Basics and Implementation of Document Automation in the Image Processing Industry

¹ JENOPTIK Robot GmbH, 40789, Monheim, Germany
² Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Information Management and Media, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany

^{1 *} Email: dirk.quilitzsch@jenoptik.com
^{2 *} Email: wolfgang.ziegler@h-ka.de

Abstract

With the introduction of a Component Content Management System (CCMS), companies combine the expectation of creating efficient and effective customer-specific documentation in the face of increasing product variance due to individual customer requirements. In addition, the documentation should meet both quality requirements and increasing cost pressure. In order to meet these expectations and utilize all the possibilities of the system, fundamental considerations must be made as part of a system introduction or optimization of an existing system. These considerations include a viable metadata concept and a modularization concept suitable for the product portfolio. When developing a modularization concept, a suitable module structure as well as an appropriate module size should be determined. To maximize reuse, the content should also be standardized at the linguistic level. The metadata concept we consider is based on a PI classification and is the basis for controlled reuse and automation of the documentation creation process. We will show that, especially in larger editorial teams, collaborative work on a product portfolio crucially depends on the standardization of content creation as well as on content classification. It ensures, for example, that modules valid for a given product can be easily searched, found, and reused. It also counteracts increasing module variance caused by a common lack of specification in content creation without CCMS. The effort required for the aforementioned concepts and their implementation in everyday editorial work initially appears considerable, but subsequently leads to significant savings in regulated work processes, translation costs, document creation, as well as in the quality of the entire editorial process. Our considerations and findings refer to practical examples from the image processing industry and the corresponding implementation of content and processes in a CCMS.