Recently, I was asked to help make a case for why terminology and consistency matter in a user interface (UI). Frankly, I was surprised that a case needed to be made. After all, doesn’t everyone understand the importance of a clear and consistent UI? Apparently not. Here are a few
People often ask me if optimizing their content is worth the expense (both time and money). My answer is, unequivocally, “yes”. Sometimes, the reason is quantifiable in dollars. You can add up the savings with an abacus or a calculator. Sometimes, the reason is more esoteric. After all, how do
One of the first and most important questions I ask any customer who cares about content quality is, “Do you have a terminology list?” About 70% of the time, the answer is, “Yes, we have a glossary.” Though they both have their uses, glossary and terminology are not the same
These days, everyone is trying to sell you on the “next big thing” for improving content quality. From XML authoring tools, to new CCMS systems, to quality checklists and quality checkers, there is no shortage of tools on the market.
I get a great feeling of satisfaction when all of my laundry is done. The clothes are washed, pressed, folded, and put away. Of course, things are put away in my uber-organized, structured closet. It’s that feeling of being done with a task – sometimes a daunting task if I
There is a close-knit relationship between terminology and structure. So close, in fact, that many people completely overlook it. I’ve tried to explain this many times and, for some reason, I don’t think I have been able to make the point as clearly as it needs to be. So, in
A few months ago, we had an interesting discussion about structured content being like your closet. A few additional people wrote blog posts on the topic, too. One thing we all agreed on (I think?) is that structure provides a way for you to organize your content.
I had a really interesting conversation today with my friend, Cheryl Landes. For those of you who don’t know Cheryl, she is a content organizer extraordinaire. Cheryl has tremendous experience – particularly in the indexing arena. And for those of you who don’t have an appreciation for the fine art
Well, yes. It does. So, you need to be careful about the pictures that you use in content that is destined for foreign lands. I know, this sounds simple and maybe it is. But you’d be surprised at some of the errors I’ve seen. Stumbles run the gamut, from the
One of the persistent problems in the world of adaptive content is our inability to see how our content will be rendered on different types of devices until the conversion to each device type is complete.