This checklist is for Knowledge Editors to use when approving internal articles in TDX and when publishing public articles to the IT site.
Table of Contents
Process and Procedures
- Article is unique (no duplicate content). See Search for Duplicate Knowledge
- Curated content is properly referenced and has effective context. See Use Curated Content
- Author has collaborated with knowledge owner and other stakeholders
Style
Article Title
Internal Standards
- Leads with the service or application name and version number(s) followed by a colon (when applicable)
- Summarizes article contents
Additional Public Standards
- Uses the active voice, e.g., create, assign, secure
- Is 10 words or less
- Uses title case
- Uses words customers might search on
Content
Internal Standards
- First paragraph is a problem statement or description that provides context
- Sentences are concise and easy to scan; paragraphs are short
- Sentences are grammatically correct and contain no typos
- Uses simple language and terms
- Content is well ordered; topics and subtopics are in a logical sequence
- Refer to customers as callers or users; Refer to technicians as you
- Information is technically accurate, up-to-date, and complete
- Acronyms and abbreviations are defined on first use
Additional Public Standards
- Audience is clearly defined and is addressed as you
- No jargon is used unless understood by intended audience
- Content contains words customers might search on
- Content is directed to the appropriate audience throughout the article
Format
Internal Standards
- Topic and subtopic titles are formatted as headings
- Use numbers for steps, bullets for lists
- Application interface terms are referenced just as they appear in the interface
- Application interface terms are in bold
- Table(s) have a header row(s)
- HTML is clean (see Remove Extra HTML Formatting from an Article)
Additional Public Standards
- Content is well ordered; topics and subtopics are in a logical sequence
- Topic and subtopic titles:
- Are formatted as headings and are not bold
- Use "ing" verbs when describing a process within the article content
- Topic and subtopic titles:
Links
Internal Standards
- Long articles have a table of contents (TOC) that use in-page anchor links
- Link text clearly references the target content (see Create a Link in an Article)
- Links to other pages open in a new window
Additional Public Standards
- Links to other KB articles use the TDX URL, not the it.umn.edu URL.
- Email addresses are spelled out
Images/Video
Internal Standards
- Images are uploaded to server (not pasted in or attached)
- Images include appropriate alt text (see Make Images Accessible)
- Images are beneath the step(s) they illustrate
- Images have a TDX-generated 1 pixel border (set in Insert/Modify Image window) to define edges when necessary (see Make Images Accessible)
Additional Public Standards
- Images are essential to understanding the content and associated with the step they define
- Images are cropped and sized appropriately
- Videos have transcripts or closed captioning
TDX Article Settings
Internal Articles
- Article is in the appropriate TDX Knowledge Category
- Owner is set to a Group and selected based on agreement between stakeholders
- Tags include any appropriate technologies or services.
- Next Review Date is set
- Notify Owner on Feedback is checked.
- Article Summary is one sentence describing the article purpose
- Should the viewing of this content be limited to the University community? is set to the appropriate setting.
Public-Facing Articles
- Article is in the appropriate TDX Knowledge Category
- Article Summary is the first sentence of the article
- Tags include any appropriate technologies
- Published to KB is checked
- Next Review Date is set
- Appropriate Group is set as Owner, based on agreement between stakeholders
- Notify Owner on Feedback is checked
- Knowledge Internal Notes have been added when appropriate
- Should the viewing of this content be limited to the University community? is set to the appropriate setting.