IETM vs IETP: Major Differences

IETM stands for interactive electronic technical manual, whereas IETP stands for interactive electronic technical publication. IETM is a technical manual that can be prepared in digital form on a suitable medium that is designed for electronic screen display to an end-user. On the other hand, IETP can be built on the outlined functionality that is available in the S1000D Matrix. This matrix can be used to display the level of complexity and advise consumers that the higher the level of complexity that is a part of the S1000D IETP viewing tool, the price of buying may be higher.

Before discussing the classes of Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals, let’s take a deep dive at the basic details about IETM versus IETP:

IETM

It is a technical manual that can be displayed in a digital format. The detail included in this is the maintenance, training, operation, and more. The detail can be designed to display on an electronic display system for the end-user.

IETP

S1000D explains this as a set of info sets needed for the asset, such as description, operation, and maintenance. In general, this detail is arranged and formatted for interactive screen presentations that can be accessible to the end-user on an electronic display system.

Moreover, an IETM has the following features:

1. Format and style can be optimized for screen presentation to make sure understanding. It means that the content can be frame-oriented and not page-oriented.

2. Computers or laptops function interactively in order to offer procedural guidance, navigation directions as well as supplemental details.

3. Presentation of content can be derived from text, graphics, audio, or video.

Main Differences between Class I to V of an IETM

Class I: It follows the structure as well as format of a printed book, such as indexes and table of contents that can be hyperlinked to the content within the text.

Class II: It includes all of the characteristics of Class I but has added hyperlinks to items like figures and tables. A hyperlinked PDF is generally a typical document. The text is authored in either SGML or XML.

Class III: It is vastly different from a PDF. It is like comparing a PDF with a website. The conventional book structure is ignored. Here, the content is structured in a free manner. The content can be printed; however, if printed, it may not match the presentation available on the screen. It is important that all content should be hyperlinked. The documents can be authored in either SGML or XML.

Class IV: It supposes the data to be stored in a folder. In the content, relationships can be presented as hyperlinks. Any firing in the content should be eliminated. It does not have any idea to page orientation. It can be presented to the consumer in a format that is best suitable for the device.

Class V: It is now combined with expert systems that may affect the display of content. As an instance, the system could aggregate data from a large number of inputs of the user. This is served into the system that examines it, and the consequences are delivered back to the consumer through the display system.

IETP

As said earlier, an S1000D IETP is built on the functionality or capability that can be explained in the Functionality Matrix of the S1000D Features. The matrix shows levels of complexity as well as advises consumers that the higher the level of complexity that is included in the IETP viewing tool, the more difficult the viewing tool will be, and the rate of purchasing the software may be higher also.