XML/DITA

We are completing a major transformation of documentation for a leading semiconductor company from static PDFs to fully searchable, customizable XML and DITA based online-technical content. Check back soon when their site is up and running!

ROBOTICS

Autonomous motorized devices grow in popularity for both military and commercial use. We recently completed a doc set for an exciting new robotics device for a Silicon Valley start-up.

CONSUMERIZATION OF IT

Bring Your Own Device is the newest trend in corporate technology use. Phoenix Tech Pubs recently wrote a white paper for a IT software company about their solution for mobile device management.

Bring Your Own Device

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, over 80% of employees now use personal electronic devices for work-related functions. In the most common scenarios an employee might receive work-related texts on a personal cellphone, develop a PowerPoint presentation on their own laptop, or access email from their home computer.  But many employees are now using personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones to access the corporate infrastructure and data repository, plus downloading corporate apps to personal devices in order to complete work projects.

The new digital workforce is embracing and driving this trend. The line between work and personal business is more blurred than ever as employees check in with their personal and social media throughout the business day, and complete business tasks during their personal time. Today’s digital users have strong platform preferences and insist on using their device of choice at work. They are highly knowledgeable about their devices and adept at researching new and better uses for the devices of their choice.

Fix It Your Self

Today’s digital users also expect to solve their own problems with their personal devices. They pride themselves on their own expert knowledge. They are adept at leveraging shared knowledge, especially on the web, to find solutions to problems. They are not afraid to “try and see” if they can fix it themselves. And when they discover a new technique, they willingly share it with others.

Opportunities

Allowing, even encouraging, employees to BYOD can be a significant cost savings to companies that no longer need to provide cellphones, Blackberries, laptops, etc., to employees. Most managers find that allowing workers to access personal media during business hours actually makes them more productive. And when employees are highly skilled in the use of their digital devices, they can make those devices accomplish even more on behalf of their employers.

Offloading troubleshooting to the device owners reduces IT technical support costs. Costs go down further when knowledgeable owners share their expertise with other users in the company.

Risks

The primary risk of BYOD and FIYS is lack of security. The Harris Interactive poll found that 30% of workers who access corporate email or data have done so over public Wi-Fi networks. 35% do not turn on auto-locking on their device (meaning that access to the device is not password protected in case of theft).  Almost 50% of BYOD users have allowed non-employees to use personal devices with access to corporate data, and 25% have experienced malware or hacking on those devices. Harris further found that two-thirds of companies that allow BYOD have not developed mobile device management (MDM) policies to address the security issues.

A second risk is increased costs. While transferring device purchasing and troubleshooting to employees can save money, providing secure MDM across every platform and device can cost more in the long run. In addition, when companies reimburse employees for personal device purchases and data plan usage, they lose the volume discounts that they used to negotiate for corporate devices and data plans.

Finally, misguided troubleshooting by laypeople can lead to very dead devices that might then be unavailable for critical work tasks.

Challenges

Seizing the opportunities of BYOD while addressing the risks creates new challenges for corporate IT:

• IT departments have traditionally concentrated on infrastructure-wide solutions to leverage volume purchases as a cost-saving measure. Today, IT departments must look for device- and platform-independent solutions.
• Security systems in the past focused on device- or location-based access. Security now must be device, platform, and location independent.
• The IT support paradigm has assumed that skilled IT workers would solve problems for less-knowledgeable workers. Now, IT must educate employees about WHY critical issues, especially security, must be addressed but not necessarily HOW to implement them on individual devices.
• Instead of providing hands-on troubleshooting, IT must now provide forums for digital users to share their own troubleshooting knowledge.

Recommendations

Harris makes three recommendations to reduce BYOD risks:

• Provide cybersecurity training to all BYOD employees including physical security, WiFi security, and social engineering attacks.
• Make password-protected auto-locking a requirement on personal devices used for work and make sure employees know what makes a password strong.
• Develop and enforce a clear, written policy that lets employees know what work-related data they may access with their own devices.

Tellingly, these recommendations emphasize training users on the REASONS for concern; Harris recognizes that the implementation of security policies may stay in the hands of the user.

The Future of BYOD and FIYS

If the past reflects the future, BYOD and FIYS will not go away. Dion Hinchliffe, executive vice president of strategy at Dachis Group and keynote speaker at the 2012 Consumerization of IT in the Enterprise Conference and Expo, or CITE, “We’re just a couple years away from the consumerization of IT being the dominant model.” Corporations must be ready to address the risks of BYOD and FIYS in order to maximize the benefits.

The good news is that the IT industry is stepping up to provide cost-effective and secure mobile device management solutions. Phoenix Technical Publications recently completed a white-paper for Fiberlink articulating the benefits of their MaaS360 product line. MaaS360 provides single-window support and management for the entire enterprise including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones that are corporate- or employee-owned, and implementing Microsoft Exchange/ActiveSync, Lotus Traveler, Gmail, or Active Directory, plus any required certificate authorities.

Companies utilizing these new technologies and paradigms can embrace the consumerization of IT to bring increased productivity at lower costs without jeopardizing corporate security.

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Time to Rethink Offshoring?

Changing economic conditions may have undermined some of the benefits of offshoring. For managers of global supply chains, this could be the time to reevaluate.

September 2008 • Ajay Goel, Nazgol Moussavi, and Vats N. Srivatsan
Retrieved March 15, 2012 https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Time_to_rethink_offshoring_2190
Source: Business Technology Office

The production of high-tech goods has moved steadily from the United States to Asia over the last decade. The reasons are familiar: lower wages, a stable global economy, and rapidly growing local markets. These factors combined to make nations such as China and Malaysia favored manufacturing locations. In the last two years, however, the favorable economic winds that carried offshoring forward have turned turbulent. The new conditions are undermining some of the factors that made manufacturers of every stripe, including those in high tech, move production offshore.

For executives managing global supply networks, the question now is whether or not conditions are moving toward a tipping point. Is this the moment to consider sharply scaling back offshore production plans and bringing manufacturing back or close to the United States? Is there a more measured response that better suits the new circumstances? Before executives change their strategies, however, they must determine the total landed cost of each product produced offshore and better understand the shifting trade-offs between cost savings from offshoring (such as lower wages) and rising logistics charges.

Oil prices, and consequently the cost of shipping, have risen to heights few foresaw even just several years ago. Since 2003, crude oil has soared from $28 to more than $100 a barrel. The economics research institution CIBC World Markets estimates that in 2000, when oil prices were near $20 a barrel, the costs embedded in shipping were equivalent to a 3 percent tariff on imports. Today, that figure is 11 percent—meaning that the cost of shipping a standard 40-foot container has tripled since 2000.

The oil spike not only affects exports from Asia but also sharply increases the price its manufacturers pay for raw materials. It now costs about $100 to ship a ton of iron from Brazil to China—more than the cost of the mineral itself. Wage inflation, coupled with a weaker dollar, adds to the challenge: in dollar terms, annual wage inflation in China has averaged 19 percent since 2003 (Exhibit 1). An average production worker, paid $1,740 a year in 2003, makes $4,140 today. By contrast, wage inflation in the United States has averaged only 3 percent. The wage differential between Mexico and China has also narrowed significantly. In 2003, Mexican workers made over twice what their Chinese counterparts did; today that gap has narrowed to 1.15 times. Combined, these trends are reshaping the competitive landscape for offshore manufacturing in a number of locales.

Exhibit 1

To develop a clearer picture of the changing environment, we analyzed a number of products manufactured for the US market and mapped the optimal region to manufacture them by straightforwardly comparing the wage savings from offshoring with the cost of logistics. Exhibit 2 shows the optimal regions for products with a range of different unit manufacturing costs (all related to the transformation of raw materials into one unit of finished goods in US dollars) and various product weights (which affect logistics costs). We have chosen breakeven curves for China, a traditional low-cost manufacturing location, and for Mexico, a near-shore location.¹

Exhibit 2

However, these curves are shifting amid the economic dislocations. Products that were once profitably made in areas where the local costs are lowest (dark-gray area) are therefore moving into the near-shoring zone (light-gray area)—or in some cases may now be suitable for production in the United States (blue area). A midrange server, for example, made profitably in China three years ago, has slipped below the breakeven line because of higher wages and freight costs. The server now could be produced more economically at a plant closer to consumers (in Mexico, for example, where the mix of logistics and labor costs is more favorable).

To estimate the trade-offs more precisely, supply chain managers also need a true picture of landed costs. These include the cost of raw materials, carrying inventory, managing product returns, and other hidden charges² not typically considered in the simple trade-off between offshore wages and logistics described previously.

As an illustration, we studied the total landed cost for a midrange server, comparing scenarios in Asia and the United States (Exhibit 3). Five years ago, in 2003, manufacturing this product in Asia rather than the United States provided a 60 percent savings in labor costs. We have indexed that labor savings to $100. When we calculated total landed costs, however, we found that 36 percent of those labor savings were offset by freight, shipping-related charges, inventory, product returns, and other hidden costs. That gave Asian production a $64 landed-cost advantage. Today, economic conditions have reversed it. After factoring in the higher labor and freight costs, we find that the former offshore savings have turned negative—a burden of an extra $16. The labor savings, $100 in 2003, are now only $45 because of wage inflation. In addition, freight costs have risen by $21 and product returns by an additional $4 because of higher oil prices.

Exhibit 3

As these examples suggest, changing economic conditions may have undermined your supply chain advantage. This may be an appropriate moment to reevaluate the location of your manufacturing facilities. Take the total landed-cost analysis to the next level of detail and determine if bringing some production back home or to near-shore locations will help counterbalance the higher costs of shipping and freight. At the same time, consider the long-term geographic distribution of demand for your products. In rethinking your global supply chain, you must carefully evaluate the importance of speed, the availability of skilled talent, the potential for further productivity gains in Asia, one-time transition costs, the local import and tax implications, and organizational interfaces.

About the Authors

Ajay Goel and Nazgol Moussavi are consultants and Vats Srivatsan is a principal in McKinsey’s Silicon Valley office.

Notes

¹ Exhibit 2 shows, for example, that the total cost of manufacturing a 60-pound high-tech product would have to be at least $260 to counterbalance the higher logistics costs of producing in Asia.

² Hidden costs include reworking errors, incremental financing, and exchange-rate risk.

© Copyright 1992-2012 McKinsey & Company

By contrast, technical documentation organizations have been laggards in responding to these changing expectations. To provide an outstanding experience for their customers, a company must provide quick access to relevant, up-to-date technical information in compelling forms. By doing so, companies can increase revenues, improve out-of-box experience, increase self-service, drive down call center calls, and ultimately increase repeat buying and word of mouth recommendations.

To improve customer experience, companies are moving towards a practice of what might be labeled “live product content”. Live product content offers a number of valuable business benefits that cannot be achieved with traditional documentation.

Quick, Easy Access

Live product content is written in modular form. Modularity makes it possible for the customer to find the right information quicker, not having to search through long documents or scan through dozens of pages.

Targeted & Tailored Information

Product content can be assembled dynamically. Live product content is delivered in response to the customer’s question. As a result, the information can be tailored to that customer’s interest and background.

Content Stays Current

Live product content is fresh and up-to-date. In the traditional documentation model, PDFs or web pages were created at the time of a new product launch and not frequently updated. By contrast, by using a database of modular ‘live’ content that engages and interacts with a customer, your content can be refreshed at any time, never becoming stale or outdated. Updated information can be made available immediately to customers, and the customer will not be misled by outdated information. With this ability, companies have the perfect opportunity to increase customer self-service and deflect calls from the call center.

Visually Engaging

Live product content can be visually interesting. Traditional documentation has been static and text heavy. However, customers have increasingly become accustomed to watching video over the internet and on mobile devices. It is no longer adequate to write down the steps of a procedure. Customers will go to YouTube instead of a company’s website and watch someone else’s video illustrating how to troubleshoot a problem. The use of this type of customer generated content is useful, but companies want to own and control what is said about their products. Enabling video to be easily incorporated into their online documentation and managed easily is thus key to customer experience.

Two-Way Interaction

Live product content can enable feedback loops among customers, writers and product managers. Traditional documentation was one-way only – writers would write the documentation and publish it. They had no way of knowing whether any of the content was read, and if it was, whether it was helpful. Live product content changes all of this! Now it is possible to create feedback loops that enable customers to comment on information and provide feedback that goes directly to writers.

Communities Sharing Knowledge

Live product content gives companies the ability to engage their community of customers in the development of the content. Customers often become experts on the products they purchase and find ways to use the products that have never been documented by the company that sells them. This “communal knowledge” is very useful to other customers. While wikis and forums have served this purpose in recent years, they do not provide an easy way to combine “official” company information and informal communal knowledge. Live product content provides a vehicle whereby the blending of “authorized” (company) and “unofficial” (communal) knowledge can take place, and writing teams can set up processes whereby highly ranked “community” content can be curated and approved and eventually incorporated into official company information.

Enterprise-Wide Consistency

Live product content provides an opportunity to provide a single source of content ‘truth’ and eliminate redundant and inconsistent content across the enterprise. For historical reasons technical writing organizations, support, and training organizations all write their own content in parallel. The result is replication of content and the inability to keep that content synchronized. Without a single source of truth, customers find too many answers to their questions. When product content is modularized, it can be updated across the global organization simultaneously.

Easy Collaboration

Live product content allows for tribal knowledge to be more easily captured and shared. In traditional documentation processes, it is difficult for the subject matter experts (SMEs) or field service representatives to either contribute content to the process,or to comment on the content that has been developed, because it is in static forms. SMEs end up having to laboriously make comments on PDF documents. Knowledge from field service representatives who have practical knowledge about “how-tos” with a product rarely have feedback loops that return this knowledge to the writers. With live product content, both experts and field service representatives can find information more easily and provide feedback immediately and directly to content that is updated.

Revenue Opportunities

Live product content can be an upsell revenue opportunity . For example, imagine the person who comes to the website to figure out how to print a photo on a printer.That moment becomes an opportunity to tell the customer about a new camera or printer that makes it possible to print photos via Bluetooth. This shift to online product content blurs the earlier boundary between “pre” and “post” sales engagement.

This is a condensed version of an SDL Inc. position paper presented at DITA Fest 2011. It details some of the forces driving traditional technical documentation toward XML/DITA-based live product content. For more information visit SDL or see our blog “An Introduction to XML and DITA.”

Andrea is a Senior Technical Writer at Phoenix Technical Publications. Phoenix Tech Pubs has provided complete technical writing and documentation services in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years.

Me and Jim, ready to swim. My daughter Nina and husband Andy are behind us.

A few years ago my brother Jim convinced me to sign up for the Alcatraz Invitational Swim. A swim event (it may be a race for some but not for me) which consists of taking a ferry to just off The Rock, jumping off, and swimming as fast as you can back to Aquatic Park. Lest you think my brother was hoping to increase the size of his inheritance, he was actually looking for company. Jim had done the event a couple times with our niece Nina and assured me it was good fun.

Although I am a fair-weather swimmer, swimming only when the water and weather is decent in Santa Cruz where I live, I decided to give it a go.  Feeling cautious, I rented a wet suit for the race and was ecstatic to beat my IronMan triathlete brother and my much-younger niece Nina.

It didn’t matter that we were all in the back of the pack. The great thing about swimming Alcatraz is that most people have never done it and never would do it and are just impressed that you did it. Plus you get a T-shirt that says Alcatraz Invitational which makes it appear that you were among a chosen few to be selected to participate.

But I couldn’t help the feeling that wearing a wet suit was cheating. It was so much easier to swim in one and my time was much better than usual.  I admired the “skins”, those hardy souls who swim in just their Speedos. And there were so few of them.  Heck, I was one of them after all—sort of. I don’t usually wear a wet suit at home but can’t imagine swimming without my O-Neil 1.5mm neoprene swim cap. It’s my aquatic bullet-proof vest- but most everyone in the skins uses one.

A fellow swimmer told me that the only people who could swim from Alcatraz without a wet suit were either fast or fat. I won’t comment on the latter (but I’m not!). Anyone watching me swim the buoys at Cowells Beach knows I am not the former. I am routinely passed by a man with one leg and a couple in their eighties. Rather than submit to arduous lap swimming to improve technique and time, I just decided to train myself to get used to being in the water for an hour—the maximum length of time I’d given myself to swim the distance. I find swimming rather boring –face in water, face out of water.  Lap swimming is just torturous. At least in the open water I can stop and enjoy the view from time to time.

The day of the race I was apprehensive and brought my wet suit just in case conditions proved unfavorable. But the day was beautiful with no morning fog; a rarity in San Francisco. This year the host of the event, the South End Rowing Club, had two boats, a large boat for the wet suits and a smaller ferry for the skins. Jim and Nina were swimming with the suits. I was loath to surrender my sweats before entering the ferry, but they’d segregated the swimmers just so they could heat the boat for the skins. Once on the boat we were treated to various announcements lauding us for even trying to do this, which made me feel proud yet somewhat ill at ease – worried that perhaps I’d underestimated the difficulty that lay ahead. Most of the swimmers were lean muscle machines synchronizing their waterproof watches and flicking swim caps with logos from various races and elite swim clubs. I was next to a contingent of former members of a Minnesota university college team and some folks prepping for IronMan Canada (which Jim did earlier this year). My ego was taking a bruising. I was certainly out of my league and I started to have doubts about what I was doing.

During the ride to Alcatraz we listened to instructions for the swim. Well some of us listened. At least one of us was too dazed to pay attention, as you will see soon. We were to jump off the ferry and start swimming slightly west of our destination – aiming for Fort Mason rather than Aquatic Park. When we saw the pumping station we should start aiming East, or left.

Our start time was delayed while we waited for a barge to pass and then were given the order to jump. And it is an order. They have a short window – 4 minutes to get about 200 hundred people off the ship and will give you a friendly push if you dally at the door. This is a good thing for me — there is simply no time to think about it although I tend to hold onto the handle at the doorway a bit too long when I jump in. It feels like you’re underwater a long time before popping up, though watching people jump on YouTube shows it’s actually instant.  The mammalian reflex kicks in and I am fitted with nature’s own wet suit, not feeling cold at all but put off by the slosh. I am always amazed at how no one ever complains about the waves. The water temperature isn’t the problem, it’s the height of the waves that’s a hassle. I know you elite swimmers are going to tell me that if I took some masters classes I’d learn how to deal with it.

I swim a ways and then have to stop to check out the scenery. Treading water as people fly past, I look around. It is a beautiful day—one of the rarest of perfect SF days. The Golden Gate bridge sparkles, the city is white and crisp.  But by staying still I am an obstacle and so I flail ahead trying to keep up with those around me. Lost in the steady back and forth I see the pump house and realize I am getting close to the end. Time has flown by—it seems only a few minutes have passed. But no one is around me. I keep going ahead thinking the pump house is inside Aquatic Park. Where is everyone I wonder? Can I be that slow?  A kayak comes by and tells me to go left. Left? That doesn’t make any sense. He stays with me and I feel silly being babysat. He points his oar far to the left of the pump house by a pier—you need to go to the left of the pier he says. I utter profanities realizing that the pump house is not inside Aquatic Park and I have gone off course and should have turned a ways back. The kayaker then paddles off to talk to another waylaid swimmer.

It seems only a short time before I am inside Aquatic Park with other swimmers and can see the finish line. I try to go as fast as possible but the finish just seems to get farther away. I hate this part of racing- so close and so far. But finally I am out of the water running across sand in my wet bathing suit in front of hundreds of strangers. I can tell I am once again way in the back of the pack. Nina has already come in but another few minutes pass before Jim appears. He lolls in the water and pulls out his underwater camera to take another photo. He walks across the finish line. My victory seems hollow given he didn’t even try to race but stopped to take photos along the way.

Jim, Nina, and I are going to sign up for 2012. We’re trying to get our brother Chris to join again and I am trying to convince them to skip the wet suit. If they do, I’ll bring the camera.

This was my final event of the year, The Alcatraz Invitational Swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park. It’s about 1.25 miles if you swim straight. In the past I haven’t been so lucky, either because of the currents, the fog, my crappy swim technique, or all of the above. This time conditions were ideal: beautiful day, minimal current, slightly improved swim technique. I was hoping to improve on my time of 1:01:57 from last year. I again had the company of my sister, Maria, and my niece, Nina, as well as quite a few friends at San Jose Swim & Racquet Club in my Willow Glen neighborhood. And this time I stopped to take plenty of photos, using a $20 disposable waterproof camera.

Maria, her husband Andy, and daughter Ruby were kind enough to give me a ride to S.F. the day before the swim. We stopped for dinner at Delancy St Restaurant, a training restaurant for the Delancey St. Foundation, a private program to rehabilitate former drug addicts.

We checked into nice, QUIET rooms at the Le Meridien hotel in Embarcadero Center for a good night’s sleep. I woke up @ 5:15 a.m. and started the morning with my usual pre-event breakfast of homemade granola and banana (here’s my recipe for the granola).

I met Maria and her family at 6:15 in the hotel lobby. Besides getting to visit with my sister and her family, it was nice to have them because we wouldn’t have to worry about parking at the event. We headed off to race registration, arriving at 6:30am, where we met up with Nina. In the picture below, Nina is to my immediate left, then my niece Ruby, and my brother-in-law, Andy. Behind me are Bob Tobiason and his son Ryan, plus Shanon Westlake, members of the San Jose Swim and Racquet Club.

We could tell it was going to be a nice day. Last year it was cold and drizzly. Today it was blue sky and calm water. We picked up our race packets, got numbered, and took our time getting ready. I was glad for the nice weather, because I’d forgotten my sandals and the cold ground saps my energy.

Me and Maria, ready to swim

Then it was off to the boats that would be taking us on our one-way trip to “the Rock.” There were two boats, one for swimmers using wet suits and one for those swimming without. Those who swim without wet suits are referred to as “skins.” My sister, Maria, was swimming as a “skin.” She’s tough!

My niece, Nina, has done this with me three times. She never seems nervous.

Nina and I stayed together with the wet suit group. Once we got to our boat, we had another 30 minute wait for final instructions and preparations before boarding. The trip to the starting point was quick. Our boat was unheated, but it was fine because it was crowded and we had wet suits. During the ride out, there was lots of talking and laughing. Most people seemed confident, but there was also a nervous excitement.

Once we got to the island, there was more waiting. We were told it was due to a barge dumping a load. Dumping a load? No one else seemed concerned, but I certainly was, since I’d soon be swimming in that water. Our wait was long enough that the captain decided to take us on a cruise around the island to distract us. Hey, tourists pay big bucks for that view! Too bad I couldn’t see anything from deep in the crowd.

Nina getting close to the doors

Finally we were told to prepare to jump. Our instructions were to step forward so there would be three swimmers at the door, check that the previous swimmers were out of the way, and then jump. There was a lot of yelling, as some swimmers hesitated –  the water DID look cold.

Looking back at the boat

It’s always a shock when you hit the water, and then it seems forever as you keep going down and the water gets darker. As soon as the descent slowed, I swam to the surface and away from the boat. My nervousness gave way to exhilaration. My instinct was to start swimming, but this was the fourth time I’ve done this swim and I wanted to enjoy every moment. I stopped and turned to look at the boat.

I hadn’t swum far when I felt a tap on my leg. When you’re in a large group, other swimmers often bump into you. But this tap seemed to have a purpose, so I stopped. It was Nina. Somehow she’d found me. We stopped for a quick photo shoot.

Me with Alcatraz in the background

Nina

Then we were off swimming again. In the past, it always seemed to take a long time to get a good distance from the boat and then the current suddenly sweeps you quickly toward shore. This time there seemed to be no current. After about 2/3 the distance, I decided to stop for another photo shoot. I spotted a kayaker and asked him to take a picture with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Then I asked him to take another with Alcatraz in the background. And then with the city skyline in the background. By the time he was done, the nice guy had rotated 360-degrees.

Swimming into Aquatic Park is different from the swim to Crissy Field, which I’ve swum to in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. For one thing, there’s a narrow entrance to Aquatic Park. If you miss it, and the current is strong, you’ve got a problem. However, this time the current was so weak that I missed the entrance but had no problem getting in. Another thing that’s different is that once you’re in, you still have a good distance to go before reaching shore.

Aquatic Park

I put my head down for the final push to the finish. My target was an inflated black arch in front of the bleachers. I walked out of the water onto the timing mat. I finished in 51:20, ten minutes faster than last year.

Of course, once again Maria finished ahead of me. In fact, far enough ahead that she was already in her street clothes and finishing her coffee. She’d had no problem swimming without a wet suit.

The finish line with Ghirardelli Square in the background

So that’s it for the year. I’ll have a nice long break before next season. Minimal running and biking (outside of spin class). Mostly core training 3 times/week with my trainer, Lisa, and master’s swim class twice a week with coach Tim. As of this posting, the only event I’ve registered for is Ironman Wisconsin on September 9, 2012. I’ll use the winter to get back into running, and the spring to get back into road biking. But I’ll keep at the swimming, hoping to get better and enjoying it more as I do.

The photos below are courtesy of the South End Rowing Club, host of the event.

Swimming past Golden Gate Bridge...

... and the Palace of Fine Arts

ATOS, a major IT company, has had enough with email. ATOS plans to eradicate all internal email in the next three years . Labeling email as part of the new “information pollution,” ATOS CEO Thierry Breton says, “The volume of emails we send and receive is unsustainable for business.” ATOS has decided that the usefulness of email is outweighed by the amount of time employees spend just reading and replying to emails. Breton even laments the encroachment of email into personal time.

ATOS is not advocating a return to phone calls and interoffice memos. As a leading IT firm – providing IT management for the 2012 London Olympic Games – ATOS is moving into even more innovative ways to communicate and collaborate. According to Holly Smith, an ATOS spokesperson, ATOS implements social/business networking tools such as Office Communicator, which manages online chat, Internet telephoning, video conferencing, file and application sharing; Atos Wiki, to which people can contribute or modify content; Livelink, a document management system; and FISH, an in-house system to share and comment on ideas.

But are the rest of us ready to drop a communication tool that many are just learning to use? Breton points out that “only 11% of 13 to 19 year olds use email to communicate.” And yet there are many 40 years and older workers who are struggling to learn to use email at all. With the majority of the workforce over the age of twenty, is a transition to yet a newer technology realistic?

On the other hand, is the fact that no one has found a way to tame email in the past twenty-five years the very reason we need to move past it?

The use of email does appear to be on the decline. Bob Hallewell, founder of Expert Messaging, believes that email usage will diminish in coming years, although it will not go away. Several Phoenix Tech Pubs customers use internal instant messaging to quickly communicate with their colleagues. We use an internal Wiki to track best practices and ideas.

However, can new communication media solve the problems of email? Instant messages create more interruptions than email. Networking platforms can be addictive time-wasters. Even more importantly, archiving and retrieval of information shared on these media is harder than email.

Also, how many of the problems of email are caused by a lack of email training? For example, many people don’t know how to create folders and subfolders in their email application – every message they have ever received is still in their inbox! If email is such a critical business tool, why don’t managers train their employees to use email effectively? Oh right, because they don’t know how to effectively use email either.

And if there are so many problems with email, why haven’t the email service providers improved the technology to address them? Is email technology just too obsolete to improve? Or has there simply not been enough financial incentive to invest in improved email tools? Perhaps the threat of abandoning email will drive the providers to improve the technology.

Finally, we might assume that technology experts like ATOS and email vendors like Microsoft will lead the way in implementing these new communication paradigms. But perhaps the geeks are overthinking things. Co-Construct, a small company in Virginia,  offers software to the construction industry that grabs information from email, text messages, and other digital media, and organizes it by project and then by topics (bids, change orders, selection sheets, expense tracking, milestones, client questions, etc). Builders and clients can communicate collaboratively from within the software. Co-Construct’s customers say the software saves money and their clients love it. Constructech Magazine says  the software gives “builders an easy way to manage, track, and organize messages, allowing construction companies to assess information all in one location” and even asks if builders will stop using email entirely in the future.

I think the only assumption we can make is that business communication will be very different in the future. Just five years ago most people had never sent a text message; now it is a common tool for business communications. Who knows what is next?

With proper planning, translations costs can be significantly reduced. However this requires more than just extracting the best deal from your translation vendor. It requires proper planning at the time of content creation. Following the steps below can cut your translation cost by 50% or more without diluting the value of your content.

1. Use Fewer Screenshots

Screenshots are popular because they effectively communicate the user interface and workings of a product. However, if the software is localized, screenshots should be retaken for the localized software. This requires setting up the application with relevant data  – once for every screenshot in every language. On the other hand, some companies do not localize the software and end up with documentation in the translated language but with the screenshots in English. With limited or no screenshots, both of these problems can be minimized.

2. Keep Word Count as Low as Possible

Translation costs are calculated on the number of words so this one is fairly obvious. But this has to be planned early on – it is much easier to write succinct material than to reduce words at the time of translation. And fewer words also make material simpler to understand and easier to translate. Lower word count pays dividends for all documents, for all languages, and for all future revisions.

3. Separate Graphics from Text

Graphics, if done right, can be a great communication tool. And, being a universal language, they do not have to be translated. However, if graphics include text they can become a nightmare. Any text embedded in the graphics must also be translated. Often this requires a complete recreation of the graphic. Avoid the use of text in graphics; label items with numbered callouts and identify graphic elements outside of the illustration.

4. Do Not Include Slang and Local Jargon

Slang terms will probably not have the desired meaning or context in the target language – or may have highly undesirable meanings! – so must be translated. The translators may not understand the slang well enough to translate without research, adding even more to translation costs. Leave the slang out from the beginning to minimize costs.

5. Allow for Text Expansion

Translating to other languages usually results in text expansion. Translation from English to German, for example, typically results in text expansion by around 25%. It is much easier to format the document later if there is plenty of room to expand.

6. Develop a Glossary

Glossaries help translators understand your product and terms. The more the translators understand, the quicker they translate and the fewer mistakes they make.

7. Use Repetitive Language

If the same content is repeated many times it has to be translated only once. So wherever possible write the same content in the same way, every time. Although this may appear uncreative it reduces the translation effort and cost. For example, if you write “Push the button” the first time, do not write “Press the button” the next time.

8. Use XML

Use of XML in technical documentation has received much attention lately. See our blog “An Introduction to XML and DITA” for more pros and cons of using XML. XML can lead to significant savings in translation of technical documents. One way that XML-based documentation saves money is the ease of reusing content which only needs to be translated once. Another way that XML saves money is that XML includes metadata – information about the content. For example, metadata can be added to newly updated content to indicate what needs to be translated and what does not – leading to significant savings.

9. Use a Simple Language

Although this is a best practice to write any technical document, it is doubly important for the ones that have to be translated. For example, if the word “consider” will suffice, avoid using “take into consideration”.

10. Avoid Screenshots

Yes we mentioned this one above. But this is so important that it is worth repeating.

This is the third of my four events this year. I was exhilarated after completing the Boston Marathon and the California Death Ride. I felt comfortable that my training would get me through the event: My speed work was done while training for the Boston Marathon and my endurance training was done while training for the Death Ride. And most important, I’d gotten through all my training without injury. But I must admit that I was feeling the fatigue from training that had started before Christmas last year. When it came time to tapering for this race, I had no problem taking it easy. I was glad to have the training behind me and looking forward to the reward of racing.

We left San Jose on Tuesday, August 27. I decided to take my Cervelo P2C triathlon bike rather than my Bianchi road bike. Riding a triathlon bike is still new to me, so it’s a risk. It’s harder to steer, and it requires riding in the aero position. If I’m not in shape, my back will be seriously hurting by the end of the ride.

We stopped briefly for lunch at Steady Eddy’s in Winters, CA. The food was good, and Winters is a nice town, not far from Davis. The area looks like a great place to do some bike touring.

Black Sheep Pub in Ashland, OR. I imagine this place gets lively later in the evening because the furniture looks easily replaced.

Our first overnight stop was Ashland, OR, a town we’ve come to like quite a bit. I like the small college town atmosphere, and Lithia Park is a great place for a morning run. The Black Sheep Pub is a nice place to go for a beer.

From Ashland, we continued up Interstate 5, stopping briefly in Portland for lunch at the BridgePort BrewPub. As it turned out, it’s near to the college that our niece attends. It’s an interesting area, urban/hip with good restaurants, galleries, shopping, that we’ll be sure to re-visit next time we visit Portland. But we still had a long way to go, so we were soon back on the road.

Our next overnight stop was Seattle, where we stayed at the Hotel Andra. We arrived in time for a terrific sunset, which Julie captured nicely in a photo at the Pike Place Market.

At Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. In retrospect, an ominous photo. These fish look like they’re swimming to escape the ice. In a few days I’d be racing with others to escape the heat.

In the morning we continued north on I-5 to Bellingham, where we then cut over to Hwy 542 and then Hwy 9, crossing the border at Abbotsford-Huntingdon. It’s been twenty five years since I traveled to Canada, when I drove to Quebec in an early 1970s Ford Pinto with rusted out floorboards . At that time all you needed to get in was a driver’s license. (In our case, that was followed by a thorough search of the car, involving pulling the car over, emptying everything out, a search of the undercarriage using mirrors, etc.)

So naturally, when I pulled up to the Customs Agent this time, I handed her our drivers licenses. The Customs Agent just stared at me, expressionless with those mirror sunglasses. I looked back, I’m sure, with the expression of one who expected that he was about to get pulled over again for a full search.

The tension was broken when Julie leaned over and offered our passports. Lucky for me, because without her I’m not sure I’d be writing about the race. The Customs Agent asked the purpose of our visit, and I said we were going to Penticton. Seeing the bikes on the roof of the car, she asked if we were going to do IronMan Canada. There was still no expression, but I knew we were OK, and she waved us on.

We arrived in Penticton, Canada, late afternoon on Thursday, August 25. It’s a beautiful area, with very large lakes and hills covered with vineyards and orchards. It was a surprise to me to find that it’s a desert climate with 10″ annual rainfall, which is 30% less than what we receive in San Jose. This, of course, means it’s not a forest area. In fact there are very few trees, an observation that would carry much greater importance on race day.

Delightful accommodations at the Sandman Hotel in Penticton.

We went first to our hotel, to make sure we had a place and to get our bearings. Most of the hotels during this event required a 5 night commitment, and our hotel was $225/night. (As I write this 4 weeks later, the rate is less than $90/night, no 5-night commitment.)

The joy continued as we next explored the town. It was fine with me, but I could tell it would be a long stay for Julie. There wasn’t much there for her other than a couple of Starbucks coffee shops. We did have a nice dinner al fresco at a recommended restaurant, the Sage and Vines Bistro.

Next morning I went for a short run, with Julie keeping me company on her bike. She’d just had surgery on her knee to fix a meniscus tear. So I was very impressed when she chose to ride up a steep hill. It helped that at the top we got a nice view of the town and the lake.

After a light breakfast at the local Starbucks, it was off to the registration tent to pick up my race packet. We were 45 minutes early, but already there was a line. While we waited I had a nice conversation with Paul Dalton, an ultra-Ironman finisher.

This is my new buddy, Paul Dalton, Ultra-Ironman. He was in front of me in the line for registration. An Ironman is 140.6 miles, so yes, that’s 281.2 miles. He’s just 53 years old, so obviously I’m past my prime.

Registration is a mini-event in itself. Once you’re in the tent there are a series of stations to go through, as you prove who you are, sign disclaimers that you won’t sue if you die, get tagged so they can identify the body, confirm your sex by picking the appropriately colored swim cap ( blue for male; pink for female – don’t mess this one up Jim!), and then finally picking up the swag bag.

The swag bag has what you need to organize your clothes and supplies for each event. This is critical, and requires serious thought. For me, it means visualizing the race and selecting what I’ll need and exactly when I’ll need it, given the day’s weather conditions.

There must be at least 30 items needed to race:clothing items for before the race and for each stage, repair kits, food and drink, and medical and safety items.

You get a five color-coded bags: one for your street clothes in the morning, one for T1 (when you change out of your wet suit), one for T2 (when you change out of your bike clothes), one for Bike Needs (what you think you might want at the half-way point in the bike ride), and one for Run Needs (what you might want at the half-way point in the run). I typically overpack my needs bags, so I have a little smorgasbord that I can choose from, according to how I feel at that point in the race. I spend 2-3 hours getting everything together, because once you’ve done it you’re committed. If you forget anything, you’re screwed. Got your swim goggles? Your run socks? Body Glide so your neck’s not rubbed raw from the wetsuit? Do you pack chicken broth (which has fat) or vegetable broth (which is just salt and water)? How much solid food will you really need? Because it becomes more difficult to digest as the race progresses. So there is a lot to think about. And as you go through the process, the anxiety and excitement increase.

Shout out to my "hood" - Willow Glen!

The race isn’t until Sunday, but everything needs to be dropped off in the transition area on Saturday. But first I made a late decision to have a bike computer installed. For the first time I’ll be riding a true triathlon bike, a Cervelo P2C. I’ve been very hesitant about using it. It’s a totally different riding experience, a very fast riding experience, with a much greater risk of crashing. Steering in the aero tuck position is much more “twitchy.” The balance is “knife-edge.” Make a mistake, hit a rock or pothole wrong, or touch wheels with another cyclist, and you may find yourself on the ground. Until I put the bike on the car when I left home, I hadn’t really committed to riding it. But here I was, and it was the bike I’d be riding. And I really needed to know how fast I would be going. Fortunately there’s a bike shop in Penticton that is prepared for my “wait till the last minute” type, and they installed it in an hour at no extra cost.

With that done, and all the decisions behind me, Julie and I carried everything over to the area secured for the participants. The first thing I unloaded was the bike. These races are so well organized that your spot on the bike rack is clearly labeled with your name and race number.

T1: Swim to Bike transition area

Next up was the drop off for the Bike to Run. Here, as with the Swim to Run, everything is clearly laid out so that it can be quickly located during the race.

T2: Bike to Run transition area

Now all that’s left is to wait out the day and the night. And that seems to take forever. During the day, you deal with the conflicting urges to run or jump on the bike, while at the same time knowing you need to to stay calm and conserve your energy. At night you wake up every hour, wondering how much longer until your 4:30 wake up call. I felt confident that my body was trained and rested for the event. My greatest concern was how I would handle nutrition and hydration during the race. The Ironman has a far greater investment both in time and money than any other event I do. And all that training could be wasted if I didn’t eat or drink sufficiently at the correct times. And nutrition isn’t something you can necessarily force your body to accept. So I still had plenty to be concerned about. It was a long day.

With the stress of race drop off behind me, I consider my food options. Poutine is a popular Canadian dish consisting of french fries and fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy or sauce. I never tried it, for obvious reasons.

Eventually the time arrives. It’s 4:30am, and time for breakfast. I set up a little buffet of  yoghurt, my homemade granola (get my recipe here), banana, peanut butter. And starting now, it’s time to drink plenty of water. I eat as soon as I wake up, so I have more time to digest before the race starts. After eating, I take my time getting ready. I’m still thinking about details, trying to time my morning so I don’t get to the swim start too early and end up standing around getting cold and nervous. But I don’t want to be late, and waste energy rushing around, looking for the volunteers who mark your body with your age and race number and the drop off for my street clothes bag. I rush from the hotel to the race start, am passed by a racer in tears who’s lost, and arrive in plenty of time for the 7am start. There’s so much activity, and so much the racer is responsible for, that it’s hard to think clearly.

Race morning: Time to change into my wetsuit and drop off the morning clothes bag

The one thing you keep for race day is the wetsuit. That’s what you take with you in the morning. I always wait as long as I can before putting it on. It’s not comfortable. It’s very tight, so there’s a certain fatigue just wearing it. It gets hot and sweaty inside, it’s the feeling you get when you have the flu. And once you have it on, good luck if you have to pee.

The swim course is single loop, which is my favorite, since I won’t have racers swimming over me as they complete their second loop.

The swim is the most exciting of the events. And this was a bit more exciting because Lake Okanagan is home to the mythical 50-foot serpent Okopogo, Canada’s version of the Loch Ness monster. But seriously, it was the largest Ironman mass swim start ever, with nearly 3000 people, running into the water until they could run no farther, then launching forward, arms flailing and legs kicking. You really can’t see a thing, so you swim over others, hitting and kicking, or being hit or kicked by others. Then the wind picks up a bit and the shallow water near the shore gets very choppy. It’s chaos, but it’s a great feeling. For months you’ve been visualizing the race. Now it’s reality – you’re finally racing.

Can you find me? I'm the one in the blue cap.

Soon you just settle in to the event. Your stroke evens out, your thoughts now are focused on the turn-around buoys. Then you’re at the furthest buoys and you focus on the swim finish. I enjoy open water swimming much more than pool swimming, just as I enjoy running on trails much more than around a track.

I am just realizing how much we look like a school of tuna being herded into the nets...

The swim is by far the shortest of the events. It’s soon over, you’re out of the water. After crossing the timing mat, I accept the offer of two volunteers to have them rip off my wetsuit. It’s amazingly fast and efficient when they do it. It would take me 5-10 minutes of struggling, and I’d be exhausted afterward. Then I’m off to the changing tent with my transition bag, given to me by a volunteer. Once I have on my biking shoes and jersey, I exit the tent  where I’m given my bike. It’s a quick jog over to the timing mat, and then I hop onto the bike for 112 miles of biking.

The start of the bike is exciting because the street is lined with cheering crowds. The biking lane narrows, so there’s a bit of jostling and cursing as faster riders pass. This is a good place for a slow, dangerous crash. Slow crashes are risky because you’re more likely to land on your head. Fast crashes more often result in a skid across the pavement, painful but more easily healed. The ride starts with a nice 10 mile ride along Skaha Lake. Then there’s a climb up McLean Creek Rd. Except for this stretch, the entire community has been very supportive of the event, and very nice to all of us. But someone out here doesn’t like us. They’ve scattered tacks on the road, and there are a dozen riders repairing flat tires. I make it thorough without damage, but am cautious for the next few miles. I hope the pros made it through OK, because racing is how they make their living, and a flat tire can mean the difference between winning and losing.

The bike course is also single loop, through some very pretty scenery. Unfortunately there were a surprising number of cars to deal with.

There’s a nice downhill stretch to Vaseux Lake and Highway 97, which gives me a chance to get comfortable with the speed of my triathlon bike. It’s followed by a relatively flat stretch of about 30 miles to the intersection at Osoyoos. This section of the ride is through vineyards and orchards. It’s also a fairly heavily traveled road, so much of it required riding single file.

At Osoyoos, the course turns away from the lakes, and onto Highway 3, which takes us up to Richter Pass, the first of the two big climbs. Fortunately, I’d just done the Death Ride about 6 weeks earlier, so I was ready for the hills. I maintained the aero position on the climbs and I raced as fast as I could on the descents. The stretch between the first climb at Richter Pass and second climb at Yellow Lake is very pretty. Pretty enough that the government is considering turning it into a national park. Hand-painted signs on the road indicate it’s an idea that’s not popular with the residents of the area.

The next 45 miles is the hottest part of the race. Much of it is an “out and back” loop, where you’re facing riders completing their loop. There’s not much of a breeze and the aid tents are running out of water. During the ride up to Yellow Lake I pass a dozen riders who have stopped and retreated to whatever shade they can find. All the ambulances seem to be occupied. I stop at one aid tent to get water but they are totally out. I stop at another and they are also out of water. Fortunately they have ice. I manage to fit some cubes into my water bottle. It’ll be another 10 to 20 minutes before it’s melted, but it will be nice and cold.

Bike course elevation. This is the most difficult bike course of the Ironman races. But after the Death Ride in July, I was prepared both for the climbs and the fast descents. None of the climbs were steep enough to require switchbacks, and I was able to stay in the aero position. Richter Pass has an average 4% grade, with spikes at no more than 7% grade. My training rides in San Jose have some nice 10% to 12% hill climbs, so I was prepared.

Overall, I’m luckier than most. I’ve stayed hydrated when there was water. I sipped every 5-10 minutes from the water bottle mounted to my aero bars, generally going through a quart of water every 10 miles. So the last 15 miles of the race are difficult, but I make it through OK.

From the top of Yellow Lake it’s mostly downhill to Highway 97 and Skaha Lake, then a relatively flat ride returning to the transition area for the start of the run. There’s a lot of road work being done on this stretch, so it’s the least attractive until the top of the pass. But then the view is very pretty and very welcome. I keep a good speed down to Skaha Lake, and then ride through town to the second transition.

By now I’ve been racing for over 8.5 hours and I’m sick of the heat and the sun. So I spend far longer in the transition tent than typical. I should be out in less than 5 minutes. After all, I’m only changing from my bike jersey into a running singlet and putting on my running shoes. Instead I take over 18 minutes. I know what I’m doing; I just don’t want to see the sun and feel that heat on the road. So I just sit in the tent and work on mentally preparing myself for a 26.2 mile run. (Yes, that 0.2 mile is important to runners. They say the first 20 miles is the first half of the race, so 0.2 miles is a good percentage of the second half of the run.)

I finally accept the fact that I can’t stay in the tent forever, as attractive as that may sound. I stop thinking and start moving. I stand up, turn to the exit, and start walking. As soon as I’m in the sun, I quicken my pace. The faster I move, the sooner I’ll be done. Just before crossing the timing mat to start the run, I have myself slathered in sunscreen by the volunteers. I grab a bottle of water to start the run with. I’m actually feeling good, but It’s HOT!

The course starts with a loop through town, so you can get motivated by the thousands of spectators. I keep up a good pace through town, hugging my water bottle. There are plenty of aid stations along the way, and they have no shortage of supplies. But having my own water means I can drink when I want. I keep up a good pace for the first 5 miles.

I'm smiling at the start of the run. In a couple of miles, I'll be puking.

At the aid station at mile 5 I stop for a slice of orange. A couple of hundred yards past that, I stop to puke. I know it’s going to happen so I have time to pick my place. Fortunately I see a fire hydrant with no spectators nearby. Perfect! I lean over and let loose. I hear a few nearby spectators groan. A runner asks if I’m alright. I thank him, and let him know I’m fine.

The run course was again a single loop, most of which was along the lake. No shade, but sunset was approaching.

And really I am fine; this is just part of the learning process. During the bike ride, I had a bottle of water 5-inches in front of my face, and I sipped from it every 5 minutes. But when the water was gone, and during my time in transition and the start of the run, I haven’t been as good about drinking water. After 9 hours of racing in the heat, digestion is very difficult. Without water it’s even more difficult. And that’s what I’ve learned. I can’t wait to remember to drink. Next time I need to set my watch alarm to beep every 5 minutes, so that I’m programmed to drink.

So far, my nutrition has been PowerBars, Gu, and 2nd Surge. All include electrolytes, protein, and carbohydrates in easily digestible form. I was relying heavily on the 2nd Surge chocolate and double espresso, which have the highest caffeine content of any gu I could find. It’s 100mg, which is one-fourth the caffeine of a Starbucks coffee. I’d made the decision to include caffeine after Ironman Coeur d’Alene, where I’d started the run totally drained. Not physically exhausted; but very sleepy. My decision seems to have been a good one, as I seemed to have plenty of energy throughout this race.

Unfortunately, at this stage of the run my stomach is still sending strong signals that I should slow the pace. I alternate between running and walking. At the turn-around at Christie Park in Okanagan Falls, I pick up my run special needs bag. It’s all the goodies that healthy Jim the day before had thought exhausted Jim might want. Most of what I see in the bag makes me slightly sick. What I do grab is a running bottle filled with vegetable broth and more 2nd Surge gu. I walk a bit, since it’s uphill at that point. And then I start the run back to the finish. As the sun starts to set, my pace picks up. As with my previous Ironman, the last 6 miles I run at a good pace. I am actually able to sprint the last quarter mile to the finish.

One of these days I'll finish while there is still sunlight!

After marathons and Ironman distances, I’ve learned to go directly to the massage tent for recovery. One of the consequences of these events is that the blood pools in the legs, decreasing the blood available to the brain. This can result in collapse, and explains why I’m more affected by mental exhaustion than by physical exhaustion. Once I got the massage, I felt much better. It seemed like a long walk back to the hotel, and I needed to lie down with my feet above my head to recover. But after about 15 minutes I was feeling good enough to eat. My perfect post-race meal, given that I’m not in the mood to go out for dinner, has become sliced turkey, bread, and a quart of milk. By next morning I felt fine.

So in retrospect, how do I feel the race went? Fine. In fact, great, when I factor in the temperature. I was told the recorded temperature was 98-degrees, to which I’m sure you can add a few degrees for the asphalt road surface temperature. Ironman ranked it one of the 25 toughest Ironman events ever. (And yet Mary Beth Ellis broke a 21-year Women’s course record!)

What I’m most happy with is my bike time, which was about 27 minutes faster than Ironman Coeur D’Alene. And this bike course was tougher.  I’m giving credit to my choice of my Cervelo P2C tri bike over my Bianchi road bike. The Cervelo is a true triathlon bike, with the aero frame design. It was a risk, because I’d only just bought it a few months earlier. It requires learning a new riding position, low to the frame. Until you get used to it, it’s hard on the lower back.

It was also risky, because it requires resting your elbows on the aero bars, making it much more difficult to steer. There is also the issue of braking. These bikes are built for speed, so the gear shifters are mounted on the tip of the aero bars where your fingers are. The brakes are mounted on the bullhorn handlebars. You can make quick adjustments to the gears, so you maintain maximum speed. But if you suddenly need to slow or stop, you must sit up and reach for the brakes, severely limiting your reaction time.

For all those reasons, steep downhills were seriously intimidating. The day before the race, Julie and I had driven the bike course, and both Richter Pass and Yellow Lake Pass have long steep descents. I was seriously worried that I’d brought the wrong bike. As it turned out, my top speed on the downhill was 43.6 mph.  Fortunately, during the race adrenalin overtakes caution. And having done the California Death Ride just 6 weeks earlier, my bike handling skills were sharp, giving me the ability to go fast on those downhill stretches.

I also added another skill to shave a few minutes from my bike time. For the first time, I didn’t stop to pee. (Actually, I stopped once, waited in line 5 minutes, then said screw it and took off riding again.) Good thing, too, because I had my water bottle mounted between the aero bars so I was drinking every 5 minutes. Lots of peeing, no dehydration.

Other than the bike downhills, I was most worried about the run. Running is what I do best. But at my previous Ironman in Coeur d’Alene, I’d started the run with no energy. All I wanted to do was lay down on the grass and sleep. My legs felt fine, but I had no energy. It was a terrible feeling. This time I felt much better, so I was surprised that the run took me nearly as long as at IMCDA. But I’m not too disappointed, since my age group ranking was quite a bit better. My guess is that the heat was the determining factor.

My swim, as always, sucked. All I can say is that I’m still trying to become a better swimmer. The good news is I can swim 2.4 miles with no problem. The bad news is that it takes me 30 minutes longer than it should. It’s hard to imagine shaving 30% off my swim time, but it’s nice to have goals.

But the big question is: How did I do in my new age group? I placed exactly mid-way overall, which was 32 out of the 64 participants in my age group.  And best of all, I felt OK, considering what I’d just done.

One last note: Another tradition has become the post-race meal. The next day Julie and I went to an upscale restaurant, the Hooded Merganser, for an excellent steak dinner.  It’s built over the water, and while we were eating Julie saw this creature that we thought was a rat. It wasn’t much bigger than one. We were told it was a beaver. I’d like to believe it was. 

So that’s it for Ironman Canada, and the heavy training program I started last December. In a few weeks I’ve got my last event for the year, the Alcatraz Invitational Swim, which will be the subject of my next blog.

Developing content using XML is based on the assumption that information is no longer transmitted in a monolithic book with all the knowledge captured in a linear narrative from introduction to conclusion. It is now conceived as small chunks that answer specific
questions such as “What is…?” and “How do I…?” This approach addresses the needs of  today’s online help systems, as well as today’s users, who want to find answers quickly and to the point.

In addition, content developed using XML can be developed independent of the form and media it will be presented on (including web and print presentation). Content can be developed once and reused throughout the document set. Content can be intelligently searched and organized. Users can easily give feedback to the developers. And content can be developed on open-source tools.

However, developing XML-based documentation from scratch can be time-consuming and expensive. The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is a standardized architecture that is based on principles of modular reuse and extensibility. Using DITA can capture the benefits of XML-based publishing while making development faster and cheaper.

First, some important definitions about XML

XML is a markup language. A markup language is a set of start and end tags you can use to “mark up” text with additional information about your content.

A tag set (or element) identifies the text contained within the tags. For example, the “<xmp>…text…</xmp>” tag set tells processes that the text is part of an example. The tag set information can be used to tell the display media how to display the text. For example, a summary might be in bold text while an example may be indented and italicized. The tag set can also identify the information for search and processing purposes. For example, a search for definitions might extract all information marked with a <term> tag.

A document type definition (DTD) is a file that defines the markup rules. For example, a DTD may define <head> and <body> elements, and say that you can’t put <head> after <body>.

A stylesheet (Cascading Stylesheet [CSS] or Extensible Style Language [XSL]) is a mapping of XML elements to display properties. For example, a stylesheet could say that <codeblock> content should be displayed using the Courier font.

An XSLT transform is a mapping of one XML structure to another format. This allows you to transform your XML source into HTML to view on the web or to PDF to print.

Some problems with XML

You can use XML and custom DTDs, stylesheets, and XSLTs to develop high-quality documentation tailored to your content and customers. However, it can take a long time to develop custom tools and they can become obsolete if the nature or needs of the documentation changes. Using the standardized framework of DITA, the user can capture the benefits of XML-based publishing while making development faster and cheaper.

Some important definitions about DITA

DITA is a structured architecture that organizes XML into standardized but highly customizable components.

A topic (or chunk) is a file that  treats a specific piece of subject matter. The subject of a topic should be small enough that it can be addressed within a few paragraphs, which is an amount that a user can reasonably read online without having to scroll more than a single screen.

An element is a discrete piece of information contained within a topic. Examples of elements include title, author, list item, and cross-reference. Each element is defined by a tag set and has a defined structure and semantics. Each DITA topic has required and optional elements. For example, every topic has a title element identified by the <title> tag and defined by its DITA specification.

A DITA topic stands alone because it does not depend on users reading a particular piece of information before or after it. Topics, then, can be freely combined as appropriate for various needs. For example, topics A, B, and C could be used in one task-oriented presentation while B, C, and D could be used in a different task-oriented presentation.

DITA topics are further divided into three defined types of topics: task, concept, and reference topics.

A task topic contains steps describing how to do something. The instructions typically take the form of a numbered list with an imperative sentence for each list item. Task elements might include:

• Rationale: why or when a user would want to perform this task
• Prerequisites: what a user should do before performing this task
• Responses: what the user should see as a result of performing this task
• Examples: examples of what information to enter or what to do
• Postrequisites: what to do next after this task is completed

A concept topic defines a major abstraction such as a process or function. It might also include elements like examples or graphics.

A reference topic is factual in nature. It includes elements related to properties and syntax. The breakdown of reference information is often prescribed by conventions, such as those used in documenting a programming language.

Chunking is the process of defining the topics and elements by applying XML tags. For example, the title of each topic is labeled with “<title> …text…</title>”. A prerequisite in a task is labeled with “<prereq> …text…</prereq>”.

An portion of a DITA topic might look like:

A map is a document that collects and organizes topics. It might be the table of contents for a document that will be produced as a book or it might be the options returned from an online  search.

Specialization is the process of defining a new element, topic, or map. Because specializations can be based on existing elements, topics, or maps, you only need to define what is different in the new item.

How does DITA work?

DITA provides a standardized set of elements, topics, maps, stylesheets, and XSLTs to speed the process from content development to production. The DITA framework is broad enough to address most documentation needs. However, DITA specialization allows customization that is efficient and cost-effective.

There are a wide range of tools that support DITA development including proprietary tools like Framemaker and open-source tools like the DITA Open Tool Kit.

Using the DITA framework to develop XML-based documentation can speed development of dynamic information delivery, while reducing specialization costs for your organization.