atw: Re: Arbortext Epic with Style compared with Structured FrameMaker

Hedley,

You ask good questions, but why are you particularly limiting your
choice to SFM and ArborText Epic?

We have had good results using SFM in a controlled authoring environment
supported by a powerful structured database (the RMIT University
developed TeraText - http://www.teratext.com.au, and connectivity to a
product data management environment. The setup costs for the two
implementations we have done were high, but labour productivity gains
will pay for them.

However, we are concerned about the continued longevity of the
FrameMaker environment, and should we win the Air Warfare Destroyer bid,
I suspect we will take a close look at our authoring tools as you are
doing.

There are many reasons to go with locally developed systems, and in this
regard, as a purely personal recommendation, I suggest you have a close
look at the Melbourne developed SmartPrecedent system -
http://www.speedlegal.com, which is purely XML-based. We initially
trialled it a couple of years ago with quite favourable results for
production of legal documents, but our legal people were always too busy
to think about changing the way they worked, and our processes for using
FrameMaker+SGML weren't and aren't broken, so we had no reason to look
seriously at replacing it in our tech authoring environment. However, if
Tenix wins either of our present bids for the Air Warfare Destroyers or
the amphibious Landing Helicopter Docks, I suspect that we will revisit
all of these decisions, and SmartPrecedent will certainly be on the list
of tools we consider.

Since we trialled SmartPrecedent, it has been integrated with Software
AG's Tamino, and includes  many integral capabilities tools for building
and managing templates, intelligent precedents, clause libraries etc.
SpeedLegal are achieving reasonable export success in the legal
documentation production market, but my belief is that it would be a
good tool for the kinds of requirements you list. Also, my guess is that
the SpeedLegal system would cost a lot less to implement than the kinds
of systems we have used in the past.

Given that the developers are located in Queen St, Melbourne CBD, I
think they would probably be happy to organise a demonstration - and if
you were interested, to work with you to get a system up and running.

Regards,

Bill Hall
Documentation Systems Analyst
Head Office, Engineering
Tenix Defence
Nelson House Annex, Nelson Place
Williamstown, Vic. 3016
Australia
Tel: +61 3 9244 4820 (Direct)
URL: http://www.tenix.com
Mailto:bill.hall@xxxxxxxxx

Evolutionary Biology of Species and Organizations
URL: http://www.hotkey.net.au/~bill.hall/

| -----Original Message-----
| From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
| [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
| hedley.finger@xxxxxxxx
| Sent: Monday, 28 February 2005 3:31 PM
| To: Austechwriter Post; framers@xxxxxxxxx; framers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx;
| FrameSGML@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
| Subject: atw: Arbortext Epic with Style compared with Structured
| FrameMaker
|=20
|=20
|=20
| All:
|=20
| We are considering moving away from (unstructured) FrameMaker=20
| to either (a)
| Arbortext Epic with Styler (AES) or (b) Structured FrameMaker=20
| (SFM) for
| single-sourcing printed user guides and on-line help.  We=20
| want XML to be
| the native file format (SFM can be made to do this). XML is=20
| the only way to
| go for reasons that are beyond the scope of this message.  We=20
| figure there
| is about as much pain transitioning from FM to SFM as there=20
| is from FM to
| AES, and that choosing which one to go with should depend on=20
| other than
| transitory migration issues.
|=20
| I am just starting on a detailed AES evaluation.  In the past=20
| I have used
| Structured FrameMaker (back to when it was called FrameBuilder and
| FrameMaker+SGML).  But I am by no means an XML/SGML or EDD=20
| guru, having
| used SFM only as an author relying on a prebuilt DTD/EDD.=20=20
| Has anybody else
| faced a similar choice and can supply the reasons why they chose a
| particular tool?  I am looking for war stories and potential=20
| gotchas in the
| areas below.  How was your experience with these major areas?  [The
| subitems are just to indicate the kinds of things that might=20
| be covered.]
|=20
| Migrating legacy unstructured FrameMaker
|       Tools and aids in either environment
|       Difficulty in migrating legacy content -- quality of=20
| migration aids
|=20
| Installing and implementing chosen solution
|       Installation of clients, servers and licencing scheme
|       Degree of integration, i.e. need lots of plugins for acceptable
| functionality?
|       Configuring installation, including user accounts or=20
| other access
| requirements
|       Total cost of ownership, viz. purchase, implementation=20
| and running
| costs over five years
|=20
| Designing templates -- DTDs or schemas, stylesheets, workflows
|       Capabilities of design tools  -- graphical views v. text
|=20
| Authoring environment
|       Structure view, ease of restructuring, guided editing
|       Find and replace with reg exps
|       Multiple dictionaries
|       Error checking and project management
|=20
| Conditioned content (condition formats, profiles)
|       Creating condition formats/profiles
|       Applying conditioned formats/profiles, and visual indication
|       Support for ORing and ANDing of overlapped conditions
|       Hierarchical conditions
|=20
| Generating output -- on-line help and printed documentation
|       Ease of setup
|       Supported help formats
|       Setting up print and PDF output
|       Ease of switching from one type of output to another
|=20
| Content management
|       'Book' control file for managing component files -- chapters,
| appendices, TOCs, etc.
|             (Actually, we would like granularity at the topic level)
|       Alternative books with different combinations of components in
| different sequences
|=20
| Raindrops on roses, And warm woollen mittens
|       What's best and worst about Structured FrameMaker?
|       What's best and worst about Epic with Styler?
|       Any major gotchas to be wary of, e.g. Unicode support?
|=20
| Please reply to the list as no doubt others will be facing=20
| this decision in
| the coming years as Adobe lets SFM languish in limbo.  I hope=20
| others may
| find the results of this useful. (I have cross-posted to the=20
| FrameSGML,
| Austechwriters, Techwr-l, framers@omsys, and=20
| framers@frameusers lists.)
|=20
| [Windows 2000, FrameMaker 6.0p405, FrameScript 1.27C01, Enhance 2.03,
| Acrobat 4.05.2, mif2go 31u33, WebWorks Publisher 7.0, IXgen=20
| 5.5.h, HTML
| Help Workshop 4.74 build 8702.0, HTML Help 1.31]
|=20
| Regards,
| Hedley
|=20
| --
| Hedley Finger
| MYOB Australia Pty Ltd  <http://www.myob.com.au>
| P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
| 12 Wesley Court   Tally Ho Business Park   East Burwood 3151=20=20
|  Australia
| Tel. +61 3 9222 9992 x 7421  Fax. +61 3 9222 9880  Mob. +61=20
| 412 461 558
| <mailto:hedley.finger@xxxxxxxx>
|=20
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