General Meeting Announcements

November 1
DITA as an Authoring Format for Technical Information

So what the heck is DITA? Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) provides maps for assembling topics into deliverables. By specializing the map elements, you can define a formal information architecture for your deliverables.

This architecture provides guidance to authors on how to organize topics and lets processes recognize your organizing principles, resulting in a consistent, clear experience for your users.

Michael Priestley is one of the XML architects of the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), with specific focus on its specialization and map architectures. He is also an information architect and tools specialist for Rational software in IBM. He has written numerous papers on information design, architecture, single-sourcing, and information development processes.

December 6th
Document Development with Structured FrameMaker and XML on a Small Budget

Would you like to break into the world of XML, but you don’t have much time or money? Come to the December general meeting to learn about tools to help you:

• Get information from SMEs in electronic format and seamlessly import it into your desktop publishing tool
• Manage reviewers in remote locations
• Produce both HTML and PDF from a single source
• Develop documentation for the popular Eclipse development environment.

Let Fei Min introduce you to some neat tools that will help you achieve your goals more efficiently. If your documentation department is looking for a low-cost entry point to using XML that has a minimal impact on your production schedule, she’d got a practical solution.

Fei Min Lorente has been a technical writer for over 15 years and has worked with different tools from General Markup Language (GML) on a mainframe to Word on a MacIntosh. She has often had to take a leadership role in developing new processes and researching new tools for producing documentation. She has worked in the database, defence, oil and gas, banking and semiconductor industries. She is currently the lone writer at AMI Semiconductor Canada Company, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Southwestern Ontario chapter, and one of the editors for the CIC SIG. She considers herself a programming dilettante.