How are review comments and feedback managed within DITA for government content?

In government content collaboration using DITA, managing review comments and feedback is crucial for maintaining the quality and accuracy of the documentation. DITA provides mechanisms to streamline this process and ensure that valuable input from stakeholders is considered. Here’s how review comments and feedback are managed within DITA:

Review Tags

Review tags are a common way to manage feedback and comments in DITA XML. When content requires review, specific tags can be added to indicate the status of the content. For instance, “” tags may enclose areas of content that need attention. These tags can include attributes like the reviewer’s name, date, and the nature of the comment. This approach ensures that feedback is explicitly associated with the content in question.

Feedback Workflow

In government content workflows, DITA helps establish a structured feedback workflow. Stakeholders, such as subject matter experts and content developers, can use DITA-aware tools to insert and manage review comments. Once these comments are addressed, the status of the content can be updated to reflect the changes. DITA’s extensible architecture allows for customization of these workflows to align with government standards and policies.

Example:

Here’s an example of how review comments are managed within DITA:


<topic id="government-policy">
  <title>Government Policy</title>
  <content>
    <p>This is a government policy document.</p>
    <review-comment reviewer="Alice" date="2023-11-08">Update statistics.</review-comment>
    <review-comment reviewer="Bob" date="2023-11-10">Clarify section on penalties.</review-comment>
  </content>

In this example, a DITA topic represents a government policy, and it includes review comments enclosed within “” tags. The comments specify the reviewers and the requested changes, facilitating a structured approach to incorporating feedback and ensuring content quality.