Content Management is a complex problem made up of content, people, process and technology. And it's getting harder has we move into a structured content world. Content Architecture is the design phase for Content Management where we use tools to better abstract and encapsulate content, This presentation defines content architecture.

1. Cleve Gibbon
@confab2012
Defining Content Architecture

2. Content S trategy
Content A rchitecture
Content M anagement

3. Content Management
Re-Visited

4. Content Management
is not the
CMS

5. Content Management
is not at
The End

6. Content Management
is
The End-To-End

7. There are four important
pieces to the content management puzzle:
content, people, process and
technology.
D. KEITH ROBINSON THINK VITAMIN

8. Agency CMS
On-Boarding Selection
Content
Messaging
Platform Audit
Strategy
Roadmap Format Editorial Media Assets
Developm. Gap Calendar
Standards & Analysis
Policies
Controlled
Vocabularies Content
Search Cloud-Based
Structured Author Inventory
Context Systems
Authoring Experience Permission
Editorial
Models
Workflow
Copy Deck
Brand
This
IS
Documentation Content
Strategy
Release Modeling Labeling Metadata
Management Systems Strategy
Navigation
Content
Schemes
Style
Technical
Guide Linked
Architecture Content
Data Usability Digital Assets
Governance
Platform Testing
Editorial Strategy
Strategy
Rollout
Tone of
Migration
Content
Sitemap Structured Content Voice Content
Strategy
Content Analysis Types
Stakeholder
Alignment Multi-
Author Tagging
Message Channel
Terms of Training
Data Source Maps
Use E-Commerce
Analysis Change
Integration
Management
Content
Page
Tables Management HTML
Production
Licensing
User Content
Language
Management Responsive Templates
Guidelines Content
Design Taxonomy
Big Data Delivery
Networks Wireframes
MVT
Testing A/B Testing
Translation ePUB
Content Interaction
Targeting
Approval Design
Mobile
Design
Email
Rights
Data Privacy
Data Privacy Device Management
Localisation
Social Detection User
Media Research Competitor
Analytics Analysis
Programme Victory
Goal
Oversight Conditions
Setting

9. Content Management Ecosystem

10. Essential Complexity.
All reasonable solutions to a problem must be
complicated because “simple” solutions would not
adequately solve the problem.
Accidental Complexity.
Arises purely from mismatches in the particular
choice of tools and methods applied in the solution.
Source: Mythical Man Month, Fred Brooks

11. The biggest problems in content
management lie not in that (essential)
complexity, but how we approach our
solutions.
D. Keith Robinson

12. Today, Content Management
suffers from a massive dose of
Accidental Complexity.

13. BUT…

14. We have
Two Essential weapons
in our fight against
complexity

15. Abstraction
Grady Booch, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design with Applications

16. Encapsulation
Grady Booch, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design with Applications

17. Everyday Abstraction & Encapsulation

18. Content Management Ecosystem

19. Content Management
Abstraction & Encapsulation In Action
SOCIAL CRM
MEDIA
EMAIL CMS SEARCH
INTEGRATIONS
CHANNELS
CONTENT
WEB ECOMMERCE
MOBILE ANALYTICS
MARKETING
AUTOMATION

20. Content Architecture
is both the “time” and “place”
where you
Abstract & encapsulate
Content

21. Some examples…

23. major sponsorship deals with
a strong brand focus

24. It wasn’t always This way…

26. KILL Blob!

27. Less PSDs.
More Browser-driven designs.

28. Goodwood Hospitality Mobile Site

29. Less pixel perfect
designs.
More
Flexible, fluid, De
vice-driven
designs.

30. Let designers
create layouts
using 960 grids

31. Results
• Content Strategy In Progress
• Content Architecture Aware
• Responsive Design Approach
• Adaptive Content – Next

33. 663 Registered Users
300 Billion Minutes in 2011
124 Million Connected Users
41 Million Concurrent Users
1200 Downloads Per Minute
http://skypenumerology.blogspot.co.uk/

34. Landing Payment Confirm
Email Microsite
Page Gateway Page
Connected “Content”Journeys
are High Effort

36. Results
• Content Strategy – In Review
• Content Architecture Aware
• Responsive Design Approach
• Adaptive Content – Next

38. 1 Campaign
Every Month
True Mashup of
Content &
Commerce

39. Results
• Content Strategy – In Progress
• Content Architecture Aware
• Responsive Design – Next
• Adaptive Content – Next

40. Defining
Content Architecture

41. We see:
Print brands struggling to adapt their content to
digital platforms.
‘Digital’ brands fighting the new battle to get
mobile.

42. We Hear:
Editor> I’m afraid. I’m afraid because my journalists are afraid.
Cleve> Why?
Editor> Because we have just be furnished with our CMS logins.
Cleve> And?
Editor> And the CMS helps IT manage us, constrains how
we write, and makes us less productive.
Cleve> So why am I here?
Editor> To ensure this never happens again!

43. we educate:
Marketer> We’ve done the creative. PSDs sorted and our design
agency is building out the HTML now. Making
serious progress (Jazz Hands). What do you need from
us to get this into the CMS?
Cleve> The complete backstory. Why are we doing this?
Marketer> To rollout the new web site re-design…1 hour passes…
Cleve> OMG (inner voice).
Cleve> Mobile?
Marketer> Yeah, yeah. But don’t go overboard.
Just make it legible!

44. Because we’ve learnt:
“Unstructured content is stupid and old-fashioned.
It’s costly, complex, and does not generate a
competitive advantage.”
Ann Mulcahy,
Former CEO of Xerox

45. Single File Channel Hopping is Dumb
Print Web Mobile
Web Mobile Epub
Mobile Web Other…

46. We need to “Step Back” & “Structure”
Print
Web
Structured
Content
Mobile
Other…

47. Beware of the Blob? Done.
but now what?

48. Content Encapsulate Structured Content
Architecture behind well-designed,
meaningful, Content APIs

49. Content APIs
Capture
Structured
Search
Update
Content
Access

50. Content Design extensible mechanisms to
Architecture get content in & get content out

51. Role-Based Authoring Interfaces
Print
Sales
Merchandiser
Web
SEO/Copy
Translator
Mobile
Legal
Other…
Structured content
Content APIs

52. Content Both Informs and is informed by
Architecture the solution architecture.

53. Publishing
Collects Delivers
Services
Structured Content
Support Create
Editorial

54. Content The “Design Phase” for
Architecture content management.

55. UX
Information Interaction Visual Usability
Architecture Design Design Engineering
Content Strategy
Content Architecture
Content Author Workflow
Modeling Experience
Platform Development
Build Test Release Support

56. Content Architecture
Content Content Modeling
People Author Experience
Process Workflow
Within the context of technology

57. Content Modeling
a very powerful,
cross discipline,
communication tool
for structured content

58. task
DATA task
task
task

59. task
task
Structured
Data
task

60. Paradigm Shift

61. data
data
tasks
data
tasks
data tasks
data
tasks
data tasks
tasks
data
tasks
data
data data tasks
tasks tasks
Object data
data tasks
Oriented tasks

62. task
task
CONTENT
task
task

63. content
task types
task
Structured
Content
content task
types

64. Content
Modeling
Abstraction Encapsulation
Modularity Whole/Part
Aggregation Substitutability
Open/Closed Inheritance

65. We appear to be walking
the same walk, but not
talking the same talk.

66. Leverage over 25 years of modeling
of data and objects

67. Author Experience
A bad author experience often
results is an even worse
customer experience.

68. Role-Based Authoring
Driven off the content model.
overlay roles, permissions and
content rights.
Spec & Build authoring
interfaces to capture content
for each identified role.

69. “There is a growing understanding that content
management systems should be beautiful” –
Matt Thomson
“The happier people are, the better their content
will be, the more content they’ll produce.” –
Patrick Cooper, NPR

70. Author Rewards
Add & tag content,
You will search & find it later
Add and tag content
you get suggestions/linked content
Platform reports what doesn’t work
you can focus on what does

71. Workflow
The process part of the
content management
problem

72. Workflow Facts
The majority of our clients make little or no use of
cms workflows.
The highest productivity gains come from scaling
people with processes.
Workflow focuses on defining standards and policies
for making content production processes both
“repeatable” & “predictable”, i.e. Boring!

73. Data Behaviour
Driven Driven
Content
Workflow
Modeling

74. Content
Execution

75. Content management
requires constant development

76. CMS CMS CMS CMS CMS …
Content Management Sprint
Discover Define
Design & Develop
Dry Run
Plan For
Change Deploy

77. CMS CMS CMS CMS CMS …
Content Management Sprint
Strategy Tactics
Architecture & Build
Testing
Execute For
Change Rollout

78. Where you
need to be. Where you
planned to be.
C
B
Value Planning
over plans
A
happy start

79. You can't afford to create a piece of content for
any one platform.
Instead of crafting a website, you have to put
more effort into crafting the description of
different bits of an asset, so they can be reused
more effectively, so they can deliver more value.
NIC NEWMAN BBC

80. But you do need an effective platform
to create structured content, and…

81. “After the platform becomes user friendly, when
it is opened up to the best storytellers and
designers and communicators, they tend to add
another level to it.
The rare time when you find people who really
appreciate both sides of that coin (innovation
and storytelling) is where truly amazing things
happen.”
ANDY BERNDT MANAGING DIRECTOR, GOOGLE

82. Cleve Gibbon
www.cognifide.com
@Cleveg