Please comment on the presentation at this new location.

Nick’s point that “Concepts, Tasks, Reference topic types can really apply anywhere and existed long before DITA was conceived” is well taken. When I give the presentation I emphasize that it is not about DITA but about pre-existing best practices that DITA is built on.

I could have avoided mentioning DITA, but I think that writers who are struggling to make the transition to topic-based writing (whether or not they’re using DITA) can benefit from at least an overview of DITA’s three core info types. That has been the case for me anyhow.

Also I think that DITA’s growing adoption lends legitimacy, and an increasingly common language, to information typing where I have encountered skepticism on this approach in the past.

Marcia P.

I follow a 5-type model: facts, concepts, processes, principles, and procedures, which I find is much more useful. In fact your example which shows information types mixed, “concepts” embedded in a procedure, are not “concepts.” They are guidelines (principles) which I think shows the limitations of going with only three information types.

Thanks

Ray

The one problem I have with the presentation is that I think the “before” example is actually better than the “after” example. Also, the “after” example includes information (volume controls) not included in the “before” example, which confuses the issue. Also, the “after” example looks like a lot of totally aggravating help topics I have run across before: It tells you that you can do it, but doesn’t tell you how. The “before” example tells you, step by step, how to do something (turn Audio Out on or off).

Thanks!

I’d be very interested in hearing feedback — specifically how this presentation helped you, where it misses the mark, etc.