"As a medium-sized mechanical engineering company, we've always written our technical documentation in a word processing program. We're slowly reaching the limit with file sizes and versioning. But is it worthwhile to introduce an entire Content Management System for technical documentation right away? Isn't that far too cumbersome and costly for us?"
First, the short answer: It can be worth it. After all, not all systems are the same.
There's quite a wide range when it comes to functional scope, complexity, but also price. The key is to find the right system for your needs.
In the following, we'd like to answer a few basic questions that should help you decide whether a CMS can make sense for your technical documentation and which aspects play a role in the decision.
Content Management Systems (or Component Content Management Systems (CCMS)) facilitate work in technical documentation that would otherwise require a great deal of effort and be highly error-prone. Technical documentation is authored, managed, versioned, quality-assured and output in Content Management Systems. Translation into various languages can also originate in this system.
Furthermore, CMSes Follow Three Crucial Principles that Go Hand-in-Hand.
In addition to the basic functions mentioned above, there are a number of typical functions that most Content Management Systems have:
In management meetings, we're often asked about the Return On Investment (ROI) for a CMS for technical documentation. Of course, this is difficult to generalise and always depends on the specific situation.
When Calculating the ROI, Profit and Capital Investment are Compared.
The capital investment includes the license costs, the creation of the stylesheet, and the training of the employees. Depending on the requirements, there are also migration costs, translation issues, and interface developments.
The profit lies in the savings potential. The first thing to do is to understand the current costs in the area of technical documentation, especially personnel costs. Conservatively estimated, employees in technical documentation spend 70% of their working time on file management, content creation, formatting, and similar activities. A CMS provides direct support in these areas and guarantees time savings of around 65%.
In addition, the forecast growth in documentation and media must also be taken into account.
In the end, the more employees and the more documentation required, the higher the costs for technical documentation and the more likely it is that a CMS will be worthwhile. Roughly speaking: With four full-time employees, a CMS often pays for itself after just one year.
The central functions mentioned above are provided or supported to a greater or lesser extent by all common CMSes. In addition, the systems differ greatly in their range of functions, depending on the provider. Differences lie, for example, in the following areas:
In addition, some vendors already bring fully integrated publication portals (content delivery portals), e-learning solutions, or even tools for creating risk assessments. Something like this can also be a criterion for selection.
The answer to the question of the appropriate CMS can be simple (e.g., if the system is to rely exclusively on Web technologies, or it can be quite complicated when it comes to not-so-obvious features; for the automation of publication sections). Simply "rattling off" a list of functions is not the last word here, because many CMSes can be customised. The decision-making process is therefore always preceded by a precise requirements analysis, whereby technical aspects must be examined just as much as editorial processes.
Of course, CMSes don't only have advantages. The first disadvantages are clearly the acquisition costs and the time-consuming implementation. This includes not only the setup and training. A modularisation concept is required, and with most of these systems, it makes sense to work with a well thought-out metadata concept right from the start. If you want to integrate legacy data into the CMS, this can turn the data side of things upside down, and of course require a rethink in some respects. It can take some time before the promised time savings are achieved.
The good news: With an experienced partner at your side and the right strategy, these tasks can be implemented more quickly and easily. As a full-service documentation provider, we support our customers in all strategic and operational requirements related to Content Management Systems – from conception and implementation to support in the active system.
A rough estimate of the costs can be made as follows: A complete system with on-premises installation costs (approximately) between €10,000 and €30,000 per license. For additional licenses there is often a graduated price. Added to this are stylesheets, customisations, plug-ins and interface connections, as well as the annual maintenance costs, which usually amount to about 20% of the total cost. Alternatively, some suppliers also offer subscription models. In this case, the high acquisition costs are exchanged for moderate monthly fees. Finally, there are the costs for setup and training, as well as internal costs.
After selection and purchase, the next step is installation. Once this is done, the next step is the administrative setup with user administration and a system of roles and rights, as well as the conception and setup of the content structure. This includes the creation of document structures, storage systems, and metadata. And finally, the training of the employees on the system, but also in the new way of working. In larger technical editorial departments, it's advisable to proceed in a phased manner: first training in purely technical aspects, then a series of workshops in which new concepts and processes are jointly defined (e.g., a modularisation concept, processes for metadata assignment, rules for status changes, etc.), and finally more in-depth training on the new system. And finally, an in-depth training session in which the focus is on the fine details of the system, also with regard to the new processes.
If interfaces and adaptations are to be set up, work steps are also required for this.
Often, the migration of inventory data is the last step for the time being. Sometimes this step can be partially automated. However, if existing data is to be reused for new documents, it must also be adapted to the new creation structure. Modularisation and data entry are then often manual work, at least in part, but in part there are already tools that can provide support.
No matter what your specific question about Content Management Systems is: We can help – comprehensively and competently. It doesn't matter whether you're a large technical editorial team with 20 or more technical editors or a team of two. We're familiar with all current systems, are experts in technical editorial practices, and are also leaders in the adaptation of these systems.
Specifically, we can support you in the following areas, for example:
Of course, we're happy to support you throughout the entire process, but also in individual steps. We always make sure to find individual and practicable solutions that fit your requirements exactly.
Feel free to contact us directly.