From 0 to 30,000 Feet via DITA

Watched a TV show or movie in which characters travel the world in a Gulfstream? If so, you have seen a company elevate aviation to an art form. Sleek lines, luxurious cabins, and an ongoing pursuit of excellence are what we see onscreen. Behind the scenes, there is DITA. Flight manuals, operation manuals, handbooks, and other content is sourced from one set of materials. Gulfstream then publishes it to a PDF that is as functional, professional, and sharp-looking as the airplanes they support.

How Gulfstream is doing this, though, is another story. It includes highs and lows of discovery, challenge, and success from open communications between partners. The experience of delivering the best looking and the best functioning documentation in the industry means months of effort to create a push-button approach to create a finished digital PDF that provides a complete solution to online documentation for the cockpit.

This story is a continuing exploration of the boundaries of automation, compliance, design, and a desire to enhance the usability (and the reusability) of content from creation to the final delivery. See how it works and what DITA can do to change the way we fly.