DITA Adoption SWOT Analysis

[David J. B. Hollis <dhollis@AandOConsultancy.ltd.uk>]

Modified following comments from today's meeting, and comments from  
Troy. I hope I've done justice to everyone!

Any other comments gratefully received.

Many thanks,
David


Strengths

Significant body of research from MIT, IBM et. al. over many years  
resulted in DITA
Minimalist, single source, reusable publishing workflow for structured  
content
Separation of structure, content and presentation
DITA Open Source Standard adopted by OASIS
Continued support to open source community from IBM - structure & tool- 
kit
Both DTD and Schema are offered
Specialisation built in
Flexibility of model - can build all kinds of documentation systems
DITA Maturity Model - start off simple, expand as needed
Adopted by many corporations, many of which also support community
DITA resources abound! Cf. Brenda's & Kristen's recent resource lists.
OASIS TC work in support of translations/localisations & broader  
business content semantics, e.g. XLIFF
Expansion into learning and training, & other industry specific  
initiatives
Supported by open source tools, tool vendors & consultants
Protection from vendor lock-in


Weaknesses

Key requirements: DTD/Schema, Toolkit, Instruction manual, user  
mailing list, etc. - from as many as 8 separate sites
Toolkit is just that - a toolkit, not an application
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
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
Specialisation 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


Opportunities

For OASIS to become a true focal point for DITA adoption
Simplify 'adoption hurdle', especially w.r.t toolkit
Make the toolkit more 'off the shelf' & easily customisable
Improve the documentation package
Develop best practice guidelines
Identify a one-stop DITA solution for small companies
Build a universal semantic ecosystem
Encourage tool vendors to improve support
Fully explain the philosophy and key business benefits of DITA, with  
cost saving analyses
Additional cost savings for translation/localisation
Career opportunities for TAs and others with DITA experience


Threats

Minimalist, single source, reusable publishing workflows for  
unstructured & semi-structured content can include an editor and a CMS  
and offer a more complete package, e.g. Author-it and others
Very few legacy content sets support structured documentation - risk  
of 'pouring old wine into new wine-skins'
Commercial interests from tool vendors can lead to semi-proprietary  
solutions and potential vendor lock-in
DITA support from some tools is very poor indeed, even some of the key  
authoring tools, e.g. FrameMaker
Tool dependence for the sake of simplifying DITA can lead to vendor  
lock-in
Commercial interests from consultants can lead to confusion from  
plethora of web sites