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Appendix D. Tools checklist

Part IV, “Tools and technologies,” described the process of selecting tools and technologies, as well as the capabilities required for a unified content strategy. This appendix provides a concise checklist for the tools required to implement a unified content strategy.

This appendix is a summary of the questions for vendors provided in Part IV. It is not designed to be used until you have completed a thorough analysis of your requirements. Some of the questions provided here may not be appropriate for your project, company, users, or budget. Use the checklist to assist you in developing your questions for the vendors.

Authoring tool functionality

Table D.1 summarizes the questions you should ask of an authoring tool vendor.

Table D.1. Authoring tool criteria

Criteria	Definition
User interface
User friendly, author-intuitive graphical user interface (GUI)	Does the system have a GUI that is designed for use by writers/authors and that facilitates efficiency of their tasks?
Web interface	Does the authoring tool include a web-based interface?
Functionality
Good/powerful text handling capabilities	Does the authoring tool support the following: Spell check/thesaurus? Search and replace? Hypertext links? Bullets? Numbered lists? Tables? Footnotes? Scientific equations/notation? Global search and replace? Document preparation and creation capabilities? Automatic creation of headers/footers? Automatic generation of tables of contents? Automatic generation of index?
Template support	Does the authoring system support structured content templates? How does the authoring system handle template versioning?
Graphics support With user-managed	Are images linked or embedded? (Static and dynamic? status?) Does the authoring tool include a preview mode? How are images linked in? Drag and drop? Can the images be manipulated for size/position/resolution in the authoring tool? Can callouts be added? Can they exist as a layer for translation and multi-product labeling purposes?
Complexity filter	Can the interface be customized to present only the functions that the authors need to use? Is it configurable for groups? By pro file/user login?
Standard window functionality	Does the authoring tool support standard windowing functionality? Cut and paste? Split panes? Drag and drop? Multi-level undo,…?
Conversion	Does the tool support conversion from other formats?: FrameMaker? Quark? Others?
Indicate changes to users	Can the authoring system track changes in a document? With change bars? With color? Can change indications be turned on and off by the author? Can the system produce change reports? Does the authoring tool support change management such as change reports, change bars, version comparisons? Can the user turn change bars on and off? Can change bars automatically turn off after a period of time has passed?
Indicate standard (signed-off) content	Can the authoring system identify content that is “locked” (not available for change)? If yes, describe how (for example, with color or with a locked symbol).
Link within documents	Does the authoring tool support linking within elements or documents? Drag and drop?
Link to external documents	Does the authoring tool support linking outside of elements/documents? Drag and drop? Links to specific file versions or most recent?
Indicate changes to users	Can the authoring system track changes in a document? With change bars? With color? By another customizable method? Can the author turn change indications on and off? Can the system produce change reports? Does the authoring tool support change management such as change reports, change bars, version comparisons? Can the user turn change bars on and off? Can change bars turn off automatically after a period of time has passed? Is it possible to compare multiple versions of content and see the changes between the versions?
XML/SGML support (if applicable)
Enforce structure/Full rules checking	Does the authoring tool enforce structure as defined in a DTD or schema? Does the tool indicate what tags are valid at the cursor’s current position? Does the authoring tool enable the author to make tagging errors?
DTD Support	Describe the authoring tool support for the following: DTDs Schemas
Controlled access to DTDs	Can authors change the DTD, or can access be restricted via Access Control List (ACL) permissions or by requiring the use of a compiled DTD?
Customized DTDs	Does the authoring tool support the use of customized DTDs?
Multiple and flexible DTD support	Is the system designed to support multiple DTDs and flexible DTDs so that the system can grow as content and use evolve enterprise-wide?
Validated parsable output	Is the output validated against the DTD or schema?
Non-validated output handling	Does the system allow the author to override the system and process “invalid” content instances if needed?
Easy tag entry	How do users enter XML tags? Do users pick tags from a list? Do users pick tags from a dropdown menu? Is there some other mechanism?
Easy metadata (attributes) entry	How do users enter attributes? Users pick predefined metadata (attribute) values from a picklist? Users are prompted for required metadata? Some other way?
Tables	Describe the table support for the authoring tool: Wizard driven? Embedded support (in the tool)? Can tables be generated from links to external data sources (CSV files, XML tagged data, ASCII files, and so on)?
Multiple authoring views, including “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG)	Does the authoring tool support multiple (author selected) authoring views? Formatted (no code)? Content and codes (no formatting)? Other?
Language support	Does the system support double-byte languages for authoring and display? How do authors enter accented characters? Does the system support multiple language dictionaries, or dictionaries for different industries?
Interfaces to CMS interface?	With which CMS systems does the tool
Cost	What is the cost?
Implementation time	What is the typical analysis, development, and implementation time?

Content management

Table D.2 summarizes the questions you should ask of a content management tool vendor.

Table D.2. Content management criteria

Criteria	Definition
Repository	What content formats does the CMS support, and at what level of granularity does it support them (for example, file, section, paragraph)? What type of database does the content management software use? How much effort is required to set up and maintain the database? Can the CMS accommodate the demands of enterprise implementations (for example, the number of users and the volume of documents)? How scalable is the database? How well does it grow to meet growing content? How is growth accomplished?
Segmentation/Bursting	Does the CMS support segmentation or bursting? Can you define the level of granularity? Can you define multiple levels of granularity depending on the type of content? Can you change the level of granularity at a later date?
User interface	How easy is the tool to learn and use? What are its limitations? Can the interface be customized? Is there an “offline” mode?
Version control	Is every element versioned individually? What types of versioning are provided? Are changes stored as complete new versions of an element, or are just the deltas (changes only) saved from the current/original version?
Check-in/Check-out	How easy is it to check-out/check-in content? Is content then locked so other authors cannot also check it out and change it? Can the system administrator check-in content that is checked-out by someone else (useful, for example, if an author is sick)?
Security	What security features are provided to protect sensitive documents from unauthorized access and modification? What levels of security are provided? What capabilities are available at each level? At what level of granularity can content be secured? Is the level of security of an element maintained wherever it is reused? Can security admin functions be delegated or distributed? Do all security changes have audit trails? If access is granted to groups of users, can a user belong to multiple groups? Are there automatic timeout features that protect content from access when a user leaves a workstation un attended for a specified period of time? Are invalid attempts to access secured content tracked? Managed? Do users see only the info (content or metadata) they are privileged to see, or can they see more info (metadata) but not content that is restricted? Does this system allow delegated authentication (access common LDAP directory or other remote authentication service)?
Web-enabled	Is the “In-box” web-enabled? Does it have the same functionality as client version? Can the in-box be integrated into a corporate portal?
Metadata
Creation	Can metadata be applied in the authoring tool? Is metadata applied as content is checked in? How simple is it for authors to select and apply metadata? Can sub-elements of a container element automatically inherit the container element’s metadata? What types of metadata can be automatically applied? How easy is it to create a new metatag?
Storage	How is metadata stored?
Security	Can the facility for creating/changing metatags be secured so that only the system administrator can make changes?
Managing elements
Tracking	Can the system identify and track all occurrences of specific information so that all occurrences are easily updated?
History	Does the system display a history of revisions? Can the system generate history reports? What information is available in the history? What can the user track?
Status of each component/element	Can the system indicate whether a component has been checked out or is shared?
Update options	What are the update options? Automatically update the element selected to reuse when the original (source) element is changed? Notify authors ofthe changes so that they can decide whether they want to update the element or not? No update. Can authors Choose to copy a component rather than reuse it? This means that if the original component is updated the copied element will not be. They exist as two separate components.
Content history mapping to source	Can the CMS keep a history trail that maps elements, when reused, to their original source? How is this done? Accomplished systematically? Accomplished with metadata?
Ability to sever the relationship	Can the author sever the relationship between a shared component so that the reused element now becomes a copied element?
Ability to merge components that diverged previously	Can you merge components that diverged previously?
Search and retrieval	What type of search engine is available? Can you add your own? What types of searching are supported (Boolean, natural language, index, keyword, structural, metadata)? Can search criteria be restricted based on user security profiles?
Virtual documents	Does the system support virtual documents? How do you link the parts together? (Drag and drop?)
Authority tables	Does the system support the use of “authority tables” to contain master metadata and master content across (for example, global information that any element or document can access)?
Link control	Does the system provide automatic link checking? Does it automatically detect changed/moved/broken links and correct problems? Can it maintain or hide links when not relevant in dynamic documents?
Archive	How are archiving, obsoleting, and deleting handled? How do you set the rules?
Structure
Automatic structure identification/structural view	Does the system provide a visual, structural representation of documents or virtual documents?
Level of structure supported through metatags	What level of structure is supported for control or reuse? File? Paragraph? Sentence? Word? Special character? Graphic? Table?
Are variables allowed?	Does the system support variables for small components of information (for example, at the word level)?
Translation	Can the CMS create a relationship between the source language and multiple localized versions of the content? Can the CMS integrate with a memory translation tool? With what memory translation tools can it integrate? Can the CMS be modified to integrate with other memory translation tools if necessary?
Integrated workflow	Is workflow integrated into the content management system, or is a separate work flow tool required? Is it configurable on the fly or must it be predetermined? Is the actual workflow audit-trailed? Can users share a common in-box so that you route work to a department or team as opposed to individuals?
Importing content	Can you import content by batch or by script? Is automatic conversion “into” the system supported from any file types (for example, are there built-in filters for data coming from Frame, RTF, Quark, and so on)? If not, do you have plug-ins available to handle this, or would this be a customization option? (Explain.)
Remote access	Is the system designed and constructed with remote access users in mind? Can it perform “real-time” and with adequate processing speed when accessed as follows: Via web? Via dial-in, modem (56K) connection?
Reporting	What are the reporting features? Can the user generate: Status reports (of document elements)? Relationship reports (parent/child)? Where-used reports indicating where an element is being reused? A list of changed modules for reviews?
Metrics measuring and reporting	Does the system capture “use/reuse” measurements and provide reports? Can “use/reuse” be captured by different criteria (for example, reuse in one category of content versus reuse in another category of content)?
Audit trails/offline security	Does the tool provide any audit trails or other reporting to track content edited offline?
Interfaces to other tools	To which authoring tools does the CMS interface? To which workflow tools does the CMS interface?
Cost	What is the cost?
Implementation time	What is the typical analysis, development, and implementation time?

Workflow

Table D.3 summarizes the questions you should ask of a workflow tool vendor. If the workflow is integrated in the content management system, ask these questions of the content management tool vendor.

Table D.3. Workflow criteria

Criteria	Description
Interface	What is the interface? Web-based? Windows-based? Other?
Integration	Where is workflow integrated? With the content management system? With the email system?
Workflow creation	How easy is it to create the process flow (for example, can a business analyst easily create workflow or is a technical specialist required?) Is the user interface graphical? Is drag and drop of workflow elements supported? Are there any predefined workflows (templates) that can be used or modified as necessary? Is integration provided for other modeling tools or business process re-engineering tools? How easy is it to simulate and test the workflow processes? Can you set up multiple test data scenarios to test exceptions and conditions? Can the system learn from user interactions and create new workflow based on its analysis of user interaction? Are different workflows definable for each user at different levels? For example, can different workflows be created to accommodate different groups within the organization and their different work or review cycles?
Business rules creation	How easy is it to create a business rule (for example, predefined elements to select from, simple rules language, visual)?
Administration	Can roles definitions be linked with existing roles and responsibilities software (for example, content management system, logon profiles)? Individual roles? Group? Can roles be assigned to a task rather than to individuals? Can a group be assigned to a role? Can alternates to individuals in a role be assigned? Would the system support a user-level (for example, author-level) administration role for certain admin activities that do not require a “system administration” level of support?
Security and electronic signature	What types of security are provided? Individual? Group? Shared? What security levels are provided (author, editor, team lead, and so on)? How easy is it to set security levels? Are electronic signatures supported? How are they supported? How are electronic signatures verified (for example, are they password protected)?
Support of automatic monitoring of status	Does the workflow system display the status of documents?
Reports	What standard reports are available? Length of time to complete process Status? Workloads? To do lists? Can users define their own custom reports and create them “on the fly” (that is, ad hoc)?
Pull technology	Does the system include the capability to submit something to the system and have it automatically handled (for example, new publication)?
Push technology	Does the system include the capability to automatically perform a task (or trigger other processes, such as publishing, for example) at a given time or a given status?
Types of workflow
Support of collaborative	Does the system support processes that workflows may change given appropriate security access?
Support of administrative	Are standard workflows enforced for workflow repeatable processes (for example, review and sign-off)?
Embedded workflow enabling	Can workflow be integrated with the content management system for transparent usage?
Complex workflows	Does the system support the following: Branched workflows (based on metadata)? Multiple branching? Simultaneous review and automatic merging?
Notification	Does the system support the following: Notification of tasks or requirements from members of the workflow? Ability to view status (for example, in progress, complete)?
Deadlines and escalation	Is there a way to notify users of deadlines (for example, by email, with an electronic calendar)? Can users choose to add an alarm to a deadline to assist in reminding them of due dates? Do missed deadlines trigger actions such as reminders and escalation procedures? Can priorities be changed?
Routing	What types of routing are supported? Can the system provide ad hoc workflow if you need it? Does the system allow steps to be completed simultaneously? Are wait steps supported? Can you have different types of routing for different projects? How easy is it to create the different types of workflow routing?
Other considerations	Does the embedded workflow meet all your organization’s requirements, or is it specific to one application of the content life cycle (such as web, for example)? If it was designed for one application, is it extensible to accommodate the enterprise content life cycle? How easy is it to extend the workflow functionality? What standards, if any, are used to exchange data among applications? With which systems does the workflow system integrate? How is integration accomplished? Is there an API that would allow the workflow to be customized to integrate with systems not currently integrated?
Cost	What is the cost?
Implementation time	What is the typical analysis, development, and implementation time?

Delivery

Table D.4 summarizes the questions you should ask of a delivery tool vendor. If the delivery tool is integrated in the content management system or the authoring tool, ask these questions of these vendors.

Table D.4. Delivery criteria

Criteria	Definition
Aggregation	With which authoring tools does the delivery tool interface? With which CMS tools does the delivery tool interface? With which databases does the delivery tool interface?
Output support	What output formats are supported by the delivery system? PostScript? PDF? HTML? XML? Word? Does the tool support output to multiple formats for a single publishing request? For example, can you create a both a PDF version and an HTML version of a product specification sheet with a single request?
Book building	Can the tool automatically create TOCs, indexes, and linked lists (for example, lists of figures)?
Partial or full publishing	Can the tool include support for publishing pieces of a document or just full documents?
Collection publication	Does the tool include support for publishing collections (groups of documents)? For example, can the tool take a series of input files and build a complete web site, with full hypertext linking? Can the tool build the TOCs and indexes for these collections?
Full graphics support	Can the tool perform automatic conversion based on targeted output? Can selected content be flagged to preserve maximum fidelity of graphics?
Conversion	Does the tool support conversion of imported content? What formats does it support? How clean (that is, problem free) is the conversion?
Output management	Are published documents (outputs) automatically checked into the repository? Can outputs be automatically associated with source documents (through metadata)? Is metadata from contributing documents (files) automatically assigned to published output for check-in? Are publication directories (both internal and external to the repository) automatically populated?
Assembly	Does the tool include support for virtual or compound documents (assembled in response to a publishing event or request)?
Dynamic content	Can the delivery tool support dynamic content? How is dynamic content delivered (multi-channel, ASP, portal)? How is it supported? How do you enter user profiles? Can the delivery tool update the user profile based on user selection? How are business rules entered (code or user scenarios or plain language interface)?
Personalization	What functionality does the personalization engine provide? How do you enter user profiles? Can the delivery tool update the user profile based on user selection? How are business rules entered (code or user scenarios or plain language interface)? How does the recommendations engine work (analytics, algorithms, collaborative filtering)?
Automation	Does the publishing system support automated publishing (batch mode, without operator support), triggered by: Author request? Workflow event (check-in, status changes)? End-user request?
Language support	Does the system support double-byte languages in output?
Scripted publishing	Can publishing be managed through defined scripts?
Cost	What is the cost?
Implementation time	What is the typical analysis, development, and implementation time?

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Table of Contents for D. Tools checklist

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Appendix D. Tools checklist

Authoring tool functionality

Content management

Workflow

Delivery

Table of Contents for
D. Tools checklist