How does DITA support the creation of security and compliance documentation for IT systems?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

DITA offers robust support for the creation of security and compliance documentation for IT systems. Security and compliance are critical aspects of IT, and DITA’s structured content approach helps organizations efficiently manage and communicate their security and compliance requirements. Here’s how DITA facilitates the development of such documentation:

DITA allows IT organizations to define specialized document types and elements for security and compliance documentation. These specialized elements can include sections for documenting security policies, procedures, best practices, compliance standards (e.g., ISO 27001), and more. By creating structured templates for these elements, organizations can ensure consistency and clarity in their security and compliance documentation. For example, specialized DITA elements can be used to describe security controls, their implementation, and compliance assessments.

Example:

Here is an example of how DITA can be used to structure security and compliance documentation for an IT system:


<!-- Security and Compliance Documentation -->
<topic id="security-compliance-doc" spec-type="Security-Compliance-Spec">
  <title>Security and Compliance Documentation</title>
  <shortdesc>This document outlines the security and compliance requirements for IT system X.</shortdesc>
  <body>
    <section id="policies">
      <title>Security Policies</title>
      <p>This section details the security policies governing IT system X.</p>
    </section>
    <section id="controls">
      <title>Security Controls</title>
      <p>Here are the security controls in place to protect IT system X.</p>
    </section>
    <section id="compliance">
      <title>Compliance Standards</title>
      <p>This section describes the compliance standards followed by IT system X, such as ISO 27001.</p>
    </section>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, the Security and Compliance Documentation topic provides a structured framework for detailing security and compliance requirements for an IT system, ensuring that these crucial aspects are well-documented and communicated within the organization.