Following groups of users might profit from the use of an Integrated Documentation Environment (IDoE): Authors that will write documentation, editors that will review and correct the documents, documentation publishers that will create the final documentation and publish manuals, websites and on-line help. Another group of users may be helpdesk staff members that will have to maintain lists of common problems and possible solutions.
Authors. If you write an XML document you need a comfortable, but flexible XML editor. Additionally you may need access to an issue tracking system to keep track of your editor's suggestions, correction and change requests. Authors may want to produce draft versions of their document, so they will need transforming capabilities in their IDoE.
Editors. To review a document, you will have to read much more than you write. This means the editor will need an XML editor too, but with special emphasis on adding notes and giving feedback to the author. Access to the revision tracking system the author uses is mandatory. Editors also need a XML transforming facility to create draft output with the ability to track changes between document versions.
Publishers. To create output documents you possibly do not want to install a desktop-tool as the technically challenging transformation process might block your computer and it is more difficult to keep a number of desktop systems up to date with newest programs and styling resources than a single server. Instead publishers want to define a document version, intended target audiences and the desired output format and have the created files delivered to their desk.
Helpdesk Staffers. For the help-desk a easily-searchable output format must be found that allows to find solutions to keywords quickly. There must be a feedback-channel to the author which problems are common and deserve special treatment in the documentation as well as the possibility to create a database of common problems and their solution.[1]
[1] This does not imply that there is the need of creating a full-blown Helpdesk System, an integration into existing Helpdesk Systems is possibly more appropriate.