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Subject: Request for Feedback: DITA Adoption SWOT "Weaknesses"


Greetings -

Thanks to the people who provided feedback on the "DITA Strengths" that we distributed for review three weeks ago. The Adoption TC (ATC) has rolled up the feedback and will fold it into the complete SWOT wiki page:
- https://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Adoption_SWOT_Analysis

The following list represents the current collection of SWOT "Weaknesses". These have been collected over the past several years, so some may be out-dated. If you believe that a "weakness" on this list should no longer be perceived as such, please provide details to that effect. 

We are hoping that we can get from reviewers paragraph-length descriptions. For example, here's a sample rewrite:

------------------
Original: Toolkit is just that - a toolkit, not an application

Rewrite: The DITA Open Toolkit is not a fully implemented, fully integrated application comparable to what writers can get with Madcap Flare or FrameMaker. Lack of a graphical interface and easy-to-configure options makes DITA-OT inaccessible to writers without a background in programming. 
------------------

Please respond with your feedback by Sunday, September 20. Again, thanks in advance.  

Stan

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

* Key requirements: DTD/Schema, Toolkit, Instruction manual, user mailing list, etc. - from as many as 8 separate sites

* Exclusive reliance on the Open Toolkit may limit the use of DITA in special environments

* No content editing tool nor CMS included in toolkit

* Toolkit documentation is very poor, and also fragmented between different sites

* DITA adoption can seem more like a paradigm shift, with a steep learning curve and a complex solution

* Lack of a DITA-compliant, open-source editor makes the bar to entry higher than it needs to be.  

* DITA adoption can appear to be a step backwards when migrating from the likes of Word or !FrameMaker

* Requires not inconsiderable customisation, in several XML disciplines: ANT, CSS, XSLT, XSL-FO

* There is a significant geek factor to DITA

* Confusion relating to DTD and Schema - why include both?

* Many TAs don't have required skills and/or may not have access to required skills

* DITA can be regarded as only being suitable for larger companies & corporates

* Primary focus on computing needs - h/w & s/w

* Specialization can be a red herring, especially in early stages of adoption

* The user experience with many content and map editors is awful and at best quirky

* DITA is perceived as very complex, only for XML specialists

* DITA is not seen by decision makers as a business solution, to business problems

* DITA is seen as something that only relates to tech.doc and/or technical authors

* DITA can produce static HTML files but cannot interface dynamically with web sites
  or web CMSs

* When DITA is introduced, the review cycles can become much more bumpy because reviewers use other (non-DITA, non-XML) tools

* DITA is seen by the enterprise as a tech.doc. "black box" solution, not as an enterprise- wide solution

* Confusion between DTD/Schema version numbering and Toolkit version numbering

* Updates to the standard happen very slowly

* Considerable lag time between an update to the standard and support for that update in the OT. Many users derive no benefit from an update to the standard until the OT supports it, and new elements and attributes that apparently "do nothing" are confusing.

* Perceived or real cost and complexity of migrating legacy content to DITA

* There is not much high-quality sample DITA content easily available. The samples that come with the toolkit are not great.

* Difficult to find well-explained worked examples

* Output using the Toolkit's default stylesheets Is Not Sexy.

* Interoperability requirements are not generally understood

* Paradigm shift for authors is considerable -- must have training in a new way of authoring

* Training required for technical support of the model and the output

* OASIS DITA offers no test suite for DITA compliance. Any tools vendor could claim<<BR>>DITA compliance without reference to any objective compliance criteria.

* Technical writers outside the DITA community share a perception that DITA is developed by elitists for elitists 

* Technical writers outside the DITA community share a perception that adopting DITA is often a precursor to writers and their groups getting outsourced or offshored
* There are few local users groups to support new adopters

* DITA integration with GIT is poorly documented

* DITA provides little direct control over the output formatting of individual pages, e.g.page breaks, table breaks.


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