Kathy Wagner & Melissa Breker

Co-Founders, Content Strategy Inc

@Kathy_CS_Inc + @ melissabreker

#ConfabINT

What’s up

for today?

Session overview

1. Maturity Models

2. Governance Models

3. 5 Pillars of Content Governance

4. Change Management

5. Road Map

Have a scenario

in mind…

Melissa’s Bio

• Grew up wrestling

crocodiles in

Australia

• Transitioned out of

marketing into

content strategy

• Fell in love with

supporting change

Today I help change the way people think about content through teaching,

mentoring, partnering with others, and running workshops.

Kathy’s Bio

• Grew up reading and

daydreaming

• Moved through technical

communications &

customer experience

• Have been doing content

strategy my entire life

Today I help change the way people think about content by shining a light in

dark corners and cleaning out content cobwebs.

Company Clients

And what

about you?

And what about you?

• 72% work in a company

• 10% work in an agency

• 10% work in government

• 8% work in higher education

And what about you?

• 60% are just getting started in content

governance.

• 25% are already awesome at it and want to

swap notes.

• 15% don’t know where they fit, but seem

pretty worried about content governance.

• Personal intro

• One thing you love

• What’s important to

you about content

governance and

why?

Small Group Introductions

Content Governance

Content governance

provides a

framework for

content decisions,

roles, and,

responsibilities.

Project X

Process √√√√

Content Maturity Model1

What are we

trying to

achieve with

governance,

and why?

Content Process Maturity Model

Get a detailed version of this model here: http://www.contentstrategyinc.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Content-Strategy-

Inc-Content-Maturity-Model-2014.pdf

What do we hear

from clients?

“This is so embarrassing. We’re the

worst.”

“But nobodynobodynobodynobody does it well, do they?”

“In some ways we’re managed and

sustained, and in other ways, we’re

ad hoc.”

True story…

Get a detailed version of this model here: http://www.contentstrategyinc.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Content-Strategy-

Inc-Content-Maturity-Model-2014.pdf

3 questions in

3 minutes

Where is your organization

on the maturity model?

What could

your

organization

do to move up

a level?

What could be the

positive business

impact of moving

up a level?

Learning Exercise

At your table:

Discuss at your

table.

Where is your

department?

Where are you as

an organization?

Content

governance

environment

Where are

you in the

maturity

model?

How can you

progress to

the next

level?

Why is it

important to

progress?

Questions?

Short stories?

Content Governance

Models2

A governance

model is how

the governing

responsibilities

are assigned

and distributed.

There are 4 different models:

• Informal

• Decentralized

• Centralized

• Hybrid

What about

a matrix

model?

Adapted from Jason Mogus’s four governance models for managing digital:

http://communicopia.com/insights/four-models-for-managing-digital

Adapted from Jason Mogus’s four governance models for managing digital:

http://communicopia.com/insights/four-models-for-managing-digital

Adapted from Jason Mogus’s four governance models for managing digital:

http://communicopia.com/insights/four-models-for-managing-digital

Important to note:

A

centralized

content team…

…can actually sit within multiple other teams.

Matrix model (True story… )

How do you decide?

Business goals

Maturity model goals

Organizational culture

Management style

Scalability

Ease of execution (readiness for change)

As content specialists, we often prefer the

idea of a centralized model.

It allows for maximum control over content

strategy, quality, and functionality.

BUT…

“A hybrid model works

best for us.”

What do we hear

from clients?

3 questions in

3 minutes

What governance model is

your organization

currently using? How do

you know?

What governance model

would be most effective

for it to use, and why?

If those two

things are

different, what

are the obstacles

in changing

governance

models?

Learning Exercise

At your table…

Debate

• Which governance model works

best for your situation?

Or, Discuss:

1. What are the barriers to changing

your content governance models?

2. What are the benefits of changing

your content governance models

Questions?

Short stories?

5 Pillars of Governance3

How?

People

Just a few writing-specific skills

Web writing

Marketing

Journalism

Technical writing

Creative writing

Blog writing

Business writing

Editing

True story…

True story…

True story…

True story…

What do we hear

from clients?

“Nobody wants to

give up control.”

“We don’t know

what anyone else does.”

“We’re all executers.

There are no leaders.”

1 question in

1 minute

Do you know what skillsets are needed to

achieve your vision?

Content Success Metrics

Think about

Governance success,

not just content

success.

Business success:

• Align with business strategies

• Reduce costs and time to publication

• Improve consistency of customer experience

Employees success:

• Do good work and grow their skills

• Feel ownership over their work

• Understand the bigger picture

Breaking it down

Plan to communicate level of success

1 question in

1 minute

How will you

know if your

content

governance

is working?

Decision-Making

& Support

“If you chose not to

decide – you have still

made a choice!”

Neil Peart

Why create standards and

guidelines for decision making?

To make sure that decision making is:

• Strategic

• Consistent

• Scalable

• Learnable

• Sustainable

• Measurable

A content

support tool

communicates

decision points

that have already

been made, or

provides strategic

guidance for

making ongoing

decisions.

What do we hear

from clients?

“The squeaky wheel gets their

content on the home page.”

“We keep inventing the wheel

again and again.”

“We have a style guide. It’s on the

shelf. It’s outdated.”

1 question in

1 minute

What decisions

need to get

made?

Brainstorm

As a group, write as many content

support tools as you can think of.

Use 1 stickie per idea.

Post the stickies on the wall on your way

to break.

Piano

Content Processes

What is a business process?

Process

Sub-process 1

trigger result

“A process is a collection of interrelated

activities, initiated by a triggering event,

which achieves a specific, discrete result.”

Sub-process

2

Sub-process 3 Sub-process

4

~ Alec Sharp, Workflow Modelling, 2008

Design & create content process

Detailed

processes

Lines of visibility: Lines of visibility: Lines of visibility: Lines of visibility:

Who does what

when they hold the

work.

Start high-level.

Provide more detail

as needed.

Start with

common

scenarios.

Define

alternative or

uncommon

processes only

as needed.

What do we hear

from clients?

“We don’t really follow any

organized process.”

(But they actually do!)

“Our team needs autonomy,

so they don’t want process.”

1 question in

1 minute

What processes

and variations

are important

throughout the

content

lifecycle?

Content Information

Systems and Workflow

Basically, they’re technologies that

support people in getting work done.

Information Systems

~ Wikipedia

Some examples of content

information systems:

• Content management systems

• Data asset management systems

• Email

• MS Word

• Dropbox

How do you know which are the right

systems to use?

It depends!On:

• Business and content goals

• Budget and resources

• Management and working style

• Use cases

Look for

opportunities to

consolidateand

integrate.

A workflow is how the work moves

within and between information

systems.

This includes both human/technology

interactions and automated processes.

Eg: CMS authoring workflow

t4Simple CMS workflow

Start high-level.

Provide more detail

as needed.

Start with common

scenarios.

Define variations as

needed.

What do we hear

from clients?

“Email is our primary

communication tool.”

“Our systems don’t speak to

each other.”

“Our CMS is designed for

developers, not authors.”

1 question in

1 minute

What content problems

does your business have

that information systems

and workflow could help

with?

Learning Exercise

Pick up a handout package.

Choose one of the five

worksheets to complete.

Questions?

Short stories?

Managing Change4

Common challenges

• Lack of resources

• Lack of cooperation or collaboration

• Lack of clear leadership and support

• Inability to set priorities

• Difficulty hiring skilled employees

• Lack of organizational maturity

Adoption curve

Lewin’s change model

Find an

internal

champion

What they’ll

do:

Get budget,

break down

silos, support

progress.

Start small.

Pilot projects and

bite-sized chunks.

Small wins.

Big voice.

Know your budget and resources.

Grow your budget and resources.

Give

incentives

and

rewards.

Give incentives for changing

old behaviors and rewards

for adopting new behaviors.

1. Practice content strategy

2. Demonstrate positive results

3. Provide tools and resources

4. Become expert content advisors

5. Advocate and educate

No control or authority?

Influence like crazy!

True story…

What do we hear

from clients?

People don’t want to give up

control

It’s hard to make time for

change

We’ve tried before, but we slip

back to our old ways

3 questions in

3 minutes

Who will be

your content

champion?

What

budget and

resources

do you

have to

work with?

How can

you get

people

excited?

Getting it done5

Create a

roadmap.

Q1Q1Q1Q1 Q2Q2Q2Q2 Q3Q3Q3Q3 Q4Q4Q4Q4

DefineDefineDefineDefine & & & &

ttttestestestest----drive:drive:drive:drive:

New

processes &

roles

CMS workflow

Success

metrics &

toolkit

Expand &

refine

Goal:Goal:Goal:Goal:

Select teams

& pilot

projects

Start

authoring in

CMS

Start

measuring

Roll out

throughout

organization

Educate & advocate

True story…

Individual exercise.

Create a roadmap for yourself.

Refer to the Content Roadmap handout.

Questions?

Short stories?

Wrap Up

Things to do next week

1. Review these slides and your notes.

2. Identify one small step forward.

3. Take action!

4. Join our mailing list:

www.ContentStrategyInc.com

5. OR email me:

Melissa@contentstrategyinc.com

Books about processesOther resources

www.contentstrategyinc.com/content-governance

Thanks! Stay in touch.

@MelissaBreker

@Kathy_CS_Inc

ContentStrategyInc.com

Let’s hear from you.

Final thoughts?

Questions?