Date post: | 19-Oct-2014 |
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Technology |
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Making Content Portable Across the Enterprise
Ann RockleyPresident, The Rockley Group Inc.
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
The Rockley Group Inc.
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
The Rockley Group sample clients
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Agenda
Why share Challenges to sharing Organizational agreement Information Architecture Technology
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Customer-centric content
Marketing Sales Documentation Training Customer support
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Why share?
Increased consistency Reduced costs Focused branding Increased productivity Customer satisfaction
Challenges
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Multiple information products
Brochures, product information sheets, proposals, press releases, speeches, presentations, annual reports
Employee training materials, policies and procedures
User guides, online help, reference documents, application guides
Product specifications, design documents, test plans
FAQs, customer support materials Classroom or web-based training
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Content is siloed Content is created
and managed in multiple areas across the organization
Content is created, recreated, and recreated
Similar, yet different content is stored multiple times
Multiple versions of content
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Different processes/no processes
Each department has its own processes Some departments have no processes
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Standards
Some departments have standards for content (templates, visual guidelines, editorial guidelines)
Others have none
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Taxonomy (tagging)
Content is stored in multiple ways Some departments have a specific
taxonomy Others have none It may not be enforced
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Technology
Multiple tools exist across the organization Content management systems Authoring tools Databases Content formats
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People
People are focused on their own deliverables Resistance to standardization
Our customers/product/service is different The media affects the message Outsourced
Haven’t the time to share
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Information architecture
Taxonomy Content models
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What is a taxonomy?
The word comes from the Greek τάξις, taxis, (order) + νόμος, nomos, (law/science)
The practice of classifying plants and animals and other organisms in an organized fashion
A method of organizing information A type of Controlled Vocabulary
All around us…
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Why a unified taxonomy?
Content is stored in multiple areas throughout the organization
Can’t share if we can’t find it Can’t find it if we don’t know what it is called Can’t figure out what it is called if everyone
calls it something different Can’t automate the sharing of information if
we can’t find it …
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Too many types of info, too many places!
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What do we need to create a taxonomy?
We need: Metadata “data about data” to help us
organize the information. Controlled Vocabularies which help
complete the metadata information, and allow the user to find information when a search is performed.
To define the relationships between the content and between the content and the metadata.
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
What is metadata?
It is the encoded knowledge of your organization, described by David Marco as:
“… all physical data (contained in software and other media) and knowledge (contained in employees and various media) from inside and outside an organisation, including information about the physical data, technical and business processes, rules and constraints of the data, and structures of the data used by a corporation.”
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Types of metadata? Categorization metadata
Categorization metadata is usually used by content users to retrieve content.
Element metadata Reuse
Metadata for reuse is used to identify the components of content that can be reused in multiple areas.
Retrieval Metadata for retrieval is used to retrieve
content. It may consist of metadata for reuse as well as additional retrieval metadata.
Tracking Metadata for tracking (status) is used to identify
the status of your content in a workflow system.
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What is a Controlled Vocabulary?
A controlled vocabulary is a list of terms an author can pick from to categorize their content.
It is controlled because it does not allow them to enter their own terms.
Use a controlled vocabulary for your metadata to ensure that metadata is named and applied consistently.
Allows for consistent authoring and data search and retrieval.
Related to Authority and Synonym Lists, and to Thesauri
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How do we start?
Gather people who will use the system. Include everyone, from authors to “users”. Remember to consider those who will
maintain (as opposed to create) the information, if those are different groups.
Remember that you must concentrate on the goal, not the system:
"To start out with the task rather than the end product may result, however, in beautiful engineering of work that should not be done at all."
Peter Drucker (Drucker, Peter F. (1993 (reprint)). Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-88730-
615-2. )
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What to look at
Examine existing glossaries, lists and similar background information.
Who created these documents? Why were there documents created? What was their purpose? Has that need changed or expanded since
they were created? Can they be used as a jumping off point,
or are they historical documents?
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Cont. Look at existing search
What is its capability? Can searches be saved? Can they be edited and rerun? What is lacking? What could be improved?
Look at existing content creation What is its capability? Can data be shared? How? What is lacking? What could be improved?
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Creating a Controlled Vocabulary Gathering Terms
A Term is best defined as the element that the user is looking for when they are searching for information.
Think of terms as elements used to describe categories and sub-categories.
How is information currently categorized: By Region By Platform By Product etc.
Content Models
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Structure
If we are going to share components of content, not just documents we must ensure that content is structured consistently
Inconsistently structured content cannot be shared
Multiple structures DITA Templates No templates
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Incompatible structures
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Getting started
Gather common examples of content Identify best practices Analyze the content for similarities and
differences Identify reuse, granularity of reuse Determine if a common structure is
appropriate or if mapping is required
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Modeling content
Model content Build sample content Review models and samples with
stakeholders Determine how to support content
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Mapping
Technology
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Single content management system? Maybe Not likely
WCM is great for web content management but probably does not support other channels (print, help)
ECM manages documents well, but probably does not manage components and reuse
Multichannel CCM manages components well, but probably has no capability to manage a web site
Solution Authoritative source Autosharing Federated/integrated search
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Authoritative source A single authoritative source (single point of
storage) for any piece of information needs to be identified.
The most accurate, complete, authorized content is drawn from the authoritative source for reuse.
If content is stored in multiple locations for ease of publishing, all but the authoritative source are considered secondary copies.
All changes to authoritative source must be made in the authoritative source so that everywhere that content is reused it can be updated appropriately.
Derivative content (content which is reused and modified) can be created and stored in an alternate location
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Autosharing
As reusable content is update it is automatically shared among the systems where reuse is required
Typically requires custom software
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Federated/integrated search
Provides the ability to simultaneously search multiple data sources
Content management systems Databases Fileservers
Content is indexed on all the systems to facilitate search
Common taxonomy is very important for this
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Multiple authoring tools
Authors are diverse, no single tool will suffice
Web, web templates/forms Documentation, XML editors Training, multiple Marketing, Word Customer support, multiple
Key is to have common models implemented in XML so that content can be shared into any tool
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Don’t forget the people Structured reusable content is a paradigm
shift Requires
Different ways of writing New processes Intention to share
You will experience Not invented here My customers are different My media is different I don’t have time to look for it, it is faster
to write it myself And more
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Conclusion
Sharing content results in: Increased consistency Reduced costs Focused branding Increased productivity Customer satisfaction
And requires: Unified taxonomy Content models Technology changes Change management
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Additional Resources
www.rockleyreport.com www.rockleyblog.com