Defining Content Architecture

Cleve Gibbon@confab2012Defining Content Architecture

Content S trategyContent A rchitectureContent M anagement

Content ManagementRe-Visited

Content Management is not the CMS

Content Management is not at The End

Content Management isThe End-To-End

There are four importantpieces to the content management puzzle:content, people, process andtechnology.D. KEITH ROBINSON THINK VITAMIN

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 TrainingData Source Maps Use E-Commerce Analysis Change Integration Management Content Page Tables Management HTML Production Licensing User Content LanguageManagement 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

Content Management Ecosystem

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

The biggest problems in contentmanagement lie not in that (essential)complexity, but how we approach oursolutions. D. Keith Robinson

Today, Content Managementsuffers from a massive dose of Accidental Complexity.

BUT…

We haveTwo Essential weapons in our fight against complexity

AbstractionGrady Booch, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design with Applications

EncapsulationGrady Booch, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design with Applications

Everyday Abstraction & Encapsulation

Content Management Ecosystem

Content ManagementAbstraction & Encapsulation In Action SOCIAL CRM MEDIA EMAIL CMS SEARCH INTEGRATIONSCHANNELS CONTENT WEB ECOMMERCE MOBILE ANALYTICS MARKETING AUTOMATION

Content Architectureis both the “time” and “place” where you Abstract & encapsulate Content

Some examples…

major sponsorship deals witha strong brand focus

It wasn’t always This way…

KILL Blob!

Less PSDs.More Browser-driven designs.

Goodwood Hospitality Mobile Site

Less pixel perfectdesigns.MoreFlexible, fluid, Device-drivendesigns.

Let designerscreate layoutsusing 960 grids

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

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

Landing Payment ConfirmEmail Microsite Page Gateway Page Connected “Content”Journeys are High Effort

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

1 CampaignEvery MonthTrue Mashup ofContent &Commerce

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

DefiningContent Architecture

We see:Print brands struggling to adapt their content todigital platforms.‘Digital’ brands fighting the new battle to getmobile.

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!

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!

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

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

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

Beware of the Blob? Done.but now what?

Content Encapsulate Structured ContentArchitecture behind well-designed, meaningful, Content APIs

Content APIs Capture Structured Search Update Content Access

Content Design extensible mechanisms toArchitecture get content in & get content out

Role-Based Authoring Interfaces Print SalesMerchandiser Web SEO/Copy Translator Mobile Legal Other… Structured content Content APIs

Content Both Informs and is informed byArchitecture the solution architecture.

Publishing Collects DeliversServices Structured Content Support Create Editorial

Content The “Design Phase” forArchitecture content management.

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

Content Architecture Content Content Modeling People Author Experience Process WorkflowWithin the context of technology

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

task DATA task task task

task taskStructured Data task

Paradigm Shift

data data tasks data tasks data tasks data tasks data tasks tasks data tasks data data data tasks tasks tasks Object data data tasksOriented tasks

task task CONTENT task task

content task types taskStructured Content content task types

Content ModelingAbstraction Encapsulation Modularity Whole/Part Aggregation Substitutability Open/Closed Inheritance

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

Leverage over 25 years of modeling of data and objects

Author ExperienceA bad author experience often results is an even worse customer experience.

Role-Based AuthoringDriven off the content model.overlay roles, permissions andcontent rights.Spec & Build authoringinterfaces to capture contentfor each identified role.

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

Author RewardsAdd & tag content,You will search & find it laterAdd and tag contentyou get suggestions/linked contentPlatform reports what doesn’t workyou can focus on what does

WorkflowThe process part of thecontent management problem

Workflow FactsThe majority of our clients make little or no use ofcms workflows.The highest productivity gains come from scalingpeople with processes.Workflow focuses on defining standards and policiesfor making content production processes both“repeatable” & “predictable”, i.e. Boring!

Data Behaviour Driven Driven Content WorkflowModeling

ContentExecution

Content managementrequires constant development

CMS CMS CMS CMS CMS … Content Management Sprint Discover Define Design & Develop Dry RunPlan ForChange Deploy

CMS CMS CMS CMS CMS … Content Management Sprint Strategy Tactics Architecture & Build TestingExecute ForChange Rollout

Where you need to be. Where you planned to be. C BValue Planningover plans A happy start

You cant afford to create a piece of content forany one platform.Instead of crafting a website, you have to putmore effort into crafting the description ofdifferent bits of an asset, so they can be reusedmore effectively, so they can deliver more value.NIC NEWMAN BBC

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

“After the platform becomes user friendly, whenit is opened up to the best storytellers anddesigners and communicators, they tend to addanother level to it.The rare time when you find people who reallyappreciate both sides of that coin (innovationand storytelling) is where truly amazing thingshappen.”ANDY BERNDT MANAGING DIRECTOR, GOOGLE

Cleve Gibbonwww.cognifide.com @Cleveg

Defining Content Architecture

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