| author | publisher | ID |
|---|---|---|
Larry Kollar |
Oje Media |
adoption |
Any person or group considering DITA or LwDITA understands the need for structured authoring. Beyond that immediate need, there are other factors to consider.
If one or more of the following are true for you, then LwDITA might be your best choice.
- Writers are too busy, or unwilling, to learn full-weight DITA or XML.
- The group already has a large body of documentation in Markdown or HTML.
- Your SMEs contribute topics, using Markdown, HTML, or both.
- Deliverables require HTML media support (audio/video).
- Budgets do not allow for training or a large-scale CMS.
- You want to convert your document base to XML, but need to get work done while it's happening.
On the other hand, if you have a large documentation department, and there is a general consensus, then full-weight DITA may be a better choice.
In any case, LwDITA works well in humanist systems—those where the writers can set up and maintain the system with minimal external help. Barriers to entry are low, since it supports non-XML formats and a complete open-source toolchain is adequate to get started. It requires far less training than a full-weight DITA solution, and writers can learn as needed.