You're Awesome - Tell Me More - OOD Part 3

Related Posts:
How to Live in an OOD Dream - Part Two
You're Awesome - Tell Me More - OOD Part 3
OOD (Object-Oriented Documentation

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It's not about the tool.

While I have my favorite tools for documentation, I realize that, by extension, every technical writer has a favorite tool. The point of these OOD posts has not been to declare some slick slogan at the end like Confluence Rules, All Other Tools Drools. If any of these posts has swayed you to believe that you can't obtain the OOD dream if you use this tool or that tool, you've missed the point. The bottom line concept of OOD is to treat each segment of information as just that - a segment. Segments can be arranged and structured and maneuvered any way necessary. Further, by separating content from presentation, the appearance can be quickly changed to adapt to new requirements.

Here are some links to expand your mind.

1. Separate Your Content from Presentation
• Click this link to read a short summary of this concept. Since the page is part of a multiple step tutorial, the first two paragraphs are the most relevant to the topic: http://www.webreference.com/html/tutorial5/1.html  
• Click this link to read a short summary about this concept. The In a Nutshell box at the top of the page condenses the concept nicely: http://universalusability.com/access_by_design/document_structure/separate.html
2. Using Confluence
• Click this link to read about the principle difference in approaching documentation that is maintained in Confluence: http://thedetaildept.com/2012/07/31/confluence-is-not-a-word-document/
• Click this link to read about the principle of storing content that needs to be used in multiple other places as a reusable “chunk” – instead of copying & pasting that content - to assemble a “topic” or web page. It includes a link to how this idea is used between software systems: http://jodiem.com.au/2011/08/13/the-one-thing-in-one-place-once-rule-using-confluence/
3. Using Microsoft Word
• Click this link to read about the mechanics of setting up documents that split repeated content into smaller documents and to then refer to them in the “main” document: http://www.writersua.com/articles/modular/#The%20Mechanics%20of%20Modularization
• Click this link to read about a tool called SmartDocs. I have used the demo version of this product: http://www.thirtysix.net/smartdocs/features/techpubs