Item: Paligo
Rating: 8
Author: Monica White

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Paligo in the Technical Documentation department to structure and publish the software guides. We use the Salesforce integration to push the content to Support and the HTML5 publication capacity to publish directly to internal access.
The ability to cross-reference and reuse content allows our technical writers to be succinct in topics while still presenting useful information across multiple products with a consistent message throughout.

Pros and Cons

The topic/publication structure is quite graceful. It makes setting up an outline of content quite intuitive, and after the tools are identified and defined, it's much simpler to set up a large document and work with others to produce it.
Strict field definitions and use cases make topic structuring inherent in the workflow, which brings more attention to content handling. The train of thought required to utilize the tool also improves the train of thought required to focus the content, making for a better ultimate publication.
The output capabilities and Salesforce integration make publishing the files very easy.

The learning curve is a bit steep, especially for anyone who's never worked in a true content authoring tool before. It takes a bit of work to move from a Word atmosphere to Paligo, but the training sessions address all of those issues and more.
I wish there were more focused formatting tools. At this point, I don't know how to change the text color or format my output beyond the legacy defaults I inherited when I started this job. My fellow writers and I still sometimes struggle with putting things where we want them to go simply because they aren't the right field type at that location.

Return on Investment

I am not involved in the financial decisions for my company regarding Paligo; the decision to migrate our content to this environment predates my hiring. However, I know that the migration effort from WordPress to Paligo was an initially heavy lift, but any content migration effort would be. I believe that ultimately, getting our content out of WordPress was a positive move, and I look forward to seeing what Paligo will help us accomplish in the future. Sorry, no hard numbers from me. :)

Other Software Used

JIRA Software, Atlassian Confluence, Google Authenticator

Likelihood to Recommend

Before I took the intermediate training, I was so frustrated with Paligo that I mentioned it negatively in a networking event. Now that I have taken the training, I will be correcting that comment at the next one. :)
However, part of what I inherited was a badly managed library, and I am working hard with my fellow writers to restructure and re-present the content. I have only been working with Paligo for a month and a half, and while it's been a struggle to get here, I'm glad I learned it so that I can truly utilize its content reuse strengths across three different product lines.
It probably would not be ideal for desktop layout or on-demand production environments.

Users and Roles

5 - Technical Writers: there are three of us. We send publications for review to several SMEs who provide feedback; the review function is actually quite elegant. We integrate that feedback into the content we ultimately publish.

Our manager and our VP are also contributors, but aren't involved with Paligo as frequently as we.

Support Rating

The training is exceptional, and follow-up support is absolutely comprehensive. The main minds behind this company are dedicated to its success, and you can tell by how responsive they are to their customers.

I almost feel as if I have a professional connection with my main contact for this company, and it makes me confident that any time I reach out, there will always be a supportive answer following. This is an excellent aspect for ANY company, and Paligo has it in spades. Thank you, Mike.

Paligo Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success	Not kept informed

Bug Resolution

Yes - It absolutely was. Mike responded with a detailed response of how the issue happened and why it was acting the way it was; user error on our part (not uncommon; we're both still new to the product). It was both a learning moment and a great customer service experience that I deeply appreciate on a professional level. (We've all got deadlines...thanks, Mike!)

Exceptional Examples of Paligo Support

My coworker and I are still new to this company and this product, and my coworker had managed to blitz up a topic so completely that it looked drastically different live than in Preview. We were worried about how it was going to publish, so I sent the issue to Paligo Support.

Not only did Mike fix the file for us, but he also explained, in granular detail, each of the specific issues that we had created with hacking away in the product with what I've come to call "Word Brain." It really brought to light the different aspects of the software that we weren't utilizing properly, and another user error became a learning moment.

Usability

I'm glad that it's cloud-based, so I can access it from home or work. But I do wish it were a little more intuitive on the front end for new users; the alt key is more useful than the ctrl key, initial layout is confusing until you learn the depth of the tools, and you really do have to take the $400 training in order to truly understand how to use the product. I don't know what my company pays for access to the software, but I know it's something.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Well integrated Consistent Feel confident using	Difficult to use Requires technical support Slow to learn Cumbersome Lots to learn

Easy Tasks

Content reuse
Keyboard shortcuts
Cross-referencing
Publication variety

Difficult Tasks

Text formatting (color/spacing/font)
Output template formatting
Initial learning curve of the software

Steep Learning Curve, Worth The Effort

Overall Satisfaction with Paligo