From the 12 August meeting of Seattle IA/UX Meetup, this presentation features Misty Weaver and James Sweeney's materials from their interactive discussion on editorial strategy for IA and UX. Empathy for the (Internal) User In order to build experiences for external audiences, first we need to serve the people inside the organization who make the content, information, and experience happen. Systems, workflow, and process need to actually work and we need to genuinely care about the people who use the system we design. One way to think about editorial strategy is how to help people deliver content/experiences in a system on a schedule. We'll share examples of how we do this from UX and content strategy projects.

1. Editorial Strategy as Empathy:
Serving Internal Users
Misty Weaver
@meaningmeasure
Seattle IA/UX Meetup
#SeattleUX
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/hotblack

2. Your content process starts with
1. External audience assessment
2. Content assessment and modeling
3. Tasks and roles
4. Workflow
5. Schedule
@meaningmeasure #SeattleUX

3. Provide the right content,
for the right people,
in the right place,
at the right time.
Meghan Casey
http://uxmag.com/articles/get-your-content-strategy-out-of-the-drawer-with-governance

4. Provide the right content,
for the right people,
in the right place,
at the right time,
with a system.

5. http://www.richardingram.co.uk/downloads/content_strategy_app_2038.png
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/06/03/content-strategy-optimizing-your-efforts-for-success/
What we mean
when we say
content strategy
@meaningmeasure #SeattleUX

6. Content Strategy Shapes
Technical
• Information
Architecture
• Taxonomy
• Metadata / Schema
• XML / DITA
• CMS
• SEO
Editorial
• Branding
• Messaging
• Voice and Tone
• Content Creation and
Planning
• Content for Human
Consumption

7. Project Management Always
Project
• Resource
Assessment
• Workflows
• Scheduling
• Velvet Hammer

8. Part 1: What do those people need?
• To find relevant, helpful content
• Make a decision
• Take action

9. Creating a priority list for content
What information do you need
to make a decision
about attending an IA meetup?

10. • Date and Time
• Title
• Topic
• Speaker
• Price
• What’s the benefit to
me?
• Location
• Description
• Agenda
• Menu (food allergies)
• How many people are
going? Do I know any
of them and/or
like/dislike them?
• How to register
Content Checklist

11. • Date and Time
• Title
• Topic
• Speaker
• Price
• What’s the benefit to me?
• Location
• Description
• Agenda
• Menu (food allergies)
• How many people are going?
Do I know any of them and/or
like/dislike them?
• Speaker Description and Bio
• Art, visual collateral
• Email Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Volunteers
• Sponsors
• Venue
• Speaker slides
• Post event email
• Post event photos, video,
slides
Content Checklist

13. Part 2: What do I have?
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/wedhatted

14. Assess,
Model,
& Form
Content

15. From Assessment to Content Model
http://www.clevegibbon.com/content-modeling/content-models/the-design-content-model/

16. Event
Speaker
VenueDescription
• Title
• Time, Date
• Price
• Registration
• Agenda
• Description
Content Model

17. • Create
• Edit
• Approve
• Publish
• Distribute
• Update/Archive
Part 3: What can we do?

18. http://www.amazon.com/The-Digital-Crown-Winning-Content/dp/0124076742

19. Relates to our internal systems as well as access
we provide through distribution of content
http://intentionaldesign.ca/

20. • Create
• Edit
• Approve
• Publish
• Distribute
• Update/Archive
• Creators
• Editors
• Approvers
• Publishers
• Distributors
• Managers
From Tasks to Roles

21. Part 4: How do we make the work flow?
@sjrosenbaum

22. http://intentionaldesign.ca/2011/03/29/content-workflow-diagram/
Margot Bloomstein
Content Strategy at Work
http://appropriateinc.com/book/
Workflow at AdoptUsKids
Vanessa Casavant
@casavant

23. Workflow at AdoptUsKids

24. Workflow at AdoptUsKids

25. What do we get out of it?

26. Part 5: Timing

28. Enjoy these links
• Meghan Casey http://uxmag.com/articles/get-your-content-strategy-out-of-the-
drawer-with-governance
• Richard Ingram http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/06/03/content-
strategy-optimizing-your-efforts-for-success/
• Cleve Gibbon http://www.clevegibbon.com/content-modeling/content-
models/the-design-content-model/
• Ahava Leibtag – Buy this book! http://www.amazon.com/The-Digital-Crown-
Winning-Content/dp/0124076742
• Rahel Bailie http://intentionaldesign.ca/
• Margot Bloomstein – Buy this book, too! http://appropriateinc.com/book/
Tweet me about it @meaningmeasure

29. Making Things Better
A Content Strategy Case Study
James Sweeney
Seattle IA/UX Meetup
#SeattleUX
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/hotblack

30. Technical CS
What does that look like in practice?
?
#SeattleUX

31. Content Strategy Shapes
Editorial
• Branding
• Messaging
• Voice and Tone
• Content Creation and
Planning
• Content for Human
Consumption
Technical
• Information
Architecture
• Taxonomy
• Metadata / Schema
• XML / DITA
• CMS
• SEO

32. Project Management Always
Project
• Resource
Assessment
• Workflows
• Scheduling
• Velvet Hammer

33. Recasting our questions:
1. What tools do we have?
2. What needs to get done?
3. Who is available?
4. How are we all working together?
5. What comes first?
#SeattleUX

34. Provide the right content,
for the right people,
in the right place,
at the right time,
with a system.
Misty Weaver
(link to be updated once she posts her stuff)

35. What do INTERNAL users need to know?
• What needs to be done
• Who is doing it
• Why it is being done

36. Issue template for tasks

37. How do we get there?
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/wedhatted

38. • Baseline (Content Audit)
• Establish Goals (Internal & External)
• Evaluate Internal Realities
• Remediate / Consolidate / Build
• Schedule it / Execute
• Analyze / Refine
How do we get there?

39. Content Audit (Baseline)

40. • “Better User Experience”
• “Reduced Maintenance Cost”
• “Unicorns!”
Goals

41. • Usage based evaluation
• Systems / repository review
• Data driven review of controlled vocabulary
• Stakeholder & Resource interviews
Reality

42. • Retire content
• Establish synonym in search tools
• Decommission older systems
Remediate / Consolidate

43. • Repositories
• Workflows
• Websites
• Schedules
Build / Analyze / Refine

44. • Environments aren’t static
• Needs aren’t static
As Designed vs. As Built