What is the role of conditional processing in content delivery for different aerospace audiences?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Conditional processing is a crucial element in delivering content to different aerospace audiences effectively. It allows you to tailor the content based on specific conditions or audience characteristics, ensuring that the information is relevant and useful to each group. Here’s an overview of the role of conditional processing in content delivery for different aerospace audiences:

Personalization for Diverse Audiences

One of the primary roles of conditional processing in aerospace documentation is personalization. Aerospace audiences can be diverse, including engineers, technicians, pilots, and more. Each group has its own set of needs and requirements. Conditional processing enables you to create variations of content that cater to these different audiences. For example, you can provide detailed technical specifications for engineers while offering simplified, user-friendly instructions for technicians or pilots.

Compliance and Regulations

Aerospace documentation often needs to comply with strict regulations and standards. Conditional processing allows you to include or exclude content based on the specific compliance requirements of different regions or governing bodies. This ensures that the documentation remains compliant with the latest regulations, reducing the risk of errors or non-compliance.

Example:

Here’s an example of how conditional processing can be implemented in DITA XML for aerospace documentation:


<topic id="maintenance_procedures">
  <title>Maintenance Procedures</title>
  <body>
    <section conkeyref="audience-engineer">
      <title>Engineer Instructions</title>
      <p>These instructions provide in-depth technical details for engineers.</p>
    </section>
    <section conkeyref="audience-technician">
      <title>Technician Instructions</title>
      <p>Technicians can follow these simplified instructions for maintenance tasks.</p>
    </section>
    <section conkeyref="compliance-europe">
      <title>Compliance for Europe</title>
      <p>This section includes content specific to European compliance standards.</p>
    </section>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, conditional processing using conkeyref attributes is used to deliver personalized content for engineers, technicians, and compliance requirements in Europe. The content adapts based on the specific conditions defined, ensuring that the right information reaches the right audience.