Migration to structured content

A guide and template for DITA and CCMS programs

Migrating to a DITA-based CCMS is not a file conversion exercise. It is an operating model change. Use these two downloadable assets to plan the work, de-risk the program, and build a content system that supports governance, reuse, translation, and AI-ready delivery. With extensive experience delivering solutions for global enterprises including HP, Emirates, Panasonic, our expert team is on hand to support you.  
 
Most migrations stall for predictable reasons: unclear scope, weak governance, unrealistic conversion assumptions, translation surprises, and tool selection driven by demos instead of workflows. These assets are designed to force the right decisions early: audit before conversion, prove the model in a pilot, test translation end-to-end, then scale with governance.  
 
These documents are based on the “Migration to structured content” webinar roadmap: before, during, after migration, with practical decision points and deliverables.

Migration to DITA/CCMS – Implementation Checklist

Migrating legacy content into a structured format (like DITA XML managed in a Component Content Management System or CCMS) requires careful planning and execution. The following checklist breaks down key phases and tasks to ensure a successful migration. It reflects industry best practices and the roadmap before, during, and after migration, aligned with an AI-ready content strategy. (Remember: migration is not a one-off project but a sequence of managed decisions.) 

What’s inside 

  • Pre-migration planning: objectives, sponsorship, roles, timeline, budget, comms 
  • Content audit and complexity scoring, including retire and archive decisions 
  • Information model and typing, including metadata and taxonomy basics 
  • Governance to prevent new content debt 
  • Migration execution strategies: convert, refactor, rewrite, or defer 
  • Translation strategy and roundtrip testing guidance 
  • AI-readiness requirements: structure, metadata, trust controls 
Download the checklist

Content Migration Plan Template

A ready-to-fill planning template to align stakeholders, document scope, capture decisions, and keep your migration accountable from pilot to scale. 

Below is an outline of a migration planning document, including sample sections, tables, and brief examples. This template is implementation-focused and can be used by teams to plan, track, and execute the move to structured content (DITA and a CCMS). It should be adapted to your organization’s needs. The sample content in italics or parentheses is for illustration and should be replaced with your project’s specifics. 

What’s inside 

  • Project objectives, scope, and success criteria 
  • Stakeholders, roles, and responsibilities 
  • Inventory summary and migration approach mapping 
  • Information model summary and content standards 
  • Toolchain plan, including CCMS, authoring, publishing, translation 
  • Pilot plan, timeline, governance, and success metrics  
Download the template

Do you want help executing, not just planning?

If you are planning an enterprise knowledge content migration, RWS can help you execute the roadmap with Tridion Docs and our Professional Services and partner consultancies.  

We support information modeling, conversion strategy, workflow design, translation integration, publishing pipelines, and governance setup, so your program moves from pilot to scale without recreating content debt. Talk to RWS about executing your migration.

Explore Tridion Docs for DITA-based content operations.

FAQ: DITA and CCMS migration

A1: Conversion changes format. Migration changes the system: structure, metadata, workflow, governance, and reuse rules, so content stays consistent across outputs and changes.
It depends on scope, complexity, and translation footprint. Most teams reduce risk by running an early proof of concept and a pilot, then scaling in phases.
No. Use a hybrid approach. Convert stable, low-risk content. Refactor high-value content where reuse will pay back. Rewrite high-risk or outdated content that would carry liability forward.
Early. Roundtrip translation should be treated as a milestone in the pilot, not a checkbox at the end. Expect translation memory leverage to dip on the first structured release because segmentation changes.
Modular topics, consistent structures, robust metadata, stable IDs, versioned approvals, and clear publication states, so retrieval is grounded in trusted content.

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