Topic-based information is the way to convey information because answers to issues need to be concise, portable, and relevant. The trouble is that many companies have a lot of information already stored in old documentation formats. User guides are becoming rare, as they should because the effort and cost involved in creating a user guide is too great as a ratio to the number of users who need comprehensive information. Quick Start guides are replacing the user guides and the comprehensive information is being moved into less sizable chunks of information.
It is a relatively easier job to create a DITA-based, XML-powered topical information system from scratch than it is to retrofit existing documentation into a new model. However, if your company is contemplating just such a move, there are several phases you need to consider before making the switch.
First, make sure your content is well-typed, meaning that the manuals need to have a consistent organization, making sure that your sections are organized into types of concept, task, or reference, (or some derivative of these types). Doing this will improve the usefulness of the documentation, even if it is never converted into XML to meta-tag the content.
Second, choose the XML solution that works best for your situation and roll out the changes. Remember that customers do not care about the source of the information; they only care about the output, so the company needs to consider costs, longevity (will the solution grow with you?), and ease of use among the users who are outside of technical publications (so that content also can be developed by other domain experts).
If Phase 1 is done properly, and the documentation is laid out consistently, automation can convert much of the content. However, even a manual conversion should take less time if the content is typed, so spending time on Phase 1 is very important.
Once the content is properly tagged, then it becomes a matter of how the content will be distributed and displayed, which can take several forms. This should be determined and worked on while others are engaged in Phase 1 activity.
Mark Metcalfe
http://www.linkedin.com/in/markmetcalfe