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What is it?

The practice of using content components in multiple information products.

Why is it important?

Developing reusable content that can be used in multiple places and output formats saves valuable resources, enforces consistency, and improves content quality and effectiveness.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Content Reuse"

What is it?

Authoring an information set as a collection of discrete units called topics, rather than as a whole book or help system.

Why is it important?

Readers are increasingly information-snacking on small pieces of content which they find by searching, and small discrete units of information can be produced and managed more efficiently.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Topic-based Authoring"

What is it?

Content, whether in a textual, visual, or playable format, that conforms to structural and semantic rules that allow machine processing to meet specific business requirements.

Why is it important?

Structure in a document involves identifying the scope and relationship of meaningful parts. Named structures enable both logical processing and independent styling of what readers see.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Structured Content"

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What is it?

A set of organized, easily-navigated, and concise terms and phrases linked to locations in content, giving users fast access.

Why is it important?

Indexes link concepts and coordinates with metadata, providing users with a bottom-up tool for navigating content, crossing author-created boundaries such as chapters or topics, and democratizing all concepts for easy retrieval.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Indexing"

What is it?

Adaptation of content to make it more meaningful, appropriate, and effective for a particular culture, locale, or market.

Why is it important?

Localization increases the relevance of content for a particular target audience.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Localization"

What is it?

The analysis of, and planning for, the development, delivery, and consumption of global content; in essence, globalization is the analysis that forms a global content strategy.

Why is it important?

Globalization reveals the benefits, risks, needs, and demands of content among all target consumers and influences better decision-making for global information exchange.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Globalization"

What is it?

The extent to which content is available, understandable, and usable by all, regardless of disabilities or impairments such as sensory, physical, cognitive, intellectual, or situational.

Why is it important?

Accessibility equals usability for (almost) everyone. Many people think, Oh, for the blind, when accessibility is mentioned, but it encompasses much more than that.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Accessibility"

What is it?

The degree to which an individual can accomplish specific tasks and achieve broader goals while using a particular tool or service.

Why is it important?

Despite the constant overuse of the term and misuse of the research, industry professionals have long known that good usability often holds the key to business success both on- and off-line.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Usability"

What is it?

The process by which a person uses a technology to communicate or perform tasks together with a computer, mobile device, or other technological product.

Why is it important?

More and more, people are interacting with technologies in similar ways as with other humans. This interaction with technology has become part of our daily, routine conduct as we live our lives and get things done.

...continue reading "Term of the Week: Interaction"