• Abstracts

Business Track

TUESDAY

Becoming a Wiki-Driven Company

• Presenter: Alan J. Porter
• Description: Wikis seem to be the poster child of Web2.0 content delivery. But how practical are they for creating and delivering content that people can really use? Relive our experience of setting up not just one but four different wikis, each designed to meet a different need and have a defined role in delivering information for different audiences. Find how we populated them, how they were received by our customers, and how we published traditional online help from wiki content.

Unstructured FrameMaker vs. XML: There and Back Again, a Controversial Tale

• Presenter: Meg Miranda

• Description: After HP acquired OuterBay, the former OuterBay team made a commitment to convert 100% of our unstructured FrameMaker documents into an existing XML-based content management system. Our conversion was a joy and completed in approximately three months. We were delighted with some of the features promised by the content management tool; the opportunity to "find similar" practically had us chomping at the bit to get all of our content in the system. We also experienced some engaging conversations with our engineering manager. However, when it got down to actual usage and being able to meet dates, the inability of the system to accommodate text reuse across books in an unpublished release forced us to go back to our unstructured FrameMaker system.

Moving To DITA: The Management View

• Presenter: Jo'lene Jernberg
• Description: What's the future of technical documentation? And how do you convince upper management to spend money to make life easier for publications while preparing for what XML can do for your company’s future? Learn how LSI built a business case for moving to topic-based information development, taking advantage of using familiar existing tools.

Going Paperless

• Presenter: Stephanie Bryant
• Description:

Doc To Wiki

• Presenter: Paul Mueller

• Description: During the rewrite of the ePublisher documentation, content was authored in structured FrameMaker. Next, ePublisher will be used to publish the content to a new wiki at docs.webworks.com. Learn how the process went from the documentation team's perspective.

Stop Wasting Time: 10 Ways to Become More Efficient

• Presenter: Scott Abel
• Description: Most folks complain they don't have enough time to move their careers forward. Most of the time that is simply not true. There's plenty of time in each day, but we're used to wasting it on time-sucking tasks that provide little or no business value. Learn ten of the biggest time-consuming tasks we perform each day and how to accomplish them more efficiently.

WEDNESDAY

Why Publishing Is No Longer the Last Step

• Presenter: Alan J. Porter
• Description: Traditionally, publishing is all about delivering content for the end user, and that's it. But it needn't be. Find out why publishing your information can be just the start of new relationship that adds value to both the user and the information provider.

Cutting Costs with Controlled Authoring

• Presenter: Berry Braster
• Description: Simplified Technical English is a long-term, comprehensive initiative designed to standardize the way technical publications are written. It improves readability, prevents misunderstandings, and facilitates globalization in a reliable, cost-effective and efficient way. In addition to bringing clarity and consistency to technical documentation, STE can save you up to 30% in translation costs. Furthermore, STE facilitates industry standards like DITA, S1000D, and SCORM, and also XML and CMS through optimum reusability. Berry Braster will explain the principles of STE and its benefits, and will give you practical and real-life examples in the form of case studies.

S1000D and WebWorks Users: Should You Care?

• Presenter: Harvey Greenberg

• Description: The WebWorks community has grown up around the subject of on-line help. Where XML is being adopted, DITA is the most likely solution, especially for new adopters. S1000D bears remarkable similarities to DITA and is largely geared towards a somewhat different electronic format: the Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM). Both communities are grappling with issues of reusing technical data for training, and there has even been talk about a DITA specialization for S1000D. This talk provides an introduction to S1000D for WebWorks users. We aim to help you ascertain if and where S1000D might be a more suitable specification, how it works, what tools are available to support it, and gaze into the extent to which there may be convergence.

Demystifying Eclipse Help: A Short Use Case

• Presenter: Meg Miranda

• Description: After getting through the misinformation and Eclipse jargon, I found that creating Eclipse Help was a relatively easy task. Using stationery already developed for an existing project, I was able to use WebWorks to create 97% of the help system. Then with a little help from a developer to create the proper TOC file, we were good to go.

Moving To DITA: How We Did It

• Presenter: Lesley Palmer and Deb Bissantz

• Description: So you want to move to DITA but you don’t want the headache of maintaining custom XSL transforms? Move to an environment that is totally automated and WORKS. Using the ultimate tool set, LSI’s two very distinct pubs organizations were able to save both personnel and tool resources. Our ESG Pubs organization has been working with DITA for over four years and has been blown away by not having to maintain any more XSL transforms. The ePub tool set can process both existing unstructured legacy docs with new DITA XML files. One stationery now supports multiple targets, formats and deployment. These include WebWorks Help, PDF, Oracle Help and Java Help and customized online help, for internal and external customers. The interaction between Vasont and WebWorks provide automation for the extract and publication process. Webworks has been instrumental in developing the Ultimate Publishing Environment.

User Case Study

• Presenter: Awaiting Confirmation
• Description:

WebWorks Track

TUESDAY

Delivering to Multiple Audiences

• Presenter: Andrew VanConas

• Description: Learn about the use of conditional text, variables, and other audience-specific content.
  • Formats and Targets
  • Unique Content - Unique Format
  • Use Cases
  • Why Multi-Channel

Multi-Sourcing Frame, Word & DITA

• Presenter: Andrew VanConas

• Description: Content comes to a technical writer from all different directions in different authoring environments – e-mails, MS Word, FrameMaker, and more. This content must reach the audience in multiple delivery formats (PDF, online help, Web site, intranet) quickly with a consistent look & behavior; it is also importation that this process is repeatable because as soon as the content has been delivered it starts again. This presentation will take content from multiple sources and place it into a process that will produce a single consistent deliverable.

Inside Tech Support

• Presenter: Lauren Lever

• Description: Troubleshooting tips & tricks! With case studies, little-known tips, and examples you can use, Senior Support Consultant Lauren Lever will share her strategies for troubleshooting and resolving all manner of ePublisher issues. Error messages, output problems, and common source document dilemmas are likely topics. The internal troubleshooting process will be revealed to help you diagnose and fix problems when they occur, avoiding the frustration of missed deadlines and lost productivity.

Standard Customization Practices Part 1

• Presenter: Jesse Willes
• Description: Page templates. Page templates are where the rubber meets the road for any XML, XHTML, or HTML format. This presentation describes the What, Why, and How of customizing the ePublisher page templates.
  • Introduction to the basic page template namespace and attributes
  • Customizing the template structure - Page.asp
  • Filling in the gaps with logical statements - pages.xsl

  • Putting it all together & adding custom settings

Standard Customization Practices Part 2

• Presenter: Jesse Willes
• Description: Format trait info. ePublisher provides a simple mechanism for end users to extend the ePublisher UI. This capability enables ePublisher experts to build flexible extensions to ePublisher formats. This session presents step-by-step instructions for creating per format settings and per style options. Users will learn how to query settings and options within XSL to trigger custom code. The session will wrap up by showing how these techniques are used to build production ePublisher features.

Context-Sensitive Help

• Presenter: Andrew VanConas

• Description: During this session we'll walk through the steps of creating context-sensitive help for Windows and Web based help systems, including Quality Assurance and implementing the WebWorks Help API. This presentation will utilize all the components of the ePublisher platform and will have an extensive Q and A session.

WEDNESDAY

Choosing the Right Deliverable

• Presenter: Ben Allums & Paul Mueller

• Description: Do you know the best way to choose the most suitable deliverable for your users' needs? In this presentation, we'll walk you through the newly developed ePublisher roadmap that matches user needs to the right online format.

DITA Publishing

• Presenter: Ben Allums
• Description: Simplified DITA publishing is possible. This session covers the nitty-gritty of publishing DITA content on the ePublisher platform. Specific attention is given to the strengths and limitations of ePublisher's DITA solution. DITA Open Tookit plug-ins, DITA specialization, and troubleshooting your DITA solution will also be covered.

AutoMap

• Presenter: Andrew VanConas

• Description: ePublisher AutoMap is the most flexible module of the ePublisher Factory. AutoMap is your ePublishing “Assembly Line." The focus of this session is on automation, setup of AutoMap, running multiple conversions, adding scripting to retrieve or check in content to a version control systems (CVS, SVN, VSS and others), and receiving feedback.

Advanced Customization Practices

• Presenter: Jesse Willes
• Description: Processing with the ePublisher Platform is bound together with a set of logical constructs formally known as Uri Resolvers. In this session we will cover briefly what a Uri Resolver is and analyze how the ePublisher Platform uses this mechanism. This session will also demonstrate an easy way to override ePublisher XSL stylesheets without hacking into the existing XSL code. An intermediate level knowledge of XML technologies is a preferred prerequisite for this session.

Customization: Bringing it All Together

• Presenter: Ben Allums
• Description: Missed a session on ePublisher customization and wished you could hit rewind? Welcome to metaphysical equivalent of the "ePublisher Quick Reference Card." This session provides attendees with a sampling of all things possible on the ePublisher platform. From FTI settings and input adapters, to page templates and output formats, Ben distills the essence of ePublisher down to just what you need to know. Developers can be sure they didn't miss anything important, and managers will have the knowledge they need to administer success ePublisher deployments.

Wiki, Wiki, Wiki

• Presenter: Ben Allums
• Description: Did you know ePublisher produces, packages, and deploys to Wiki servers? Come learn how ePublisher can be used to jump start your Wiki presence and attract user contribution while keeping you in control of your corporate data.

THURSDAY

Twisted ePublisher

• Presenter: You!

• Description: Instead of an experienced developer steering a session on an ePublisher topic, Twisted ePublisher will be steered by an ePublisher user who doesn't know yet the topic very well. Working real-time in ePublisher and solving a real-world problem as we watch, our presenter will be able to ask live questions of the WebWorks development and support team. Interested in being the Twisted ePublisher presenter? E-mail us at roundup@webworks.com and let us know what kind of project you'd like to work on.

WebWorks RoundTable

• Presenter: You!

• Description: The WebWorks executive team will be on hand to answer your questions about the current and future state of the ePublisher union. So take your best shot: The only thing missing will be carnival-style beanbags and vats of water! After the RoundTable we'll wrap up the conference with the announcement of contest and raffle winners and other fun stuff.