I'm one of more than 70 contributors to Women in Technical Communication, an anthology edited by Sharon Burton that brings together first-person accounts from the women who built this field. The book spans fifty years of industry change, told by the people who lived it. My essay covers how I got into technical writing, what the workplace actually looked like for women in the early 1990s, and the path that led me to information architecture and DITA consulting.

Most AI case studies are theoretical. This one isn't. DITA Strategies shares their real experience integrating generative AI into content work — including the missteps — along with a practical checklist to help you start your own initiative.

The Content Strategist is the role that keeps a DITA implementation aligned with business goals — but it's often the least well-defined. Amber Swope's sample job description gives you a clear template for the role.

Most DITA implementations fail to involve an information architect early enough — or at all. Amber Swope explains the two distinct flavors of IA your implementation needs, and why the role should never be left until the end.

Your content already contains data and metadata — most teams just don't know where to find it. This implementation checklist and resource guide from Amber Swope walks you through how to surface, assess, and put that metadata to work.

Content strategists and information architects are often confused for the same role — but they're not. Amber Swope and Chris Hibbard walk through how the two disciplines work in tandem across each phase of a project, from defining success to sustaining the solution.

Every DITA implementation reaches a point where the team has to decide: do we figure this out ourselves, or do we bring in an expert? Amber Swope breaks down exactly which tasks require outside expertise and which don't — so you don't pay twice for the same work.

Not every organization needs the same level of DITA investment — but how do you know where you fall? The DITA Maturity Model by Amber Swope and Michael Priestley gives you a framework for aligning your investment in IA, technology, and process with the specific results you're trying to achieve.