Version control and change tracking play a crucial role in policies and procedures documentation when using DITA. These features ensure that policies remain up-to-date, accurate, and compliant with evolving standards and regulations over time.

Version Control

Version control in DITA allows government organizations to track and manage different iterations of policy documents. Each time a change is made to a policy or procedure, a new version is created, and the previous versions are archived. This version history is invaluable for auditing and compliance purposes. It provides a clear record of when changes were made, who made them, and what those changes were. This ensures transparency and accountability in the policy development and maintenance process.

Change Tracking

Change tracking, often integrated into DITA authoring tools, allows policy authors and reviewers to highlight and document specific changes within policy documents. It enables stakeholders to review and approve modifications efficiently. Change tracking features typically include annotations, comments, and visual markers for added, modified, or deleted content. This ensures that all parties involved are aware of alterations made during the review and revision process, and it simplifies the process of identifying and addressing comments and feedback.

Example:

Here’s an example of how version control and change tracking can be represented in DITA:

<policy id="data-security-policy">
  <title>Data Security Policy</title>
  <version-history>
    <version>
      <number>1.0</number>
      <date>2022-03-15</date>
      <author>Alice Johnson</author>
      <changes>
        <change type="addition">Added section on encryption.</change>
        <change type="modification">Updated user access guidelines.</change>
      </changes>
    </version>
    <version>
      <number>2.0</number>
      <date>2023-05-20</date>
      <author>Bob Smith</author>
      <changes>
        <change type="deletion">Removed outdated reference.</change>
        <change type="modification">Revised compliance checklist.</change>
      </changes>
    </version>
  </version-history>
  <content>...

In this example, the DITA policy includes a version history with details on different iterations of the policy and the changes made in each version. Change tracking allows a clear record of the modifications, which ensures accountability and transparency in the policy documentation process.