I have done many presentations of the course of my career, mostly focusing on the practice of using DITA and why businesses choose to use it to get the best return for their technical documentation spending. This page looks at the most recent 33 presentations I have done since 2015. I plan to add more over time, eventually all the way back to my first presentation on DITA from 2008.
The presentations cover a range of topics, including:
- converting legacy content to DITA using artificial intelligence
- DITA production metrics
- human cognition and technical writing
- where DITA works best (and where it does not)
- DITA and Agile
- creating DITA example/sample files
- DITA “worst practices”
- Search Engine Optimization and DITA
- using DITA effectively within a Component Content Management System (CCMS)
- DITA content strategy
- creating a style guide for DITA content
- understanding and using DITA keys
- Lightweight DITA
- localization and DITA
- content reuse
…and not surpirsingly, much more! While there is some obvious recycling between the presentations, I made it a point early on not to simply parrot things on a single theme or to push a single agenda, but instead be open to what the evidence was showing me, and explore various aspects of technical communications from a DITA perspective.
A big thank you to the firms that sponsored the time and effort for the research I did for these presentations, and providing me with the opportunity to present them. That includes Precision Content, Ixiasoft (now Madcap), AMD, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
And yes, AI was used to help generate the descriptions for many of these presentations. Summarizing existing content is definitely a strength of current AI technologies.
Dazzling DITA: 20 Years of Technical Writing’s Best “OmniGadget”
Dazzling-DITA-FINAL[April 13, 2026] Presented at ConVEx 2026, my first in-person conference since the advent of COVID. This presentation argues that the core strength of DITA is content reuse, which drives efficiency, consistency, and strong ROI, especially for large, multilingual organizations. It looks at the most current data which shows DITA is widely used across industries (especially software) and has reached a late-majority adoption phase, and that its greatest benefits emerge at enterprise scale. The presentation also outlines ongoing challenges: including high implementation costs, competition from Markdown and docs-as-code approaches, and AI’s impact on localization and content workflows, while concluding that DITA remains adaptable and is likely to influence future content standards and ecosystems over time.
Converting Legacy Unstructured Content to DITA Using Claude.ai
Converting-Legacy-Unstructured-Content-to-DITA-Using-Claude-AI-for-Information-Energy[Late 2025] The latest presentation I have done on AI and structured content, where I cover material relating to the Model T conversion, and then focus on efforts on content reuse for a pair of 1950’s-era Studebaker manuals. The intention was to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of current AI systems when it comes to converting legacy content to DITA. The presentation goes on to list the pros and cons of this approach, suggesting how to get the best results and to avoid the many pitfalls of using an AI in a conversion role. It also demonstrates that Large Language Models can rapidly generate topic-based XML with minimal prompting. It highlights key advantages like speed, automated restructuring, and improved readability, while identifying significant limitations including validation errors, hallucinations, inconsistency, and the need for human oversight. Ultimately I believe that AI is best situated as an assistive tool, that can enable content reuse, but not replace need for a human expert as part of the system.
Converting Legacy Unstructured Content to DITA with AI
Converting-Legacy-Unstructured-Content-to-DITA-with-AI-for-Boston-DITA-Group-2[Mid-2025] This presentation is an update to an earlier presentation on the same topic I gave at the Information Energy conference, and it focuses on using an AI (Claude.ai) to assist in the conversion of an old Model T car manual from over a century ago into DITA XML. The presentation shows that AI can quickly generate topic-based XML and reorganize content into more usable forms. I highlight key benefits such as speed, automated restructuring, and improved readability, while noting significant challenges including validation errors, hallucinated tags, inconsistency, and the need for iterative prompting. The process demonstrates that human oversight remains essential for validation, accuracy, image handling, and overall information architecture.
AMD: 16 Years of DITA Content
AMD-16-Years-of-DITA-Content-FINAL-2[May 4, 2022] One of the most satisfying parts of my career was returning to AMD to essentially finish what I had started many years before in helping to bring a DITA-based CCMS to the whole of the company. It also gave me a chance to delve deeper into DITA-based metrics and operations to better understand the return on investment using DITA had been. It details the creation of a custom, pre-DITA 1.0 implementation and CCMS (with Ixiasoft), along with specialized elements and workflows tailored to AMD’s needs. Long-term production data demonstrates sustained use, cyclical content creation tied to product releases, and increasing content reuse over time. Originally presented at ConVEx Tempe in 2022.
From Papyrus to the Virtual Elephants in Rooms
JoyceLam_KeithSchengiliRoberts_ConVEx2022_slidedeck[May 2022] A co-presentation I did with Jo Lam back at ConVEx Tempe 2022.
This presentation explores how human cognition, particularly pattern recognition and cognitive load, shapes the way people read and interact with technical content, emphasizing that reading is a learned, structured process rather than a natural one. It traces the historical evolution of documentation from early instructional texts to modern structured authoring, highlighting how increasing content scale necessitated better organization and ultimately led to standards like DITA. The talk connects these ideas to structured authoring practices, showing how modular, topic-based content and semantic labeling align with how the brain processes information, improving usability and findability. It concludes by saying that despite advances in technology, effective technical communication must remain human-centered, using structure and patterns to reduce cognitive load and support efficient information consumption. An odd title but an interesting presentation.
DITA Isn’t for Everyone (And Here’s Why)
DITA_Isnt_for_Everyone_And_Heres_Why-FINAL[April 2021] A co-presentation I did with Josh Anderson when we both worked for Precision Content. In many ways, I think this presentation outlined the state of affairs for structured content in technical writing before AI really started to take off (which is hinted at with the talk about chatbots). Much of the information in my portion is derived and updated from the earlier “Structured Content is Dead. Long Live Structured Content” presentation from a couple of years before. Drawing on survey data, this presentation highlights common barriers such as cost, lack of content strategy, tooling complexity, and skills gaps, contributing to user dissatisfaction and even discussions of abandoning DITA. It concludes is that DITA remains viable but niche, and must continue evolving (e.g., Lightweight DITA, better tooling) to stay competitive and relevant. Presented virtually at ConVEx 2021.
Looking Beyond Agile: Structured Content Development and the Iterative and Incremental Development Methodology
Looking-Beyond-Agile[March 2021] An in-depth look at how Agile works well with structured content (like DITA). Delves into how and why Agile evolved and the role that technical documentation plays within Agile frameworks, and how DITA in particular meets a lot of the needs placed on it by Agile processes. It explains how DITA complements Agile documentation practices by enabling modular, reusable, and measurable content that aligns well with iterative development and fast feedback cycles. It contrasts Agile with traditional waterfall approaches, emphasizing closer collaboration with developers, incremental delivery, and a shift toward user-focused, minimalist documentation. The presentation uses examples and case studies to show how DITA and CCMS implementations improve efficiency, localization cadence, and Agile feedback loops.
My first presentation on this topic was delivered in February 2016.
Information Architects in Technical Communications and Content Strategy
Information-Architects-in-Technical-Communications-and-Content-Strategy[February 2021] This was a presentation I did while teaching information architecture at the University of Toronto. This presentation explains the role of information architects in technical communication, emphasizing how structured content and content strategy enable scalable, reusable, and user-focused documentation. It traces the evolution of technical documentation: from large, unstructured manuals to modular, XML-based approaches like DITA, highlighting the need for better organization, reuse, and multi-channel delivery. It also details how DITA’s core principles: topic-based authoring, semantic tagging, and content reuse, support both human understanding and machine processing, while also improving consistency and localization efficiency. It concludes by saying that information architects play a critical role in structuring content, defining taxonomies, and aligning content systems for the needs of users.
Structured Content is Dead, Long Live Structured Content!
Structured-Content-is-Dead-Long-Live-Structured-Content-FINAL[October 8, 2020] A look at the history of technical documentation and the slow evolution of structured writing standards including DITA, but also extending it using Precision Content methods. This presentation argues that while DITA offers strong business advantages—especially content reuse, localization efficiency, and multi-channel publishing—these benefits are most pronounced at enterprise scale, making it less suitable for smaller organizations . It highlights common barriers to adoption, including cost, lack of coherent content strategy, tooling complexity, and skills shortages, which contribute to dissatisfaction and even consideration of abandoning DITA. The talk also situates DITA within a shifting landscape that includes the rise of Markdown, increased SME content creation, and AI applied to unstructured content. It concludes that DITA remains a viable but niche standard that must evolve (e.g., Lightweight DITA, improved tooling) to stay competitive and relevant.
I believe I did this as a virtual presentation for the online Adobe DITA World 2020 conference.
Mitchell! What I Learned When Converting a WWII Pilot Manual to DITA
Mitchell-ConVEx-Presentation-FINAL[September 2020] A summary of the work done by myself and others (including Scott Hudson and Eliot Kimber) on the effort to convert an old WWII-era pilot manual for the Mitchell B-25 airplane into DITA XML to create a high-quality, real-world code sample for people to learn from and practice with. It looks at why there is a need for comprehensive DITA code samples for people to work with, the specific challenges of this project, and what was learned along the way. It outlines the workflow, including OCR cleanup, topic typing, extensive use of keys (for images and variables), glossary creation, accessibility improvements, and application of best practices like short descriptions and relationship tables.
I think this was presented during the ConVEx 2020 conference.
DITA Worst Practices: The Sequel
DITA-Worst-Practices-The-Sequel-FINAL[October 29, 2019] A sequel to the popular original “DITA Worst Practices” presentation originally done from November 2017. Arguably a more refined version of the original, with more detail. It provides concrete examples such as “key madness,” over-engineered reuse (“spaghetti conrefs”), misuse of DITA elements, and improper topic structuring, all of which create complexity, reduce reuse, and increase maintenance effort. The talk also highlights organizational issues, such as inadequate training, poor content strategy, and letting IT select tools without writer input, that frequently leads to project dissatisfaction or failure.
Reuse Metrics and Reuse and Governance Strategy
Reuse-Metrics-IXIAtalk-for-CCMSLink-2019-FINAL[September 26, 2019] This was a co-presentation with Sari Eklund of Ericsson which delved into DITA metrics using Ericsson data. This presentation explains how organizations can measure and optimize content reuse in DITA environments using metrics, KPIs, and CCMS-based reporting tools. It demonstrates methods such as comparing content across maps and tracking reuse percentages (e.g., topics, images, conrefs) to understand efficiency and identify improvement opportunities. The talk also presents Ericsson’s approach to establishing standardized reuse KPIs and shows how reuse can increase over time through targeted strategy and governance. It concludes that effective reuse requires not just measurement, but a structured reuse and governance strategy, balancing efficiency, content quality, ownership, and maintainability across large, distributed teams. Another good working example of how DITA production metrics can be used to discovery existing trends and how to use that data to shape and refine future content development.
The original version was posted for an Ixiasoft Conference in Montreal, and this is an updated version from an online “IxiaTalk” that was done later that same year. Re-posted here with permission from Sari.
DITA and SEO: How and Why You Should Optimize DITA-based Content for Search Engine Optimization
DITA-SEO-for-Zoomin-July-2019[July 2019] An update to a presentation on DITA and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This presentation outlines how search engines work and highlights key DITA-driven techniques that matter for ranking, including descriptive titles/searchtitles, meaningful filenames, effective short descriptions, internal linking via relationship tables, and use of canonical links. The talk also clarifies that some traditional metadata (e.g., keyword meta tags) has little SEO value, while user-focused, relevant content and strong click-through rates are more important. It concludes that effective SEO for technical documentation is less about “tricks” and more about understanding user intent and delivering clear, well-structured, and discoverable content.
This version was done for a Zoomin Conference back in 2019, though the original version was presented back in May 2016.
Future of Tech Comm
Future-of-Tech-Comm-RIDE-Ottawa[September 25, 2018] A brief presentation that explores the evolving role of technical communication, highlighting a shift from traditional “technical writer” roles toward broader content-focused positions such as information architects and content strategists. It also looks at the rise of Markdown, the debut of Information 4.0, the intelligent information Request and Delivery Standard (iiRDS), as well at chatbots and the very beginnings of AI starting to make inroads into technical documentation. The talk concludes that the future of tech comm lies in structured, metadata-rich content ecosystems that support automation, interoperability, and new forms of content delivery within Industry 4.0.
Improve Your Chances for Documentation Success with DITA and a CCMS
Improve-Your-Chances-for-Documentation-Success-with-DITA-and-a-CCMS_Final[August 2018] If you want to understand the basics of how a Component Content Management System (CCMS) can be used with DITA content, this is a good introduction as to how they are used and the business reasons justifying their use.
DITA as a Building Block for Delivering Content in New Ways
DITA-as-a-Building-Block-for-Delivering-Content-in-New-Ways_FINAL[April 2018] This presentation considers DITA as a foundational “building block” for modern content ecosystems, extending beyond traditional documentation into areas like Markdown workflows, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Industry 4.0 (iiRDS), and chatbot integration. It explores how DITA’s structured, modular, and metadata-rich content enables interoperability with emerging technologies, including Lightweight DITA (MDITA) for developer-friendly authoring, and iiRDS for dynamic, context-driven content delivery. The talk also highlights how DITA enhances findability through SEO practices and supports AI-driven experiences by making content easier for systems like chatbots to consume and deliver. It concludes that DITA’s future lies in its adaptability, serving as a flexible backbone for new content delivery models and integrated digital experiences.
How DITA Can Advance Your Content Strategy
How-DITA-Can-Advance-Your-Content-Strategy-v1[March 2018] This presentation looks at how DITA can support a comprehensive content strategy by enabling structured, reusable, and lifecycle-managed content, particularly when paired with a Component Content Management System. It highlights both well-known benefits, including content reuse, lower localization costs, and multi-channel publishing, along with the less-obvious advantages like improved workflows, scalability, findability, regulatory compliance, and integration with other XML systems. The presentation provides several examples, and demonstrates how DITA transforms processes, supports Agile documentation, and enhances collaboration between writers and SMEs.
DITA Worst Practices
DITA-Worst-Practices_CIDM_FINAL[March 2018] One my all-time favourite and popular presentations is the original “DITA Worst Practices”. turning the common management argument of “best practices” on its head idea by exploring (and arguably learning more from) when things go really, really wrong. This presentation outlines common ways in which DITA implementations have gone wrong, emphasizing that failures typically stem from poor information architecture decisions and flawed organizational processes rather than the standard itself. It highlights issues such as overcomplicated reuse (“spaghetti conrefs”), misuse or overuse of DITA elements, lack of specialization, poorly executed content migrations, and absence of testing practices. On the process side, it identifies risks like inadequate training, overly rigid workflows, improper CCMS selection without writer input, and insufficient executive buy-in. The presentation emphasizes that successful DITA adoption requires thoughtful, incremental implementation supported by proper governance, training, and collaboration across teams.
DITA Change Management Tips
DITA-Change-Management-Tips_FINAL[February 2018] This presentation looks at how to manage the transition to DITA with the least amount of pain, emphasizing that success depends as much on effective change management as on the implementation of the underlying technology being used. It describes a phased adoption model (investigation, pilot, adoption, and continuous improvement) while highlighting common drivers such as cost reduction, improved quality, and alignment with Agile workflows. It also stresses the importance of communication, training, stakeholder buy-in, and anticipating a temporary productivity dip while addressing resistance to change. It concludes with practical strategies such as content audits, pilot projects, phased migration, and the use of “change agents” to minimize disruption and help ensure long-term success.
Fashioning Style Guide for Your Technical Communications Team
Fashioning-Style-Guides-for-Your-Technical-Communications-Team_FINAL-1[January 2018] This presentation explains how creating style guides, process documentation, and DITA-specific guidelines can drive consistency, efficiency, and scalability within technical communications teams. It emphasizes that building a comprehensive documentation set should include a general style guide, a DITA style guide, and a test output document to standardize authoring practices and validate publishing results. The talk also highlights practical guidance such as defining terminology, enforcing reuse rules, and documenting workflows. I argue that that these “living documents” are essential for help with new writers joining the team, maintaining overall quality, resolving internal disputes, and ensuring long-term success in structured content environments.
This is an update to a presentation I originally gave as an online DC Dojo for Liz Fraley back in April 2017.
DITA-CMS-ROI-Slidedeck_v1
[January 2018] An unusually-specific presentation focusing on the IXIASOFT DITA CCMS and the expected returns on investment when purchasing this CCMS. I can’t remember the occasion for this particular presentation, but it may have been for a particular customer. Definitely not an internal presentation (there are several of those that will not appear on this page), and it was rare for the company to ask me to make such a directed presentation, as they wanted to be known more as thought-leaders rather than just pushing their software. Still a solid presentation, with some interesting number on ROI and documentation metrics.
A Simple Guide to DITA Keys
A-Simple-Guide-to-DITA-Keys_FINAL[October 2017] This another presentation I am particularly pleased with. Done for one of Liz Fraley’s classic “DC Dojo” sessions, I made a point of trying to explain the use of DITA keys in an incremental fashion, slowly building up the levels of complexity rather than just diving straight into the deep end. I think as an approach to the subject it works well. This presentation explains DITA keys as an indirect referencing mechanism that enables flexible, reusable content by separating identifiers (keys) from their actual values (e.g., product names, URLs, images). It demonstrates how keys are defined in maps and resolved in topics, supporting use cases such as variables, image reuse, topic referencing, and conditional processing across different outputs. It concludes that while powerful, keys introduce complexity and require careful information architecture to balance flexibility with usability for writers.
Where DITA is Now and Where It is Going: Lightweight DITA and DITA 2.0
Where-DITA-is-Now-and-Where-It-is-Going-Lightweight-DITA-and-DITA-2.0_v2[October 2017] This was my first public attempt to cover the development of the DITA standard, which was delivered at tcworld 2017. This presentation examines the current state of DITA and its future direction, highlighting its global adoption (700+ companies) and its role within a shifting technical communication landscape where structured content supports new roles and outputs beyond traditional documentation. It introduces Lightweight DITA (LwDITA) as a simplified, more accessible version, designed to reduce complexity and broaden adoption among developers and other contributors. The talk also discusses ongoing enhancements such as multimedia support in DITA 1.3 and the evolving governance of the standard through the OASIS Technical Committee. It covers the state of the technical writing landscape and DITA marketplace of the time, and the planned roadmap for DITA development in a time that was still prior to the release of DITA 1.3 Errata 2. It includes my first prediction as to the release of DITA 2.0, with what would turn out to be a wildly optimistic date of 2020.
Measuring Success with DITA Production Metrics
Measuring-Success-with-DITA-Production-Metrics_FINAL[September 2017] This presentation examines how DITA when paired with a CCMS enable organizations to measure documentation production using detailed metrics such as topic counts, reuse rates, workflow status, and authoring data. It shows how analyzing topic types (e.g., concept vs. task) can improve content balance and quality, as illustrated by changes in Ixiasoft’s documentation between 2015 and 2016. The talk also introduces methods for estimating production costs per topic and tracking efficiency gains over time, alongside techniques for measuring reuse across content sets. It concludes that DITA metrics provide actionable insights that help teams optimize content strategy, justify resources, and continuously improve both quality and productivity.
A Brief Look at DITA in Current Technical Communication Practices
SIGDOC-DITA-Presentation_FINAL[August 2017] A presentation done for Special Interest Group on Design of Communication (SIGDOC), an academically-focused group of educators teaching technical writing and related subjects. This presentation goes into the basics as to what DITA is, how it came about, which industries are using it, and why it is being used. This presentation provides an overview of DITA’s role in modern technical communication, emphasizing its core strengths in content reuse, structured authoring, and multi-channel publishing across a wide range of industries. It highlights key business drivers for adoption, including reducing operational and localization costs, improving content quality, and supporting Agile workflows. The talk also presents market data showing growing global adoption, increasing demand for XML/DITA skills, and a shift away from traditional tools toward structured content approaches. It concludes that while DITA remains somewhat niche, it is growing steadily and commands strong value in the job market, particularly when paired with CCMS solutions.
Originally presented at a SIGDOC conference in Halifax, NS, in August 2017.
Is DITA Right for You? Scenarios for Considering a Move to DITA
Is-DITA-Right-for-You_FINAL[May 9, 2017] This presentation evaluates when DITA is an appropriate choice, explaining that it is a structured XML standard built around content reuse, modularity, and multi-channel publishing, with strong adoption across industries. It identifies key drivers for adoption, such as reducing operational and localization costs, improving content quality, supporting Agile workflows, and overcoming limitations of traditional publishing tools. The talk emphasizes that DITA works best in environments with large content volumes, multiple outputs or languages, and a need for structured workflows and reuse, while also requiring upfront investment and organizational change. It concludes that adopting DITA should be a strategic decision based on future needs, positioning it as a long-term opportunity to improve content processes, scalability, and user experience.
Using Markdown and Lightweight DITA in a Collaborative Environment
Keith-Schengili-Roberts-Leigh-White-Using-Markdown-and-MDITA-in-a-Development-Environment[April 24, 2017] A co-presentation with Leigh White, this presentation looks at how Lightweight DITA (LwDITA) and MDITA (Markdown-based DITA) reduces complexity and lowers the barrier to entry for structured authoring, particularly for developers and SMEs. It outlines the evolution from full DITA to its simplified forms (XDITA, HDITA, MDITA) and shows how Markdown can be used as an authoring front-end that integrates into DITA-based publishing workflows. The talk details a typical workflow where Markdown content is converted to DITA, imported into a CCMS, added to and published, while highlighting challenges like round-tripping, file-naming consistency, and content modeling. It concludes that LwDITA is a practical bridge between developer-friendly tools and structured content systems, enabling broader adoption while maintaining compatibility with “full” DITA-based systems.
10 Million DITA Topics Can’t Be Wrong
10-Million-DITA-Topics-Cant-Be-Wrong_FINAL[December 6, 2016] This presentation argues that DITA has proven its scalability and value at enterprise scale, with some organizations managing millions of topics and thousands of users while maintaining efficient workflows and global collaboration. It highlights core advantages such as content reuse, separation of content and formatting, multi-channel publishing, and specialization, that drive consistency, efficiency, and reduced localization costs. The talk also connects the reasons for DITA adoption to real business pain points (e.g., rising localization costs, inefficient tools, need for validation), showing how a CCMS enables automation, versioning, workflow management, and measurable improvements in documentation quality. It concludes that “Big Data DITA” is already a reality, enabling organizations to scale content production, improve quality, and deliver more content (often in many languages) with fewer resources.
Short Descriptions Shouldn’t Be a Tall Order: Writing Effective Short Descriptions
Short_Descriptions-Webinar_v2KSR[November 2016] A co-presentation with Joe Storbeck of JANA, this presentation explains that short descriptions in DITA are critical for helping users quickly understand a topic’s purpose, improving findability, usability, and overall content quality. It emphasizes their role in search engine optimization (e.g., appearing as meta descriptions in HTML and influencing click-through rates) and in helping both readers and writers locate and reuse content effectively. The talk provides detailed best practices tailored to topic types (task, concept, reference, troubleshooting), stressing clarity, user focus, and avoiding poor practices like copying body text or using cross-references. It concludes that consistent, well-crafted short descriptions are essential for both external discoverability and internal content reuse.
Localization and DITA: What You Need to Know
Localization-and-DITA-What-You-Need-to-Know_v2[October 2016] This presentation explains how DITA significantly improves localization efficiency through content reuse, separation of content from formatting, and multi-channel publishing. This in turn leads to measurable cost savings and scalability, particularly for organizations translating into many languages. It highlights real-world data showing cumulative reductions in localization spend over time, reinforcing DITA’s Reurn on Investment (ROI). The talk also addresses challenges for localization, such as loss of context with conrefs, difficulties with conditionalized text, and the need for complete translation packages, offering best practices like reusing block-level content and maintaining clear metadata. It concludes that successful localization with DITA depends on strong processes, collaboration with language service providers, and disciplined authoring practices tailored for translation.
Optimizing Content Reuse with DITA
DITA_Reuse_Presentation_Lavacon_Final[May 2016] This presentation explains how content reuse is a foundation of DITA, enabled through built-in mechanisms such as maps, topics, conrefs, keys, conditional processing, and keyscopes, which enable reuse at multiple levels. It emphasizes that effective reuse depends not just on these mechanics but also on findability, requiring strong metadata, taxonomy, and CMS support so content can be located and reused efficiently. The talk highlights best practices such as avoiding over-engineering (e.g., “spaghetti conrefs”), defining a clear reuse strategy, and balancing reuse effort against actual ROI. It concludes that successful reuse ultimately depends on people and process: clear communication, shared ownership, and writing modular, concise content designed explicitly for reuse.
Originally presented at Lavacon 2016, though its roots are in a TC Dojo I gave back in February of that year.
The State of DITA Late 2015: Where DITA Has Come from and Where it is Going
The-State-of-DITA-Late-2015-v1[November 2015] This presentation looks at DITA’s first decade, highlighting its rapid growth into one of the fastest-growing XML standards, with adoption across 50+ industries and over 500 organizations worldwide. It emphasizes core benefits such as content reuse, separation of content and formatting, improved review cycles, localization savings, and enhanced findability through metadata. The talk also shows how DITA has driven ecosystem changes, including new tools, CCMS adoption, and shifts in technical writing practices. It concludes by looking ahead to continued expansion and evolution through DITA 1.3, Lightweight DITA, and eventually DITA 2.0.
The Evolution of DITA(s)
The-Evolution-of-DITA_v2[October 2015] A co-presentation with the esteemed Kristen Eberlein on what were then new developments of the DITA standard. It highlights key milestones in the standard’s development, including the challenges and expansion of DITA 1.2, the more controlled and modular design of DITA 1.3 (with multiple editions to manage complexity), and the growing ecosystem of tools and adopters. The talk also introduces Lightweight DITA as a response to usability and adoption barriers, enabling integration with formats like HTML5 and Markdown. It concludes by looking ahead to DITA 2.0, which aims to modernize the architecture with more flexibility, though at the cost of backward compatibility.