DITA and Information Mapping
DITA and Information Mapping use similar terminology and concepts, but do not necessarily mean the same thing. This examines the differences and similarities between the two.
DITA based on Mapping
DITA based some of its concepts on work done by Robert E. Horn on Information
Mapping, in particular the concept of information types:
Information typing is part of the general authoring approach called structured
writing, which is used across the technical authoring industry to improve information
quality. It is based on extensive research and experience, including Robert
Horn's Information Mapping, and Hughes Aircraft's STOP (Sequential Thematic
Organization of Proposals).
Source
OASIS DITA Architectural Specification v1.0 -- 09 May 2005
Copyright (c) OASIS Open 2005. All Rights Reserved.
http://docs.oasis-open.org/dita/v1.0/archspec/infotypes.html
DITA and Mapping
This table compares DITA and Information Mapping.
| Item | DITA | Information Mapping | Comment | |
Content Management |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premise | An open standard for information organization and architecture | A complete, proprietary methodology for analyzing, organizing, and
presenting information |
Missing from DITA:
- audience and information analysis - information presentation - research-based cognitive principles |
|
| Content Life Cycle | None | Complete model of the writing process and document life cycle | ||
| Writing Process |
|
P & K (Procedure & Knowledge) approach:
|
Very similar | |
| Content Organization |
|
|
Very similar There is a perception that Mapping is paper-based because content is created in Word, rather than in an XML authoring tool. |
|
| Subject Matter | Designed to structure technical content, specifically related to product use and is therefore task-based. | Supports any technical content but also less-technical and more business-oriented content | DITA defines technical content as task-based Mapping incorporates a broader definition |
|
| Organization and Presentation Principles | None |
|
Mapping's principles precisely define how the information must be organized
based on cognitive principles. There is nothing like this in DITA. |
|
Information Types |
||||
| Information Types | 3 types:
|
|
DITA types are more loosely defined than Mapping's very specific types. | |
| Task Information Type | Answers the question "How do I do it?" | Answers the question "How do I do it?" | Very similar, but Mapping defines Procedure more precisely than DITA | |
| Concept Information Type | Answers the question "What is?" and provides any information readers need to know to perform a task | Provides definitions of terms | DITA's concept is much looser and includes the following Mapping information types: ProcessStructureFactPrinciple | |
| Reference Information Type | Content that focuses on properties and relationships among a number of similar items to record and present (often in a tabular format) reference (as contrasted with narrative) information. The information is presented to users in a way that facilitates quick lookup. | There is no parallel information type but rather a series of presentation modes for quick reference to any and all information types | DITA's Reference can include the following Mapping information types: - Fact - Structure - Procedure Decisions |
|
| Specialization | Supports specialization allowing the creation of new information sub-types
|
No standards for specialization since most information falls within the 6 information types, but support for case-by-case specialization | ||
Units of Information |
||||
| Units of Information | The two primary, modular topic-oriented units of DITA documents are
|
The two primary, modular reader-oriented units of Mapped documents
are
|
||
| Topics and Blocks | Topics: a unit of information with a title and content, short enough to be specific to a single subject or answer a single question, but long enough to make sense on its own and be authored as a unit, and can nest other topics. | Blocks: a unit of information that addresses one idea and conforms to specifically defined principles around the size and organization of the information | DITA's topics are more loosely defined than Mapping’s Blocks and can contain many subtopics, called "Section" in DITA. | |
| Maps | Maps: documents that collect and organize references to DITA topics to indicate the relationships among the topics. They can also serve as outlines or tables of contents for DITA deliverables and as build manifests for DITA projects. Like topics, DITA maps can nest other DITA maps. | Maps: a unit of information that addresses one topic and is made up of a series of related Blocks. | DITA maps define the structure of the document. Information Maps are another unit of information within a hierarchy of units that comprise a document. |
|
| Block Elements | Each information type has both required and optional Block elements that indicate the type and structure of the information. | Each information type has a set of prescribed presentation modes that reflect the type and meaning of the information. | Some DITA elements for Task are comparable to Mapping's presentation modes for Procedure, but the elements for Concept and Reference do not relate to the presentation modes for the other information types in Information Mapping. | |
XML |
||||
| Information Model (Schema/DTD) | Incomplete
by design so it can be extended through specialization:
|
MOM (Mapping Object Model), a single, all-in-one Mapping XML standard. | ||
| Toolkit | DITA Open Source Toolkit contains many tools and style sheets. | Information Mapping provides several proprietary tools for those trained in the method. | ||
| XML Tagging | Specific elements in DITA documents are tagged to indicate the structure of the document and information type, some mandatory, others optional. | Mapping's FS Pro software tags document elements but does not differentiate among the elements as DITA does. | ||
Conclusion
Both DITA and Information Mapping are designed to develop content that is modular in structure and easy to create, maintain, use, and re-use.
DITA was developed to take advantage of new technologies, particularly XML. Its document-design principles are represented as a collection of XML DTDs and other supporting files.
Information Mapping was developed long before such technologies were imagined but has seen those technologies catch up with the methodology, as its principles apply perfectly to Web sites and content management systems.
DITA is a generalized framework for developing modular, XML content objects.
Information Mapping is a complete methodology with a set of principles and tools for the creation of modular content.
Information Mapped documents can comply with DITA standards.
