“Just put that in the zip code
field…”
The Ins and Outs of Content
Modeling
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content management integration and
consulting
Social networking integration
Custom design
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
http://blendinteractive.com/
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

6 Evaluation Questions
For those of you shopping for a CMS and
comparing options.
5 Implementation Tips
For those of you implementing or
managing a CMS-based Web site.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Modeling Definition #1
The process of converting logical
content concepts into editable,
storable, manageable, searchable
content objects by breaking them
down into smaller pieces and
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Logical Content
This is the
desired end result
of a content
management
requirement.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Object
An XML document
A database record
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Fidelity
How closely does the content in your
CMS resemble the logical content
you planned on?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Different systems have vastly
different content modeling
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #1
Does your CMS allow content
modeling or structuring at all?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Why model content at all?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Reason #1
Because different content types need
to be STRUCTURED differently.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Structure Between
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Structure Between
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Reason #2
Because different content types have
to be EDITED and VALIDATED
differently.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Automatic Form Rendering
Content edit form
in eZ publish
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Input Form Validation
Canned and
custom validation
in Ektron.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Reason #3
Because different content types have
to be DISPLAYED differently.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Display Template Assignment
Template
assignment by
Page Type in
EPiServer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Reason #4
Because different content types have
to be MANAGED differently.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content types often act
as functional
Permissions
Workflow
Navigation
Search
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

URL Pattern Assignments
URL pattern
assignment based
on Content Type in
Drupal
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Permission Assignment
Permission
assignments by
content type in eZ
publish
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Reason #5
Because different content types need
to be SEARCHED and ORGANIZED
differently.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Organization by Content
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Type-specific Search
Parametric search
based a content
type in eZ publish
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Problems due to inefficient and
inaccurate content modeling
By that point, it’s often too
late….
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Types, Attributes, and
Datatypes
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content on most Web sites
can be roughly categorized
by type.
A type shares a common set of
attributes and is meant to represent a
single, logical boundary around
content.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Nomenclature
Content Type
Content Class
SmartForm
Page Type
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Types
Content types in Drupal
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content types are made up
of content attributes.
An attribute is a single, logical piece of
information that, when combined with
other attributes, describes a type of
content.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Nomenclatu
re Attribute
Property
Field
Element
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Attributes
Content attributes in
eZ publish.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content attributes have
datatypes.
A datatype restricts the type of
data the attribute may hold.
This enables validation and
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Datatypes provide:
Validation
Editing interfaces
Computation
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Attribute Datatypes
Content class
attributes in eZ
publish.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Attribute Datatypes
Page Type
Properties in
EPiServer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Generic Custom Fields
Custom fields in
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Datatypes and Sorting
Datatypes tell the
system how to treat
values while sorting.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Common Validation Needs
String is required
String is numeric
String matches a "canned pattern" (email address, SSN, etc.)
String matches a regular expression
String falls within a list of valid values drawn from somewhere
else
String is unique to other content
Date is in the past/future
Date is in a specific range
File is of a specific type
File is within a specific size range
Value X is conditional on Value Y (if one is filled in, the other can’t
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Modeling Definition #2
Content modeling is the process of
converting logical content concepts
into content types, attributes, and
datatypes.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tip #1
Think in terms of content types.
Consider the ways different content
will need to be edited, validated,
managed, searched and organized.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #2
Does it allow you to structure
content through configuration or
does it require you to write code or
modules?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Code vs. Configuration
New Content Type in New Page Type in
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tip #2
Be careful in re-using content types
for logically different content.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Futureproofing is the
process of designing your
content model in such a
way that it can be adapted
to new situations with a
minimum of pain.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tip #3
To futureproof your content,
speculate on and list scenarios in
which the content might be used
now and in the future.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A Really Bad Idea
Things that
shouldn’t be
there:
•Date
•Author
•Categories
•Location
•(perhaps)
Image
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tip #4
To futureproof your content, do not
entrap multiple logical attributes
into the same implemented attribute
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tip #5
Find the right balance. Don’t
overstructure your content.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Datatypes
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #3
What datatypes are available to
structure your content?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Datatypes are the building
blocks of your content.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Strings
Simple and
formatted
strings in
WordPress
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dates
Date entry
interface in
Ektron.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Binary Files
Binary file upload in
Drupal (top) and eZ
publish (bottom)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Repeating Properties
A repeating data
table within an
Ektron content
object.
A one-column
Matrix datatype in
eZ publish.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #4
Can you write your own datatypes or
customize existing datatypes?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Custom Datatypes
Custom
datatype in eZ
publish
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #5
How well does it manage relational
content modeling?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

DISCRETE content modeling is
structuring content within a
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

RELATIONAL content modeling
is structuring a content object
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Relational Content Modeling
Page Link
attribute in
EPIServer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Relational Content Modeling
Multiple content
selection in EPiServer
and Ektron
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Composition
Article is related to Articles
Title Articles
Title
Body Articles
Title
Body
Author Title
Body
Author
[…] Body
Author
[…]
Author
[…]
[…]
Author
was written by Bureau
First Name
Last Name Name
[…] […]
works for
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #6
How well does it handle hierarchical
content?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Publication
Issue
Section
Article
Article
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Trees
The content folder A pure content tree
structure in Ektron in eZ publish
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Question #6
Does it allow any inheritance of
content types or values?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Type Inheritance
Movie Review Page Music Review Page
Title Title
Body Body
META Keywords META Keywords
META Description META Description
URL URL
Studio Number of Tracks
Director Genre
Cast Star Rating
Running Time
Star Rating
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Type Inheritance
Movie Review Page
Studio
Director
Cast
Running Time
Web Page Star Rating
Title
Body
META Keywords
META Description
URL
Music Review Page
Number of Tracks
Genre
Star Rating
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Content Value Inheritance
With a pure content tree, setting a value at a
specific point will cause content “below”
that point to inherit the value until
These content
objects will inherit
the value applied to
“News,” unless they
specifically override
it.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Evaluation Questions
1. Does it allow the structuring of content?
2. Is it via code or configuration?
3. What datatypes are available?
4. Can you write or customize your own
datatypes?
5. How well does it handle relational content
modeling?
6. How well does it handle hierarchical
content?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Implementation Tips
1. Think in terms of content types
2. Avoid reusing content types
3. Speculate on the future uses of
content
4. Do not combine logical attributes into
the same implemented attribute
5. Don’t overstructure your content
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Blend Interactive
http://blendinteractive.com
Gadgetopia
http://gadgetopia.com
Content Management and IA Writing
http://blendinteractive.com/services/
cm/
Twitter
“gadgetopia”
Email
deane@blendinteractive.com
Wednesday, June 17, 2009