Integrated Standardization Method: Funktionsdesign® Edition for SCHEMA ST4 DocuManager
Technical editing becomes efficient when structural and editorial know-how and the content management solution are integrated harmoniously. SCHEMA has developed with the the management consultants SCHMELING + CONSULTANTS a Funktionsdesign® consulting package especially tailored to SCHEMA ST4, including a standard style guide for working with SCHEMA ST4.
Funktionsdesign® is an established standardization method for technical documentation used successfully in many companies since the mid-1990s. Funktionsdesign® is a systematic process to develop company-specific documentation standards as well as an authoring technique that enables editors to plan and implement complex documents efficiently.
Under the guidance of the Funktionsdesign® method and using their extensive experience, Funktionsdesign® consultants discuss editorial processes and information needs with the editorial staff from the point of view of the user and producer in keeping with legal and product-specific requirements.
The development team analyzes and classifies the necessary information products – dependent on target audience, product and text type – as the basis for modular creation and reuse. Based on best practice, consultants and editors define the necessary sequence patterns, functional units and tags for standardized and structured text creation.
In this manner, a precisely tailored, company-specific documentation standard is created: a style guide according to Funktionsdesign®. The style guide supports authors with standardized processes to create clear, complete, economic and consistent information products. It is integraded in SCHEMA ST4 DocuManager and therefore available online. Funktionsdesign® supplies clear rules; the standard provides a sense of security, ensures the defined quality is adhered to and that documents are suitable for economical translation.
further information
Funktionsdesign® was developed by professors Robert Schäflein-Armbruster and Jürgen Muthig and is based on speech act theory. It influences logical and didactic structures, as well as syntax and style of the information products created. The user can see at a glance which function (e.g. prerequisite, action, result) contains text. The integrated, functional use of design, typography, layout and images ensures that the visual design of information products is consistent.
SCHEMA ST4 is based on the concept of modularization and structured creation of content. All four levels of Funktionsdesign® − "information products," "sequence patterns," "functional unit," and "tag" − can be displayed and stored in SCHEMA ST4, allowing for the efficient implementation of Funktionsdesign®.
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