How are localized versions of agricultural documentation validated and quality-assured using DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Validating and quality-assuring localized versions of agricultural documentation using DITA XML involves a systematic approach to ensure linguistic accuracy, consistency, and adherence to industry standards. Here’s how DITA supports this critical process:

Terminology Consistency

DITA XML allows agricultural organizations to maintain consistency in terminology across localized documents. By centralizing terminology management, organizations can create terminology databases that contain approved translations of key terms. Translators can then reference these databases, ensuring that technical terms are consistently translated in all localized versions. This consistency not only enhances the quality of content but also improves user understanding and safety.

Quality Assurance Review

DITA facilitates quality assurance (QA) reviews for localized content by providing clear structures and metadata. QA teams can conduct thorough reviews of the localized documents against the source DITA content. Metadata such as last-reviewed dates and reviewed-by information help track the progress of reviews. This structured approach ensures that each localized version undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process, resulting in high-quality agricultural documentation.

Example:

Here’s an example showcasing how DITA XML supports terminology consistency and quality assurance in agricultural documentation:


<topic id="crop-harvesting">
  <title>Crop Harvesting</title>
  <body>
    <p>Proper crop harvesting is essential for a successful yield.</p>
    <term id="crop-harvesting">Crop Harvesting</term>
    <term id="successful-yield">Successful Yield</term>
  </body>
  <metadata>
    <last-reviewed>2023-11-05</last-reviewed>
    <reviewed-by>Maria Sanchez</reviewed-by>
  </metadata>

In this example, DITA XML includes terminology management using <term> elements and metadata with last-reviewed and reviewed-by information, demonstrating how DITA supports terminology consistency and quality assurance in agricultural documentation.