How do you organize your files that are shared between multiple end products?

Hi everybody,

I've been learning FrameMaker for just under a year and I'm tasked with being the resident expert. So far using FM has been strictly a research endeavor but now we are looking to use it for all of our standardized plans (approximately 250 business units in 60+ locations with any number of plans and associated documentation). The plans have to be living documents that will be reviewed and updated annually (in an ideal world).

I was hoping to hear what others have done for organizing working documents at this scale. At the end of the day there will be shared sections but I will be producing 250+ PDFs and RoboHelp menus to house all of these plans. My plan was to put them all into a single book file (I could do multiple books but then if I add any shared chapters I would have to open up all of the books to include it). I have written an ExtendScript code that will cycle through and include/exclude based on top-level element attributes. That way I have everything I need in one place and can push a button to make all of my end products while I am presumably sipping a delicious beverage and feeling like a genius. My major worry is that all of these plans will mean that my book may contain thousands of FM files and insets to Word and Excel, all of which have to live in a library that anybody can come in and find what they are looking for to make updates.

Have others had a similar situation? Are there any good resources for organizing and naming working files when they will be used for several products in FM? And does the fact that I will put all this in SharePoint mean I am headed for disaster?

I would appreciate any recommendations you might have,

---Corey---