B&P: What kinds of training do you do for Front Runner?

Alan: I teach two rather specialized courses: "DITA: Publishing with FrameMaker" and "FrameScript Development Fundamentals" . DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) based framework for authoring and publishing topic-oriented content. FrameScript is a programming language for automating and customizing FrameMaker. I designed these courses with Front Runner to meet Front Runner's customer needs. Few public training facilities currently offer DITA training, and no other companies, to the best of my knowledge, offer FrameScript training.

B&P: How long have you worked with Front Runner, and how did the relationship start?

Alan: I have known Front Runner for at least 8 years. We originally met at the old FrameUsers conference series in 1998 or 1999. Front Runner has always had an active participation in technical communication and tools conferences, and I've always been impressed with their expertise and professionalism of their staff.

B&P: How do you like Toronto?

Alan: I love my visits to Toronto. I think it's a wonderful city. I've also had the privilege of attending several STC Toronto Chapter meetings and getting to know some of the active members.

B&P: How did you get into training?

Alan: I've been a technical communicator since 1987, and always wanted to run a technical communication consulting and training business. In the late 1990s, I began to seriously prepare to quit my "day job" and become a consultant/trainer. My most important action was to get involved in the FrameMaker, XML, and general technical communication communities by attending and presenting at conferences. There I was able to build connections with Adobe and with companies like Front Runner. These connections are invaluable when building a business.

B&P: What do you most enjoy about training?

Alan: I love the diversity of experiences in training. A single training session is likely to include students from several companies, with different levels of expertise and different backgrounds. I try to provide information of value to all students in my classes, regardless of experience level. It's also tremendous fun to learn about the many diverse challenges and problems that different companies and organizations are facing.

B&P: Who would benefit from learning to use DITA, and why?

Alan: The technical communication profession is rapidly changing. Any organization that needs to publish to manage and re-use content across any combination of multiple audiences, multiple output formats, and multiple languages can benefit from DITA.

B&P: What's the biggest challenge people face when learning DITA, and what do you suggest for getting past this challenge?

Alan: The deployment phase of any XML publishing workflow is challenging. There are new tools to learn, new processes to follow, and new methodologies to master. DITA presents the general XML paradigm of separating content from presentation, and also presents the shift to topic-oriented authoring and publishing.

Companies that deploy XML successfully tend to do so in a phased approach. Pick a prototype project with a small team. Build expertise and experience within your organization, with the help of experienced trainers and consultants. Learn what works and what doesn't work before rolling out something like DITA across your organization.

Alan: The more you know coming into a training course the more value you can gain from it. Whether DITA or any other tool or technology, some time spent familiarizing yourself can increase the amount of information you can absorb during the training and increase the level of expertise you can achieve.

Also, come to the course prepared to discuss your organization's issues. I always appreciate when students bring sample files to the class. This helps move the discussion from general concepts to specifics about how DITA can solve your organization's specific technical publishing problems.

Then, after the training, use what you learned right away, if possible!

B&P: Look into your crystal ball and tell us what you see in the future for DITA

Alan: Since DITA is a technology and not a specific tool, tools support is critical for wide-spread adoption. Thus far, signs are encouraging. Several major tool vendors are supporting DITA, and I strongly suspect that we will see a few new additions to the field over the next year or so.

B&P: Finally, do you have any stories about weird or funny things that have happened to you as a trainer?

Alan: I've dealt with software that didn't work, broken projectors, and course materials that did not arrive. I somewhat enjoy dealing with unpredictable circumstances and challenges. This is part of what makes training fun.

B&P: Thanks for speaking with us.

SPECIAL NOTE: Alan will be an upcoming guest speaker at the September 25th, 2007 F.U.N. (FrameMaker User Network) meeting.

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