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We teach a class on Git and Git Hub in the Seattle are via STC's Puget Sound Chapter and I would say this is a tool for technical writers with a call towards working with developers and code. Those who don't would want another solution.
As an ex-software developer, I didn't find it difficult but others in the class did. We will be teaching more virtually, so I will find a way to let those interested know. Covid has done STC a favor in that we can do a lot of Virtual Training without complaints.
As someone who works as a consultant in lots of companies, I've seen SharePoint used with a lot of success without requiring patch jobs. It Is those who have the more technical skills that steer people towards bootstrapping freebies together but they are harder to maintain and to train other tech writers to use. There is nothing wrong with doing that, but you pay for that decision somewhere.
Confluence isn't a great answer due to the siloing issue. If I recall, you can't search well outside of the silos and then there is the access issue. BU A doesn't want BU B to access its code/work. But that isn't that big of a deal. You just trigger an access request (works similarly in SP)
Good luck finding a solution. I worked at Intuit for 5 years and almost every year they tried a new solution. None stuck.
Lin Laurie
206.900.1861
www.linlaurie.com
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From: techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com <techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> On Behalf Of Syed Zaeem Hosain
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 4:27 PM
To: Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chriss -at- yahoo -dot- com>; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Content Management ... was RE: Tools
Thanks, Chris!
We use Git for our software code management, so that may well be an option for other text content management too ... I will look into that.
Z
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From: techwr-l-bounces+syed -dot- hosain=aeris -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com <techwr-l-bounces+syed -dot- hosain=aeris -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> On Behalf Of Chris Despopoulos
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 2:56 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Content Management ... was RE: Tools
We use GIT for DITA content. We integrate well with development, and can execute near-miraculous processing that saves us tons of time.
You could as easily use GIT for Markdown or any other text-based format. If you use Markdown, you could probably use the DITA Open Toolkit to transform Markdown to Word. Or there seem to be other tools (like this... https://pandoc.org/). So you could carry on with your work flow to generate glossies. Markdown is good for collaboration, if that's a goal.
Git is in the cloud, you get version control, text is text so you can DIFF, and there are tools (like gitk) that you can use for visual diff between commits to your branch. Not sure about specific access locks to folders. But you can set up different repositories and give different access to those (I assume -- I'm not interested in that stuff, so I can't say from experience).Â
With Git as a base you can get into docs as code, set up frameworks that generate your web site automagically, and process the content in various ways if necessary. You can even use GitPages as your docs delivery service, if that's what you want.
The price is probably not bad... Free tools. As with all freeware solutions, you have to bolt it together. But there are lots of people who have done this, and you can learn from them. Look at Tom Johnson (It's Rather Be Writing) or Anne Gentle (Docs as Code), for example. These days setup should be relatively cheap. And the skills you gain go onto your resume.
I avoid Confluence like the plague for real docs... A silo is a silo. It is among the worst editing platforms I can imagine. (Fun Quote: A person I respect VERY much says WIKI == Where Information Kills Itself.) We would need a team at least 5x what we currently have if we had used anything of that ilk.
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And, in particular, if not Confluence, what do you and others use for efficient, _relatively_ inexpensive (given the number of people we have), content management systems that:
ÂÂÂ (a) are "in the cloud" - important in these WFH times for easy access by everybody
ÂÂÂ (b) have version control - including easy comparisons between multiple revisions
ÂÂÂ (c) have access controls for folders and documents - to individuals or pre-defined groups?
ÂÂÂ (d) support other need(s) - please elaborate if you have the time.
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