When transitioning from a manual to an automated mode of production of technical manuals, you risk getting stuck in general procedures regarding the procurement of IT systems. Here are eight hands-on tips that will guide you in the move towards implementing an automated manual production system.

1. Complete system or toolbox? In some solutions, you will have to put together a CMS and all other components, such as a an editing module, a DTD, appropriate version control, a publishing solution... and this of course takes time. On top of this there will be a lot of work implementing the new system, getting all the tools in the toolbox to play nicely with each other, adapting the system to your needs, training end users, and so on. Stepping into a complete system with an integrated client, DTD, publishing solution, etc, is a more effective approach and enables a higher degree of automation.
2. Information structure. As a metaphor, think of your kitchen: the eggs are in the pack, that is in the refrigerator, in the kitchen. You rarely need to ask: "Now, where did I put the eggs?" A good information architecture is equally simple and intuitive, and must be completely adaptable.
3. Accessibility. Ideally, you should be able to reach any part of the information with a few mouse clicks. Clarity and control is imperative if you want to work with structuring the information and reuse of bits of it.
4. Consolidation of the entire organization's documentation management. If a number of local groups of writers are scattered across the world, you should also try to find a solution so that you can consolidate the entire operation to one or a few units.
5. Capacity. Some systems fragment the information into very small granules. If this fragmentation is not done in a systematic way, it can lead to serious capacity problems later.
6. Implementation time. When will the system be ready to go live? In a week, a month or six months? Somehow, many organizations have come to expect that implementing a production system has got to take a vast amount of time. That's not necessarily true any more.
7. The degree of automation is what's important, not the implementation process. What is important is not how the implementation process is done, but the kind of power you have in your hands when the system is in place.
8. Lower costs and higher levels of automation. Here you will find the biggest differences between the various systems. Some systems can be rolled out more or less unnoticed, without affecting the existing mode of operation. But if the point of automation is to introduce a much more rational approach, this could be a warning sign. It is only if the working method is changed, further developed and refined that the level of automation will reach its full potential. And, after all, unless the system offers substantial cost reductions, why invest in it?