This session will educate participants on how they can re-invent the review processes for maximum efficiency.  We will review best practices with live concrete examples of structured content formats like DITA topics and other schemas.  JustSystems XMetaL Reviewer will be used as a session demonstration platform. (Laptops are not required)

The traditional Documentation Review process has always been associated with a Red Pen, I know when I was at school most of my work returned from the teacher scattered with Red Pen pointing out all of my mistakes. This was the same for all types of Documentation, copies of the final Book, Article or Manual were sent out for review when it was complete to be critiqued by subject matter experts. These requested changes or comments were then incorporated and then the Document was ready for release. This is Serial Reviewing, where a Document is reviewed then passed on to the next Reviewer until everyone has reviewed and then the document can be updated. With the advent of Computers and Desktop Publishing these review processes tended to stay the same, documents were printed out and the Subject Matter Experts would mark up the paper with a Red Pen. The documents were far easier to change and re-print but the processes are still essentially the same.

What is offered with Parallel Reviewing is the ability to make any part of your documentation available for review to everyone at the same time. As XML documents are usually divided into smaller re-usable components rather than one big document the review process is carried out in this way. Once each component is marked as complete it can automatically be made available through the web for Document Stakeholders to add comments or suggest revisions. As this process is carried out over the web comments can be used to have a Real-Time, Instant Message style discussion between interested parties anywhere in the World.

This can potentially save a vast amount of time at the end of the Documentation Process. When the Authoring process finishes the Review process can be nearly finished in parallel, saving Technical Authors late nights near deadlines.