A number of participants at the recent STC Spectrum event here in Rochester were moving into XML-based content systems for the first time. I wrote to one of them recently on LinkedIn and described some of the common pitfalls I've run into in past projects. I thought it would be good to share this with a larger audience.

1. XML authoring is very different from writing content in Word, InDesign, unstructured Frame, or even Structured Frame. Writers are often irritated at being taken out of flow to figure out which tag they should use, or how to get around the clunky interfaces of most XML authoring tools such as XMetaL, Arbortext Editor, XML Spy or Oxygen. Initial productivity in writing activities is often much lower than in normal writing, but this effort pays off in translation, re-use and editing workflows downstream.
   
   Your writers will need training and support. The absolute best way to get their buy-in is to include them in the development of your system, especially when it comes to DTD or XML Schema development. It also helps if you make the clear business case for why the writers need to go through this pain.
   
   
2. First time systems are often over-built by the developers and locked down by IT. The driving idea seems to be that making the system rigid and inflexible will reduce one-off and ad hoc approaches to content. While this true and necessary, this approach need to be coupled with clear policies on how users are to deal with special situations. In other words, have a clear change management policy in place. It also helps if the end users are involved with design of the system up front. Let me know if I sound like a broken record on this issue.
   
   
3. The decision to go with XML is usually coupled with purchase of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software and hardware. The decision is made at relatively high levels in the organization. The investment and return are both substantial. However, most systems I've seen have been constructed with insufficient server and network infrastructure or supporting staff. One Fortune 100 company I worked for had a single administrator for their entire Documentum installation!