Roche Diagnostics

An ECM system was introduced at Roche Diagnostics GmbH in Mannheim. The extensive volume of data in PageMaker had to be converted to XML in accordance with DTD.

The automation of data conversion places high demands on the structural and content-related consistency of the original data. Only with consistent and thorough formatting prior to conversion, can structural components of formats be classified in the DTD. However, clean formatting is no guarantee for seemless conversion. There is often a 1:n relationship between assigned formats and structured components which prevents simple classification of formats.

In order to convert to XML, it may be necessary to refer to the content. For example, the tag can be closed only with the paragraph format combination "Heading level 1" plus contents "Introduction". In contrast to genuine expert systems for content categorization, "use in a way in which it was not intended to be used" represents an economical alternative to translation memory systems. Based on less effective search methods, docConsult has developed a methodology which lowers conversion expenditure substantially.

"We had to convert our PageMaker files with longer versions, and consequently inconsistent and partly missing formats, to XML. docConsult developed an efficient concept for the task and skillfully integrated the existing technology."
Alois Jochum, Team Leader Technical Documentation, Roche Diagnostics GmbH