Globally Recognized University of Applied Sciences Uses MadCap Flare to Teach Online Documentation Best Practices

LA JOLLA, CA, October 27, 2010 (Press-News.org) MadCap Software, Inc. (http://www.madcapsoftware.com), the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced that Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA) is using MadCap Flare. MadCap's flagship authoring software has enabled students of HsKA's online documentation class to put leading approaches in online content development into practice.

"We place a priority on providing our students the best software tools available, so they have the ability to take the concepts they learn in class and produce modern online documentation," said Professor Sissi Closs, who leads the course at HsKA. "Flare was a natural choice for teaching the class with its state-of-the-art architecture and modern user friendly interface."

Based in Karlsruhe, Germany, HsKA offers an extensive range of study programs in the engineering, computer science, and business fields, which combine an academic education with the requirements of industry. Among its curricula is a class on best practices in authoring and publishing online technical documentation. In 2009, Professor Closs sought to provide a new authoring tool that would more readily support the modern techniques of online documentation.

"The new standard for online documentation is the use of XML for structured content," says Professor Closs. "We believe that Flare is an important tool because it is based on XML, and its topic-based approach to authoring supports the concepts behind structured content. Equally important is the Flare user interface, which is intuitive and provides a very modern Web documentation experience."

The introductory online documentation class held in the Winter 2009-2010 semester was the first to use Flare. The 44 students began by learning key theories, including XML, structure, and content versus layout. They then applied the concepts to online documentation projects using Flare.

The intuitive interface meant there was only a very small learning curve, Professor Closs, noted: "Flare allowed my students to begin practicing the documentation concepts they learned from day one. I only needed to show them the first few clicks of what to do, and then they quickly began using Flare on their own."

Although the introductory-level class did not include translation exercises, Professor Closs observed that Flare's support for XML and Unicode would be very important in a real business environment where translation of products is common. She added that it is useful for her students to understand that they can take advantage of Flare's flexibility and support for open standards to integrate Flare with other tools to help and streamline the translation process.

"We have been very happy with Flare," Professor Closs adds. "When I teach this course again in winter, I look forward to using Flare again."

"Just as HsKA is staking a leadership role in scientific research and education, it is also at the forefront in promoting state-of-the-art technical communications," said Anthony Olivier, MadCap co-founder and CEO. "We are honored by the role that our leading-edge Flare software is playing in enabling HsKA students to apply content development practices to the next generation of online documentation."

Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA)
HsKA is the largest university of applied sciences in the German federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg. It offers an extensive range of study programs in the engineering, computer science, and business fields. HsKA's primary mandate is to narrow the gap between the theoretical world of lectures and the practical world of the workplace. Degree programs at the university are therefore specifically designed to combine an academic education with the requirements of industry. For more information, visit, http://www.hs-karlsruhe.de.

About MadCap Software
MadCap Software, Inc. is a leading technical communication software firm specializing in integrated applications for end-to-end content development, delivery and management. MadCap's software products provide state-of-the-art content workflow solutions for multi-channel publishing, including the Web, print, desktop and mobile. Through its strategic partner Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), MadCap delivers solutions optimized for Microsoft Windows, Visual Studio, and the .NET environment. Headquartered in La Jolla, CA, MadCap is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the documentation industry. Learn more about MadCap Software at www.madcapsoftware.com.

MadCap Software, the MadCap Software logo, and MadCap Flare are trademarks or registered trademarks of MadCap Software, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.