What is structured content authoring? The complete guide to get started fast

All content begins with an idea or concept. The concept is usually articulated through words, which are assembled into sentences and combined into larger blocks of text according to a set of formal or informal rules. Take an email, for example: it typically has a subject line, a salutation, a body, a closing phrase and a signature. Content rules like this help readers understand what kind of content they are consuming and process it more easily, and they help writers create and structure content faster and more accurately.

While these elements are expected in an email, their use is not enforced. But sometimes content requires far more rigorous structuring and must adhere to an extensive set of formal rules. This is the case for in-depth technical content. Common forms of technical content include standardized documents such as user manuals, instructions for use (IFUs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) – documents that provide step-by-step instructions on using a product or performing a procedure, and therefore need to be concise and easy to read. Technical writers also face the challenge of ensuring that the information is accurate, up to date and complete, so that the reader can follow the instructions and complete their tasks successfully. So, to streamline the creation and management of technical knowledge, writers have developed a technique called structured content authoring (SCA).

What is structured content authoring?

Structured content authoring, or simply structured authoring, is a method of content development in which writers divide content up into small chunks called ‘components’ and separate it from its visual presentation and formatting, which are applied at the publishing stage. Also known as technical writing, SCA enables the effective creation and management of complex information in a clear and concise manner.

How does structured authoring work?

Unlike standard word processing, in which content is stored and managed as entire documents, SCA stores and manages content as smaller components. A component could be a phrase, paragraph, series of paragraphs, image, video, table, or any other piece of content. Documents and other deliverables are created by assembling components into a whole (often called a ‘publication’) – they don’t exist as a single file until they’re published. This way, components can be used in multiple publications without being duplicated.

The content is ‘structured’ because it’s organized in a predictable way – defined by a set of rules called a schema or content model – and typically also enriched with descriptive information called metadata.

Structured content schemas specify relationships between content components (also known as modules, atoms, topics or fragments). As such, the creation of structured content requires an authoring tool built to handle content components and their relationships. XML – a markup language similar to HTML – is a common format for storing and sharing structured content, but other formats also exist. Most of these are open (non-proprietary), making information accessible to any application or channel, readable by both humans and machines.‘’.

Example XML schema

(Check out our blog on structured content for more details, including how structured content is created, how it differs from unstructured content, and what XML is.)

Why does structured content authoring matter?

Many industries face increasing demands to produce complex content faster. This pressure is often heightened by the large number of people involved in creating various types of critical business content. Such content often requires regulatory approval and must adhere to specific standards. Additionally, content that evolves over time – sometimes even over decades – must always be accurate and current. And even after it is no longer in use, it may need to be retained for years with a comprehensive version history.

With structured authoring, organizations can deliver accurate content quickly. The componentized approach makes the writing and review of business-critical and regulated content less laborious, repetitive and vulnerable to error.

The problem with standard word-processing tools

Standard word-processing tools are unsuitable for the creation and management of such content. First of all, documents are monolithic. It’s impossible to reuse parts of a document without duplicating them, which complicates updates and allows errors to creep in, negatively affecting compliance and safety.

Another issue is that formatting and visual presentation are tightly coupled with the content in word-processing tools. The styles of a document (Heading 1, Heading 2, Body text, etc.) implicitly represent its structure, or, in other words, structure is understood from the formatting. The structure is not enforced, however, relying on the discipline of the authors to follow it, and on the reader to interpret it correctly.

Using word-processing tools for technical content also hinders effective collaboration between writers and in-house and external contributors. Concurrent authoring and reviewing is often impossible or unstable, without granular control over content access, and the review and approval process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming. Maintaining a reliable audit trail of a document’s history is impractical, leaving it up to contributors to remember and apply regulatory compliance requirements.

5 key challenges of using word processors

What tools are used to author structured content?

There are two types of authoring environments that writers can use to create structured content:

• A pure XML editor: a technical authoring environment where the writer creates content in XML format – a markup language similar to HTML – which requires extensive training.
• A user-friendly structured content authoring tool: an environment where users can create, edit and review content just as they would in a word processor. The underlying XML code is hidden, but the tool still enforces the right content structure.

What are the benefits of structured authoring?

• Content reuse
  • Create once, publish everywhere (COPE): create a content component only once (create a single source of truth), approve it and reuse it whenever necessary.
  • Automate content reuse: eliminate copying and pasting and create workflows that will help you automatically propagate updates throughout the content whenever you make a change to the single source of truth.
  • Create content variations: produce content that is tailored to various markets, languages and regions and that can be dynamically used to create personalized content experiences, through a mechanism called ‘conditional content’.
• Content collaboration
  • Enable concurrent authoring and reviewing: allow multiple reviewers to provide feedback on the same content simultaneously, while the author maintains control over the final content and can integrate comments at their discretion. 
  • Create team workflows: centralize enterprise-wide structured collaboration workflows with in-context revision proposals, comments and replies, and visibility on different resolution types and status changes.
  • Get quick access to individual content components: share links that take the recipient directly to the component they need to view or edit, even in very large documents.
• Content governance
  • Validate documentation structure: use content templates to ensure your output (such as regulatory files) is complete and contains the most up-to-date information.
  • Ensure complete audit trails: enable granular control and access rights to get a detailed view of who has made changes to each document or component and when.
  • Define and update a single source of truth: update the component only once – at the source – and see it trickle down to every instance where the component was used, reducing content maintenance efforts.

Who needs structured content authoring?

• Regulated industries
  • Financial services organizations can use SCA to meet the quality and accuracy expectations of both regulators and consumers, while simplifying the creation of factsheets, prospectuses, reports, key information documents (KIDs) and other regulated content.
  • Medical device manufacturers can use SCA to create and maintain medical technical documentation that is accurate, complete, traceable and compliant from the first authoring steps up to the submission phase.
• High-tech companies
  • Software development and hardware manufacturers can switch to a structured content approach for developing and maintaining technical documentation, user guides and API documentation, as well as facilitating cross-departmental knowledge management.
  • IoT (internet of things) and AIoT (artificial intelligence of things) innovators facilitate human-to-machine and machine-to-machine communication through structured content.
• Manufacturing organizations
  • Producers of complex equipment can adopt a high-tech approach to digital manuals tuned to their product’s specific configuration, while publishing to outputs such as IoT-enabled devices, customer portals, mobile devices, AR/VR, etc.
  • They can also benefit from in-time availability of technical product information, knowledge base content and up-to-date content for repair and maintenance procedures to prevent downtime and improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

What should you look for in a structured content authoring tool?

Are you looking for a structured content authoring solution?