by Steve Kiser

From new cars to software, the things we produce tend to be many smaller things put together. In manufacturing industries, for example, as much as 80 percent of a product may consist of components drawn from the company's parts library or purchased from suppliers.

Similarly, computer product designers routinely tap into internal databases and online parts warehouse services in the course of creating new models. In software, most of the new code being written is in the form of objects, self-contained bundles of information and operations with the ability to send and receive messages in standardized ways. Programs can then be created by assembling groups of these object components and inducing them to exchange information and services with each other.

Now components are part of a trend in publishing as well. In publishing, as in other endeavors, components represent an approach to dealing with complexity, in part because they are highly adaptable, which goes a long way toward eliminating redundant information and work processes. Just as a manufacturer doesn't want unplanned variations on subsystems, a publisher doesn't want variations on text.

There is tremendous synergy when components are used to develop both products and publications. For example, in one automotive joint venture, consumers are "designing their own car" from a menu of mix-and-match components. The auto buyers are happy because they get just what they want instead of having to settle for a limited set of available configurations. The auto maker is happy because he is selling more vehicles at premium prices, using a component-based system that does not require any more time to assemble a custom-made car than one mass-produced. The company gains a competitive advantage and additional revenues, without adding to its costs.

Here's where publishing comes in. Content publishing can create an owner's manual as customized as the car: Owners no longer have to wade through information on options they don't have. And when a car owner takes his vehicle in for servicing, the dealer can pull up a customized set of documents tailored specifically for that customer's car. Less time is wasted, fewer mistakes are made because at the same time the car was being assembled from component parts, a precise-fit set of documents was being assembled from content components. Consumers are happy because they get better, faster service; the dealer is happy because his costs are kept low.

Back to standard-issue cars for a moment. Think of the effort required for an auto maker to translate all the necessary documentation into multiple languages. Doing so is expensive, costing up to 40 cents per word including revisions. Always the last item on the "to-do" list, translation has to take place after the text is written. Each revision cycle adds even more time and money. Combined, this process can greatly impact time to market.

Rover Group, the UK-based automobile manufacturer, came to realize that managing documents as collections of information components allowed them to do for publishing translations what they already did for their products. Much like using a standardized headlamp in many different models, the company employs information components the same way, mixing, matching, and reusing items such as safety advisories, notes, terms, and procedures. By taking a component approach, Rover authors and translators can search to a precise level, control access and versions, and output to multiple media in far less time and with far less effort. In fact, composition time for each language version dropped from about three weeks to less than two days and overall production time for updates was cut in half.

These stories say something about the power of components. Strong cost-side as well as revenue-side benefits are going to make component-based practices as irresistible to publishing organizations as they are to product development and manufacturing organizations.

A Little Background

A 1996 CAP Ventures study showed that a substantial majority of technical publishing groups were interested in managing their documents as components. The first systems adopted were in the automobile and aerospace industries, where structured authoring has overwhelming benefit. These organizations tended to use the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) structured authoring method. But SGML is complex, and it's not for everyone. The new eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is simpler, which can attract a broader audience to structured authoring and content management. With XML in the media limelight, business organizations of all types are learning that they can substantially increase their control over information and dramatically reduce time and labor without relying on an overly rigid structure. Flexibility makes XML even more compelling.

The Role of XML

XML is the emerging standard for delivery of structured content on the Web. This simplified subset of SGML offers the benefits of its parent language's strict separation of form and content. It is much easier to use, however, and likely to gain the same widespread acceptance as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). As a true subset of SGML, XML files can be parsed and validated in the same way that SGML files can. And they can be processed by existing SGML-capable tools.

XML is not a fixed tag set like HTML. As with SGML, developers can define any number of new tags. But unlike SGML, XML does not require a Document Type Definition (DTD) or a rigidly enforced definition of the structure and element as long as the document conforms to XML rules. (Publishers working in large groups, creating highly organized, complex documents may choose to continue working with SGML.) Some are evaluating XML for it applicability as many DTDs are moving toward XML. Others may choose to do without.

Chrystal Software's component management product provides full support for XML, including import from and export to leading authoring tools (ArborText Adept, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe FrameMaker+SGML). Unlike conventional document management systems, Chrystal content management solutions can deconstruct document files into their component parts (e.g., sections, paragraphs, footnotes, part numbers, etc.) and manage these independently. Information can be searched for and revisions tracked, for example, at the level of a specific section or even paragraph. Component-level management assists information sharing across publishing teams and accelerates nearly every aspect of the authoring process - including editing, review and revision, foreign language translation, and distribution by way of multiple media. With the ability to reuse, modify, and reassemble content components in much the same way engineering organizations do with component code and parts, publishing organizations can achieve similar dramatic improvements in productivity, time to market, and ease of customization.

How it Works

A good example of XML at work with Chrystal is the story of a consumer health information producer. This producer works from a very large "knowledge base"- which can also be described as a large help file with thousands of topics cross-referenced in an interrelated hierarchy. The information is created, edited, and stored in SGML format. But with the addition of Chrystal's Astoria, they are now able work deep--at the sub-file level. Authors can query the content of the knowledge base, which can be as focused as a paragraph or a warning statement. Then they may insert the results into a document, which is then publishable to any number of media--paper, CD-ROM, or Web. The options for on-the-fly customization are endless. Both authors and healthcare providers can rely on knowledge that the new document contains a thorough assembly of the most current information available.

Any organization that places a high value on its information assets and recognizes the need to centrally manage and leverage them for reuse across multiple projects and media can potentially benefit from Chrystal solutions. Chrystal's content management solutions fit virtually every technical publishing need. As illustrated in the stories about the auto makers and healthcare publisher, quantifiable benefits are realized when you think small and manage information at the component level.

Chrystal Software, a Xerox New Enterprise Company, is built on a foundation of leading-edge content management technology. The company has a worldwide presence with partners in key markets and customers in automotive, aerospace, telecommunications equipment, publishing and other industries. Chrystal's customers maximize the value of their information assets and achieve real benefits in improved time to global market, simultaneous distribution to the Web, paper, CD-ROM and delivery to markets of one.

The Benefits of Components

Faster Time to Market:

Bring engineering efficiencies to the publishing processes and produce documents at the same accelerated pace as products.

Increased Customer Satisfaction:

Produce documents with mass customization--custom documents produced with mass-market or custom information services (e.g., software-specific editions of technology newsletters, personalized Web sites, financial reports tailored for investment portfolios) to targeted readerships online or via on-demand printing.

Decreased Customer Support Costs:

Companies save money because they can improve the performance of help desks, call centers, service centers, and on-site service technicians. Taking advantage of a central repository of documents and content components, they can also save money by consolidating support functions from several departments into one customer care center.

Increased Global Agility:

Today, many new products are launched into several international markets at once. By reducing redundant work and enabling authors, editors, and translators to work together more efficiently, it helps companies get to market faster all around the world.

Reduced Product Liability:

Automatic universal updates of content components wherever they are used reduces the chance of information being out of date or incorrect. In addition, because each information component exists in the database as a single object, consistency across documents is assured. The ability to store and track information at a component level also makes it easy to keep track of the versions of information needed to support specific product releases and custom deliverables.

Improved Ability to Do Business Efficiently on the Web:

Because content is available as components, it can easily be combined with client- and server-side coding to create interactivity and generate customized Web pages on the fly.

Smoother Information Exchanges with Business Partners:

With content stored independent of formatting, content can be used by business partners irrespective of their platforms or software. Companies can even provide partners with the ability to search for and access information themselves over an extranet.

Chrystal Software World Headquarters:
10875 Rancho Bernardo Road
San Diego, CA 92127-2116
619-676-7700
619-676-7710 (fax)
info@chrystal.com
http://www.chrystal.com

Steve Kiser is President and CEO of Chrystal Software, a Xerox New Enterprise Company. He may be reached at 619-676-7700, 619-676-7710 (fax), info@chrystal.com.