People often request either an S1000D Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) or an S1000D Interactive Electronic Technical Publication (IETP). These terms, while seemingly similar, denote different concepts. An IETM is a technical manual, such as those for maintenance, user instructions, training, or operations, created digitally using an automated authoring system. This format is designed for electronic screen display to the end-user, optimising the presentation for screen comprehension with a frame-oriented rather than a page-oriented layout. It facilitates user access to required information through various pathways, utilising display devices like computers and laptops interactively to provide procedural guidance, navigation directions, and supplemental information. Screen presentations can draw from textual, graphical, audio, or video data stored in a relational database.
On the other hand, S1000D defines an IETP as a set of information needed for the description, operation, and maintenance of a product, optimally arranged and formatted for interactive screen presentation on an electronic display system. IETPs include conditional branching mechanisms based on user feedback, with parameters evaluated in real-time depending on context and specific user input.
In practice, the functionality of IETM systems is categorised into five classes, though these classes are more like points on a spectrum, with most real-world products falling between two classes. Class I systems resemble printed books with hyperlinks, typically a scanned book with added links. Class II includes more hyperlinks, such as figures, tables, and section references, often seen in hyperlinked PDFs authored in XML/SGML. Class III differs significantly, analogous to the difference between a PDF book and a website, discarding the book structure in favour of a logic-driven document structure, with extensive hyperlinking and authored in SGML.
Class IV systems store data in a relational database, benefiting from data integrity and redundancy removal, with dynamic content presentation based on user navigation and input. This class no longer adheres to a static page concept, and content may be user-specific. Class V integrates documentation with expert systems that influence content display, aggregating user input data and feeding it back to improve the user experience, similar to how Google search results improve over time.
The S1000D IETP builds on this functionality, with the S1000D Matrix outlining levels of complexity and advising that higher complexity levels in the S1000D IETP Viewing tool correspond to higher purchasing costs. This matrix can be found in Chapter 6.4 of version 2.3 of the Specification and Chapter 6.3.1 in versions 3 to 4.1.
Pennant International Group plc (LON:PEN) was established over 60 years ago and is a leading global provider of technology-based maintainer training and integrated product support solutions. The Group operates worldwide, with offices in Europe, North America and Australasia.
