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Automation in technical writing with the content management system ST4 2018

Through two key innovations, Nuremberg-based software company SCHEMA is seeking to revolutionise the creation of automated workflows in technical writing with the 2018 version of its component content management system. The new Workflow Designer enables internal processes to be reproduced easily and pre-defined process steps from the new Workflow Automation Library can be conveniently added to these processes. ST4 2018 will be demonstrated at this year's annual tcworld conference and fair from 24th to 26th October in Stuttgart.

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The more complex a product, the more international the clientele and the stricter the legal requirements, the more challenging the creation of accompanying product information. To meet these requirements, a number of checks are required that in some cases must also be documented. As demands like these have a tendency to increase, modern technical writing departments are calling for more automation.

Up to now, automated procedures have either been programmed laboriously in-house or the programming has been commissioned as a one-off order. However, if the requirements on the workflows and processes in question change, these existing workflows then need to be reprogrammed – which is another laborious task. This is precisely why SCHEMA has developed ST4 2018 to give technical writers the tools they need to flexibly implement new requirements into existing automated procedures.

Thanks to the innovations in ST4 2018, technical writers can now create workflows themselves. These are initiated automatically and subsequently follow the pre-defined process steps without deviation. This means that once a document has been translated, production can be started automatically, or an email can be automatically sent to the head of department when a task has been completed.

It is very easy for technical writers to get to grips with creating automated workflows using the Workflow Designer and the Workflow Automation Library. The workflows are created in the form of process flowcharts and are automated in just a few clicks using the automated procedures in the Workflow Automation Library. Virtually all areas of the content management system can be accessed, triggered or changed.

At SCHEMA, automation continues to be a strategically important issue. Following the major innovation of the project configurator in ST4 2017, which automatically creates publications from intelligent content modules, two essential functions for automating authoring processes are now being introduced: the Workflow Designer and the Workflow Automation Library. These will enable companies to react quickly and flexibly to changes in requirements so that technical writers can focus on the essentials again: creating high-quality content.