontology
Discoverable
Personalized
Predictive
Master semantic
model
Structured
content
Content
experience
High-level approach ...

simplea.com
Master semantic model
● Contains the semantic model for the
enterprise
● Includes taxonomies, thesauri, and
ontologies
● Best developed and managed in a taxonomy
management application:
○ Examples: PoolParty, Topbraid,
Semaphore SmartLogic, etc.
Thesaurus
Taxonomy
Ontology

simplea.com
Metadata component of the MCM
● Provides the connection between the master semantic
model and the Master Content Model
● Defines how metadata will be instantiated in the
structured content
● Outlines the elements and attributes that will be used, as
well as the specific architectural mechanisms used for
metadata
● Outlines strategy for implementing metadata in the
content
○ Inserted at authoring time?
○ Applied by semantic specialists?
○ Automatically-inserted by a semantic application?
Metadata
__________
Content

simplea.com
Metadata-enriched, structured content
● Maximizes your investment in DITA
● Staged for delivery to a wide variety of
platforms, including some currently unknownMetadata-
enriched,
structured
content

simplea.com
Content experience
● Highly personalized
● Easy to find “the right information, at
the right time”
● Uses predictive power of natural
language processing
Rich experience for the content consumer
Discoverable
Personalized
Predictive

simplea.com
DITA metadata &
semantic
mechanisms

simplea.com
● Elements in topics
● Elements in maps
● <data> elements
● Subject scheme maps
● Classification maps
DITA metadata and semantic mechanisms

simplea.com
● Element designed to hold subject and lifecyle management
information.
● Most elements reflect IBM needs circa 2000.
● Can be difficult to define and reuse these elements
○ Not all elements can appear multiple times in a topic
○ Lack of wrapper elements
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
For more information, see Eberlein,
DITA Metadata, 2013.

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
<prolog>
<copyright>
<copyryear year="2019"/>
<copyrholder>Simple A LLC</copyrholder>
</copyright>
<metadata>
<audience type="executive infoDev IT"/>
<category>CCMS selection</category>
<category>DITA tools</category>
</metadata>
</prolog>
Example

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
Advantages
○ Located in topic and travels with it
○ No dependency on map
○ Can be used for searching within the DITA source
Disadvantages
○ Located in topic and thus difficult to maintain
○ Likely to be inaccurate due to authoring errors and
omissions
○ Labor intensive for content developers

simplea.com
● The same elements available in <prolog> are available in
<topicmeta>.
● Metadata applied in a map cascades:
○ If applied at the root of a map, it cascades throughout the
entire map
○ If applied at a lower level in the map, to cascades to the
children of the element on which it is applied
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
Advantages
○ Metadata is located in map and cascades to topics during
processing.
○ Easier to maintain
○ Less labor-intensive for content authors
○ Provides a layer of abstraction
Disadvantages
○ Metadata is not located in the topics.
○ Requires a processing step

simplea.com
● Available everyone
● Can be nested
● Can point to external resource by ID
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
Referenced element
<data id="100"
href="www.taxonomyTool.subject"
scope="external"
format="rdf">
Label for subject
</data>
Referencing
element
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
Advantages
○ Can be used everywhere
○ Robust specialization base
○ Nestable
Disadvantages
○ Requires special processing

simplea.com
● A specialized map introduced with DITA 1.2 (2010)
● Can be used to:
○ Define subjects
○ Define taxonomies (hierarchies of subjects
○ Develop controlled values for an attribute or an
attribute and element pair
○ Associate metadata with subjects
○ Define relationships between subjects
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
Advantages
○ Easy to create a list of controlled values
○ Easy to bind a list of controlled values to an attribute or
attribute + element pair
○ Useful for prototyping semantic models
○ Can be extended by using <schemeref> elements
Disadvantages
○ Not suitable for a robust semantic model
○ Controlled values are not usable for attributes that take a
space separated list of values
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps

simplea.com
● A classification map is any DITA map that includes the
classification domain.
● The classification domain provides elements for:
○ Referencing subjects defined in a subject scheme
○ Defining relationships between topics and subjects
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps For more information, see Eberlein,
DITA and Metadata, 2013.

simplea.com
● Elements in
topics
● Elements in
maps
● <data> element
● Subject scheme
maps
● Classification
maps
Advantages
○ Provides abstraction layer
○ Enables topics to have different metadata applied
depending on the context defined by the map
Disadvantages
○ Makes DITA maps difficult for content authors to work in
○ Requires a new set of DITA map knowledge for content
authors -- or a new role for an information architect to
add metadata to maps
○ No out-of-the-box DITA-OT processing for classification
maps

simplea.com
Scenarios:
Looking beyond
the DITA silo

simplea.com
The company wants to deliver marketing,
technical documentation, and service content from
a single portal.
Customers viewing content in the portal should
receive relevant recommendations from all three
streams.
Each content stream has their own taxonomy.
What’s the best approach?
Bridging silos

simplea.com
Map taxonomies
● Requires the three groups -- Marketing, Service, and TechDoc to become
familiar with each others’ terminology and taxonomies
○ What’s the same?
○ What’s different?
● Requires creating manual mappings between taxonomies
● Example: If a customer is reading marketing content about the super-duper
deluxe widget, the portal should recommend:
○ TechDoc: System overview
○ Service: Replacement parts

simplea.com
Develop unified taxonomies
● Marketing, Service, and TechDoc decide to standardize their disparate
taxonomies
● Unified taxonomies = Taxonomies that manage relationships and differences
intentionally and explicitly

simplea.com
Emergent practices:
DITA metadata on
enterprise scale

simplea.com
Emergent practices
● Develop a Master Content Model (MCM):
○ A map of how content is created, managed, published, and translated
○ Includes authoring and delivery formats (the different representations that content takes
through the content lifecycle)
○ DITA is at the center of the MCM; it serves the equivalent purpose as a pivot language in
the translation and localization environment
● Develop a master semantic model (MSM)
○ A comprehensive model that describes concepts and their relationships
■ Example: Concepts might be “User task,” “Installing”, and “Widget A”
■ Example: “Installing” is part of the larger concept “User tasks”
○ Includes terminology used in different contexts -- for example, marketing, product
development, technical documentation, and service
○ Informs the metadata component of the MCM

simplea.com
Emergent practices
Use a enterprise-wide application to develop and maintain the master semantic
model
○ Examples:
■ PoolParty
■ Topbraid
■ SmartLogic Semaphore
○ Should be accessible through API
○ Explore auto-classification …

simplea.com
Emergent practices
Build transformations so that each application in the environment can ingest
applicable taxonomies
○ CRM
○ DITA authoring environments
○ Other authoring environments
○ Web CMS
○ CEM systems
Extend applications to be able to implement appropriate metadata based on the
enterprise classification

simplea.com
Markup solution
● <data> element with attribute values controlled by an associated
subjectScheme map
● <data> elements stored in dedicated topics and conref’d into DITA source
● Solutions can be more or less elaborate
● Build a solution that fits with the authoring environment and provides most
support for authors

simplea.com
● Stan Doherty, Getting to First Base: Managing Cross-Organizational Content
with Basic Metadata, CMS/DITA NA 2016.
● Kristen James Eberlein, DITA Metadata, session at CMS/DITA North America
2013.
● Joe Pairman, Create a Smooth & Satisfying Reader Experience using
Metadata-Based Links & Suggestions, tcworld 2017.
● Joe Pairman, Taxonomy Now! Building a stress-resistant knowledge
architecture in your current tools, session at CMS/DITA North America 2017.
● Amber Swope, Taxonomy: When you need to move beyond standard
metadata, easyDITA Ask the Expert Series, July 2012.
Resources

DITA and Metadata on an Enterprise Scale

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à DITA and Metadata on an Enterprise Scale

Similaire à DITA and Metadata on an Enterprise Scale (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

DITA and Metadata on an Enterprise Scale