Presented by Rob Hanna at 2012 STC Summit in Rosemont, IL. Take a journey into the Information Ecosystem where you will discover how structured information lives within your organization. Content is all around you—in places you may least expect. It exhibits predictable properties and behaviors that will help you capture and classify information for better management of your content.

1. Exploring the
Information Ecosystem
with Rob Hanna CIP
STC Associate Fellow
Senior Information Architect
Transforming Knowledge into Performance
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2. Your Speaker: Rob Hanna CIP
A technical communicator with 15
years experience specializing in
structured
authoring, DITA/XML, and content
management
• Senior Information Architect
• AIIM Certified Information
Professional
• OASIS DITA TC Member
• STC Associate Fellow
• STC Certification Commission
Vice-Chairman
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3. Who is Innovatia?
Innovatia’s integrated knowledge
management solutions include four
core competencies:
• Training
• Documentation
• Product Solutions
• Technical Support
We design, create, and deliver knowledge solutions that
include documentation, training, technical support services
and knowledge management professional services.
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4. Agenda
• Introduction
• Information in the Ecosystem
• Information Behaviors
• Information is what information does
• Information Models
• Enterprise Content Metamodel
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5. Understanding where information lives
INFORMATION IN THE
ECOSYSTEM
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6. Metaphors for explaining information
Many metaphors exist to explain information
• Building architecture
• Chemistry
• Ecology
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7. Information is organic
An organism is defined as
• a complex system having properties and functions
determined not only by the properties and relations of
its individual parts, but by the character of the whole
that they compose and by the relations of the parts to
the whole.
An ecosystem is defined as
• a system formed by the interaction of a community of
organisms with their environment. Ecosystems are
generally hierarchical ranging from very focused
microecosystems to global macroecosystems.
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8. Information is the product of an organic mind
Why is it important to understand how the mind
processes information we create?
• More information in a single edition of today’s New York
Times than a person in the 17th century would have been
exposed to in an entire lifetime (Richard Wurman)
• As technical communicators, we must find more
efficient means for conveying information without
distracting the user from the product
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9. What behaviors characterize content and information?
INFORMATION BEHAVIORS
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10. Information properties and behaviors
Structured information possesses several common
distinguishable properties and behaviors
• Structured information properties are described by their
semantic internal substructures and metadata
• Structured information is
− Modular
− Traceable
− Recursive
− Patterned
− Process-driven
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11. Topic-based Content Lifecycle
Repository: Output:
Input: Topics
Information Core Information
Product
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12. Reusability
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13. Traceability
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14. How do I define information?
INFORMATION IS WHAT
INFORMATION DOES
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15. What does information do?
Among the functions information performs are
• to instruct
• to explain
• to describe
• to advise
• to relate
• to recount
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16. Understanding structured and narrative content
TO PERSUADE OR TO INFORM
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17. Language Arts
Language Arts for Personal Language Arts for
Response Information
To emotionally engage the reader To convey information that
Techniques: readers need to use
• narrative style Techniques:
• varied vocabulary & sentence • consistent modular structure
structure • concise, direct vocabulary
• withholding information • use of graphics
• Writer driven • Reader driven
Meant to be READ Meant to be USED
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18. Ikea Instructions: LAFI
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19. Ikea Instructions: LAFPR
If novelist Michael Ondaatje wrote Ikea instructions ….
• The eel-shaped talisman squirms inside the raspy
recycled box. A series of quarter turns – clock hands
marking time – bonds back to base. An alphabet of
connections in English and French. A into groove B. C
slots into D. Chipboard credenza communicating
Swedish hegemony.
− Author/parodist: Geoff Thomas
Globe & Mail, August 27, 2009
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20. The job application
The resume is The cover letter is
• Structured • Persuasive
• Semantic • Narrative
• Reusable • Addressed to the
• Parsable reader
LAFI LAFPR
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21. Walk through information models for structured content
INFORMATION MODELS
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22. Information models
Many information models exist to classify and organize
information
• Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
• Information Mapping™
• S1000D
• Zachman Framework
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23. DITA 1.0 Information Model
DITA was designed to support Alarm Clock User Guide
Task-based authoring
methodology for end-user About Alarm Clocks
documentation
Setting Clock
This approach consists primarily
of identifying specific tasks users Setting Wake Up Alarm
need to perform to be successful
with their product Setting Radio Alarm
Concept and reference Radio Settings
information is added to
supplement the tasks and give Installing Batteries
the user better understanding of
the product to improve likelihood Battery Specifications
of success
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24. Information Mapping™
Robert E. Horn at Columbia
and Harvard Universities
Core of the method
developed.
• 1966: First practical
application of method
• An information retrieval
system to inform
organizations of Federal
funding in Great Society
programs
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25. A New Way of Thinking
Information Mapping is software for the brain
Cognitive Message
Psychology Design
Instructional Human Factors
Systems Engineering
Design
Documentation Programmed
Writing Learning
Research
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26. Information Types (1 Block = 1 Purpose)
Categorize information based on its purpose for the
user
Answer all user questions on any topic
Defined by one of six Information Types
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27. Information Types
User question Information Type
“What is the (value)?” Fact
“What must I do?” Principle
“How do I do it?” Procedure
“How does it work?” Process
“What does it look like?” Structure
“What is it?” Concept
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28. Modeling information on how it behaves
ENTERPRISE CONTENT
METAMODEL
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29. Origins of the Enterprise Content Metamodel
• Developed in 2003 for Canadian Tire IT
• Presented in Seattle at STC Summit
• Used to help guide development of business documents
in OASIS
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30. Enterprise Content Metamodel
Why? Objective
Standard DITA
How?
Metamodel
Who? Resource Concept Requirement What?
Governance
Ability Activity Task Reference Design
Where? Resource Event Event Event Objective When?
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31. Task-based Information
The Task information type Concept Activity describes what is to
is central to the model be performed by the Task
Task describes how Governance describes
something is performed limitations on the Task
Reference describes the Concept provides terms for
Governance
tools used in the Task Governance
Task produces an Event
Activity Task Reference
Event
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32. Resource-based Information
Concept
Resource Governance
Activity Task Reference
Event
Activity describes what is
to be performed
Activity is performed by
a Resource
Ability Activity Activity requires a
certain Ability
Resource possesses given
Ability
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33. Product-based Information
Resource Concept
Governance Requirement
Ability Activity Task Reference
Event
Reference describes a
tool and its benefits and
features
Design describes how the
tool is built to
Requirements Reference Design
Requirement governs
Design and functionality
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34. Business-based Information
Objective describes
Objective
the goals, business
reasons, or mission
affecting change
Resource Concept Requirement
Resources, Concepts, and Requirements
are suited to meet an Objective
Resource Concept Requirement
Governance
Objectives may be related to previous
Events
Ability Activity Task Reference Design
Event
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35. Conclusions
Understanding the nature of information will make us
more effective technical communicators
• Structured information (LAFI) has specific properties
and behaviors distinct from narrative content (LAFPR)
• Information typing has vast potential to organize
content into structures that are more easily processed
for comprehension
• The Enterprise Content Metamodel organizes topic-
based information according to how it interacts with
other information in the ecosystem
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36. Innovatia is hiring!
We want team players who:
• overcome obstacles using a
tried-and-true mix of
experience and education
• solve problems in
surprising, creative ways
• build solutions that strategically
incorporate new technologies We need
• think about the big picture • Senior Writers
while maintaining a laser focus
on getting the details right. • Intermediate Writers
• Documentation Manager
Visit www.innovatia.net
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