Re: creating a customization layer

["Bob Stayton" <bobs@sagehill.net>]

Hi Aaron,
Without knowing anything about your knowledge or experience, it would be 
impossible for someone else to estimate how long it would take you.  I can 
tell you what needs to be done, and you can estimate from there. When I do 
consulting, I break a project down into work items, such as the following:

1. Select the subset of DocBook that works with the roundtripping 
stylesheets and meets your needs.

2.  Develop design specifications for those elements for the Word and PDF 
outputs. Do you also need HTML or other outputs?

3.  Develop the Word template to those specs.

4.  If necessary, enhance the WordML-to-DocBook (and reverse) conversion 
stylesheets to meet your specs.

5.  Develop the FO customization layer to meet your specs.  Likewise for 
other output formats.

6.  Develop the validation and processing scripts, and assemble into a 
toolkit.

7.  Test and revise.

8.  Write documentation for the users and maintainers.

9.  Train the users and maintainers.

Perhaps others have suggestions for work items I have missed.

With the WordML solution, it is important to manage expectations.  Users 
won't be able to use all the features of Word, nor all the elements of 
DocBook. They will have to follow more rules than when using Word as a word 
processor.  Most of the rules can't be enforced (validated) in Word, and 
will only become enforcable when the DocBook files are validated.

Bob Stayton
Sagehill Enterprises
DocBook Consulting
bobs@sagehill.net


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Aaron Mehl - Israel
  To: docbook-apps@lists.oasis-open.org
  Cc: bobs@sagehill.net
  Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:43 AM
  Subject: creating a customization layer


  Hi all,



  I just convinced my company to gradually move to Docbook. They want to 
start off using roundtripping between wordml and Docbook.





  They asked me to find out how long it would take to implement the 
following





  1. Creating Docbook ready MS word templates (this involves changing names 
as well a other long overdue template fixes)



  2. Creating a customization layer to the style sheets to produce output 
like the word template





  How do I determine how long it could take to implement the above items?



  Most of the work I will need to do myself but there is the potential for 
funds to pay someone to help if needed.





  Any ideas on how long this should take?





  Thanks,

  Aaron





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