How are links to related topics and content validated and tested for relevance and usefulness in DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Validating and testing links to related topics and content in DITA is a critical part of ensuring that your documentation remains relevant and useful. The process involves several strategies to confirm that these links provide accurate, up-to-date, and contextually relevant information to your readers.

Manual Review

A manual review process is essential for validating links in DITA. Reviewers, who are often subject matter experts, go through the content and follow the links to related topics. They assess whether the linked information is current and coherent with the current topic. If discrepancies or inaccuracies are found, adjustments are made to the linked content or the links themselves to ensure relevance and usefulness.

Automated Link Checking

Automated tools and scripts can be used to check links within DITA content. These tools scan the documentation for broken or outdated links. When a link is identified as broken or pointing to obsolete content, it can trigger notifications for content owners or administrators to address the issue. Automated checks help maintain link accuracy and relevance by catching problems early.

User Feedback and Analytics

User feedback and analytics can provide valuable insights into the relevance and usefulness of linked content. Tracking user behavior and collecting feedback on whether the linked topics meet their needs can guide improvements. It allows content creators to adjust and refine links based on actual usage and reader preferences, ensuring that the documentation remains valuable to its audience.

Example:

Here’s an example of how to use DITA elements for linking to related topics, and how these links can be validated and tested for relevance:


<topic id="troubleshooting">
  <title>Troubleshooting Guide</title>
  <body>
    <p>If you encounter issues, refer to the <xref href="related_topics/network_issues.dita"/> for network problems or the <xref href="related_topics/software_errors.dita"/> for software errors.</p>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, the <xref> element is used to link to related topics. Reviewers can manually follow these links, automated tools can check for broken links, and user feedback can help gauge the relevance and usefulness of the linked content.