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Abstract
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Table of Contents
When XML was in its infancy, many publishers were reluctant to experiment with new XML-based technology and processes. This paper examines several cases of publishers who made the leap and are now achieving real ROI with a media-neutral approach using XML-enabled workflow.
Recent economic conditions and heightened competition are causing publishers to focus on improving their bottom-line performance by streamlining current editorial and production processes. A closer look at internal processes have revealed two significant issues: Publishing approaches that have been in place for the last 10 to 20 years do not satisfy today’s dynamic electronic publishing requirements—Web, PDA, and CD-ROM. Additionally, the manual processes that have dominated traditional publishing processes make production costly and inefficient when providing content to several output or delivery mediums.
While there are a number of ways publishers can tackle these concerns, this paper focuses on the advantages and key implementation considerations of adopting a media-neutral publishing approach using XML-enabled technology. When this approach is applied, the reusability and improved quality of content, in combination with streamlining production processes, can translate to savings in operating or production costs and improved time-to-market. Increased or additional revenue can be realized through new channels and new products when managing and delivering content from a single source which is output independent.
This paper describes the similarities and differences between traditional publishing workflows and those using XML technology. In addition, it discusses the XML capabilities that were implemented to accomplish three publishers’ objectives and the results they were able to attain. Cases highlight information that can be readily applied to many publishers’ production environments.
Before attempting to implement an XML-enabled solution, it’s best to analyze the current situation. Here are some key questions that assist in this effort:
How many versions and formats of the same publication are you producing? Do you create publications in print, CD-ROM and on the Web?
Is there one data output for all of the formats being produced or is your staff having to regenerate or manually manipulate the data format to accommodate the different output media?
How often do you need to locate and reuse content for different publications? Is your staff wasting time searching multiple sources manually to find content?
Are you tracking hundreds of chunks of content to make sure they are up-to-date and accurate so the content can be published in several different versions of publications?
Does your company want to generate revenue from creating new products or syndicating content to portals or other outlets?
Below is a list of the warning signs that typically lead companies to move to an XML-enabled production process:
Are you having continual problems meeting production schedules?
Are production expenses frequently over budget?
Other “red flags” might be:
If users are having difficulty locating content
If the process of content import and export are primarily manual
If users have no method to easily collaborate when authoring content
If content versions are difficult to track
In many cases, companies are using proprietary systems that are becoming more difficult and expensive to maintain, and they can not support delivery of content to a variety of channels.
If your company is experiencing one or more of these warning signs, then it’s time to seriously consider how XML and a media-neutral approach can help you achieve your business objectives.
Many publishers are struggling with making the decision to move away from legacy, paper-based processes and implement a media-neutral or XML content management approach. For example, only 16 percent of publishers surveyed in a recent study conducted by Amplitude Research, Inc. are using a commercially available content management system—and yet, 76 percent of the respondents are publishing content to the Web. It is not surprising to learn that many of these publishers are having difficulty repurposing content for electronic media, a problem cited by 58 percent of those surveyed.[1]
These findings are further supported by a Forrester Research, Inc. study of publishing and media executives to determine their motivation for moving to media neutral or XML content systems. The need to reuse content was mentioned by the vast majority of these executives. The second most important motivation was the need to lower the cost of content creation. These executives are also looking to the technology as a means of increasing revenue through new products or distribution channels.[2]
In short, the motivation is based on real business problems–executives want to increase revenue and lower costs, all of which will help improve their bottom line performance.
The traditional “print-centric” production workflow is marked by significant manual processes from beginning to end, as illustrated in the diagram shown below.
Figure 1. A typical print-centric workflow requires multiple paper-based proofing steps, adding expenses and the potential for inaccuracies to occur.
A print-centric workflow such as this makes content reuse difficult for several reasons:
Final print output often lacks the structure required to repurpose content to other electronic media without a significant amount of manual tagging for style and meaningful metadata. Manual processes escalate operational costs and result in a competitive disadvantage due to delays in final delivery of electronic products.
Content transformation at the end of the production cycle requires complex manual data preparation and conversion, leading to increased operational costs and delays in final delivery of electronic products.
Since all final edits have been applied to the composition files only, the original file in the author’s hands is now not reflective of the final print product.
An electronic workflow using a media-neutral content management system allows content to be published to the web, CD or PDA prior to print if needed, and to capture changes made during the print composition process so that these edits are not lost. The enabling technology here is XML which can be accepted by the composition system, as well as the Web or CD publishing engine.
Figure 2. A media-neutral publishing process using XML-enabled tools eliminates the manual processes and costs associated with traditional publishing workflows.
Here’s how this production environment differs from a traditional approach:
Content is authored and then stored in a content management system (CMS) in XML format.
When the print cycle is started, the latest content is extracted from the CMS, and is input to an XML aware composition system and output for review.
Edits to page proofs can be keyed into the composition system and assimilated back to the CMS. (Note the two-way arrow.) Software companies such as Easypress, Quark, and XyEnterprise specifically address this need to offer XML export capabilities.
Once content is assimilated back into a content management system, publishers can take this content and push it out to the Web and other output channels. All of the changes made in print have been captured and corresponding electronic media accurately reflect the actual content of the print products.
XML-enabled production offers many advantages over traditional production processes that directly impact top- and bottom-line performance, such as:
Enforces content structure, which speeds production: This is achieved because contributors can author in an XML tool that automatically provides the structure and metadata which describes how, when, and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and defines each content type. Formatting is achieved through the use of stylesheets. In addition, authoring in XML provides a higher degree of accuracy during production.
Eliminates multiple instances of shared content: Publishers no longer need to create and sync several instances of the same content for multiple outputs. Systems can anticipate and interpret the structure for the outputs automatically, based upon the XML tags and rules set up in the application. As a result, the same content can be shared among print, Web, CD-ROM and even PDA versions.
Expands licensing options and product development: Since the content is managed in XML, it is portable, making it easy to send to third parties for syndication. In addition, publishers can take chunks of content for new product development. For example, a dictionary publisher could create subject-specific pocket dictionaries, which are simply subsets of the content. Because the chunks of content are tagged and reside in a central repository, they are easily located and reused.
Lowers production costs: An XML-enabled process eliminates the costs associated with galley page production, manual proofing, editing, and AA charges when repurposing the same content across multiple products. Using a media-neutral approach, publishers can budget for production based on a fixed price.
Depending upon the publisher’s unique requirements, an XML-enabled solution can include several software applications, such as an XML authoring tool, a content/document management repository, and an XML-aware composition system. The implementation may also require services for business process analysis, data conversion, software installation, development services (software customizations or enhancements to match the client’s requirements), and training. To determine the cost of development and implementation, a good rule of thumb is two-and-one-half to five times the cost of the software.
There are several factors that lead to a successful implementation of an XML-enabled publishing process:
System and process requirements need to align with your business goals. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the priorities and stick to them.
Planning the implementation sufficiently will avoid unexpected issues from cropping up that can impede progress and lead to higher costs than anticipated.
Thorough content analysis is critical. Make sure you understand the current format of the content and outputs required.
Determine what content must be converted from legacy systems and transformed to XML. Develop a conversion plan to ensure that you will meet the implementation schedule.
Adequate training with a period of ramp-up time is needed to allow employees to become familiar with the new system. Remember that users will work with the system and process on a daily basis, so make sure they understand the advantages of the new system to help them embrace the change.
The experience of knowledgeable vendors helps to make the implementation go more smoothly and efficiently. Those that have a background in the publishing industry and possess XML and data conversion experience will provide more qualified assistance.
Each case is system-specific and process-driven because each publisher produces different products that include a wide range of production requirements. However, based on ThomasTech’s experiences with projects that incorporate XML-enabled technology—and process reengineering, which is a critical part of any new system implementation—a publisher can expect to realize 25 to 40 percent savings in operational expenses and “soft” costs.
The following cases provide examples of how several publishers are realizing the benefits of XML-enabled workflow.
Elsevier, a leading publisher of scientific, medical, and technical information, wanted to streamline the publishing process for the ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists, which is a 12,000-page directory. Content is updated annually using a paper Questionnaire process in which 500,000 surveys are printed and mailed.
Elsevier had been using a mainframe database, from which two extracts were created. One for the questionnaire process, required for updating the directory content, and the second for the Directory production after questionnaire responses were processed. In addition, Elsevier handled the printing and mailing of the questionnaires. The responses were entered into the database—a huge keyboarding effort.
A mainframe composition process was used for pre-press, which was quick but not interactive. Therefore, all changes were made by re-composing the entire book and using manual cut and paste for the final “miscellaneous” modifications. Camera-ready pages were then mailed to the printer. The entire process was time consuming and costly.
Figure 3. Elsevier's traditional production process was labor-intensive, requiring a large keyboarding effort and multiple proofing phases.
ThomasTech and Elsevier determined that a media-neutral approach using XML would facilitate both the data collection and the Directory production processes, eliminating many of the manual steps previously used.
The new Questionnaire process includes the following:
Content is extracted from the production database and posted to the FTP site in a flat file format.
Content is downloaded and converted to XML
A program validates and parses the content to ensure accuracy and validity
The XML is formatted in the sequence required to automatically populate the Web-based questionnaires with the recipient’s content
An email template is populated and customized for each recipient, including a unique ID and password to access the Web-based questionnaire, which contains only that recipient’s content.
Questionnaires are populated with the recipients’ content for online updating
The recipient(s) log on to a staging server to update the content
Content can be accepted as is. Audit information is updated reflecting the recipient(s) reviewed and accepted content.
Updates can be made, which are saved to the staging server. Real time validation is performed and does not allow the user to exit the form until all data added or changed is valid.
Editorial personnel review updated records on an administration site prior to releasing back to the production database. Upon acceptance, audit information is updated to reflect the current workflow status.
Content is transmitted in XML from the staging server to the production server during nightly processing.
Responses to paper questionnaires submitted by recipients without email access are added by data entry personnel using the online system.
Then the Directory production process begins:
Content is converted to XML and validated for mandatory fields. An error report is generated
The XML is mapped for XPP so composition can be performed
PDF files are provided to the printer for the Directories
And CDs are created using a transformation program
In summary, the new process helps Elsevier accomplish the following goals:
Lower costs
Expedite delivery to multiple channels
Improve accuracy
Standardize content for reuse
Lebhar-Friedman, Inc., a leading publisher serving the retail and food industries, had several challenges to solve for its Chain Store Guide (CSG) division, which produces 19 directories. CSG’s objectives were the following:
Replace a proprietary composition system that was no longer being supported by its vendor.
Develop a JAVA application that would enable unique extract files to be easily created for syndication, which could not be handled by its current systems and processes.
CSG’s process had several problems:
The current database extract output tagged files that could only be used with the legacy (proprietary) composition system
The user interface for this system required knowledge of the database structure and SQL commands
Applications used for data extraction from the relational database were legacy (old) technology, and therefore, difficult to maintain
To ensure the accuracy of the content contained in the directories, extensive manual rework was required, which was cumbersome and costly
ThomasTech and CSG approached the project in phases, using an XML-based solution as the foundation, as illustrated below.
Figure 5. CSG's new XML workflow facilitates production of 19 directories from a central relational database.
First, a new XML-aware composition system was implemented and programs were developed to pass XML output to the composition system. A key aspect of this transition was to enable the publisher to maintain its existing publishing schedules and production processes. The database data dictionary and data elements were standardized. This facilitated XML tagging for portability—thus eliminating the proprietary tagging issue.
In the second phase, a Java application developed by ThomasTech was implemented, which enables users to request data extracts from the relational database. Now, the extract process dynamically builds content based on the individual directory requirements, automatically creating the XML and the schema. The output of the extract application is in XML, which is used as input to the XML composition system. The XML and Schema can also be sent to third parties and validation can be performed on the file, meeting CSG’s goal for syndication.
Once extracts are generated, they can be named in the Element Database (EDB), and then stored, selected, sequenced, and transmitted for syndication, or even used for statistical reporting. This saves time and effort, and ensures accuracy.
Houghton Mifflin, a leading educational publisher, needed to reduce costs and accelerate production time for one of its renowned reference publications. Houghton Mifflin had been using a traditional composition process.
ThomasTech worked closely with Houghton Mifflin to streamline and automate the production process with the introduction of a “hands-off” process. This process enables the publisher to provide, via FTP, XML content for round-trip galley composition, dramatically reducing the production time.
For the new round trip process, the workflow follows these steps:
The XML content is posted to the FTP site into a hot directory where a program detects the content has been posted and validates it against the DTD.
If an error occurs, an email is sent to Houghton Mifflin, the error condition resolved and new XML is provided via FTP.
If the content is clean, the XML is parsed and input to an XML composition system, which composes rough pages with illustrations in place, and converts the pages to PDFs. The PDFs are posted to the FTP site, e-mail notifications are sent, and the PDF’s are for review and approval.
Final PDFs are then sent to the printer.
By implementing an XML-enabled production process, publishers will benefit from improved content reusability, greater accuracy, and faster time-to-market. A media-neutral approach affords production efficiencies and new capabilities, resulting in reduced cost and additional opportunities to generate revenue from the publisher’s content assets.
Publishers considering this approach should take stock of current processes and associated costs, which will assist in developing the criteria for a new XML-enabled workflow. In addition, the success or failure of the new process largely hinges on a solid transition plan that clearly defines project goals, implementation and data conversion requirements, and includes adequate user training.
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