Documentation/Dashboard/CMS Evaluation
From Apache OpenOffice Wiki
CMS Evaluation for Multilingual Documentation Maintenance
This page is intended to collect and discuss requirements, processes, and tools to implement a content management framework that allows maintenance of multilingual documentation. The goal is to find a way to intelligently create, update, localize, and publish documentation in multiple languages. We are in agreement, that the current Mediawiki-based solution, while having unbeatably low barrier to contribution, lacks basic content management functions required to maintain documentation in multiple languages, and publish documentation that went through review and quality assurance cycles.
Requirements
Enter requirements that a content management framework should meet. Think problem, not solution.
Requirement | Priority | Notes |
---|---|---|
Usability: easy of use and unambiguousness for end users
|
Highest ;-) | if the intended target audience for the tool is the end user (if not, cancel this req!) |
Easy translation process: with one mouseclick to template for translation The translation is reached by a flag-language-changer. |
Very high | |
Different documentation formats: Different mimetypes are allowed to up- and download. ODF-Files and PDF-Files are displayed inside the framework without converting. |
Very high ;-) | See and read online, what you could get :-) |
Workflow management: Different areas of documentation types: from lower proof of quality to high proof (with workflow). Management of rights for every object inside the framework (directory, file etc.) |
Very high ;-) | Like in OOoAuthors we also need documentation with high quality ;-) |
Not finished documents unpublished: Documentation, which are in work and not finished could hold status private. | high | Work could be saved on the server (also it is not fished and ready for publishing) |
Dynamic navigation bar: A dynamic and quick to use navigation bar to navigate in the structure. Easy change to another language (with language changer / flag) | high | |
Different skins /views for anonymous visitors and contributors: An anonymous visitor needs only displayed content. A contributor needs a framework with tools (for editing etc.) | high | |
Modularity: Being able to aggregate content modules in different documentation types | high | |
Automatic output to PDF/ODF: for post-processing, for example hardcopy publishing, bundling | medium | |
API for automated content processing: for implementing bot-based changes, accessing content from outside and feed them into other (publication) processes | medium | |
Extensible: for being able to extend the framework with additional functionality (for example, thru plugin technology) | medium | |
Controlled access: Making sure that access rights can be controlled. Users must agree to Terms of Use and sign Contributor Agreement. | high |
Tools to Evaluate
Tool | Description/URL | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|---|
Plone | CMS built on top of Zope, e.g. http://www.oooauthors.org, http://www.plone.org | very low entry threshold; dynamic navigation; tools for editing like wordprocessor; multilingual support right out of the box; external editor posible; many extensions (products) available; ODF files support (also preview inside the cms) |
Too easy to install and configure; too safe ;-) |
Mediawiki with Extensions | supposed lowest entry threshold; best suited for setting up a "quick and dirty pilot environment" (e.g. for trying out workflows) |
not well suited to implement specific behavior (e.g. automatized workflows) | |
Drupal | Very popular CMS: http://drupal.org/ | Rich in multilingual and translation support Very widely used, so familiar to users |