Erin Scime, HUGE + Melissa Rach, Brain Traffic
Content Strategy Consortium, Memphis, 03.19.09
Content Strategy Consortium Memphis 03 19 09

WHAT WE’LL COVER
About Us | Vocabulary | Case Studies
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ABOUT US
We Like Libraries.

About Erin
Ab t E i
• A curator of digital objects.
• A “preditor.”
• An innovator of interaction design / layout.
“an ID without owning wireframes”
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About Melissa
Ab t M li
• I worked in libraries, too!
• Journalist
• Interactive training film company lackey
• Magazine publishing –> agency –> software –>
g p g gy
agency –> agency –> agency –> agency
• Independent
• Let’s Dish!
• Brain Traffic

VOCABULARY
Are we all talking about the same thing?
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So, what does an IA do?
S h td IA d ?
Pretty much everyone has their own definition,
depending on:
• What you do (and what you don’t want to do)
• What your favorite IA does (and what she did
before she became an IA)
• What kinds of projects you work on

What people say IAs do:
Wh t l IA d
“They make the site maps and wireframes.”

What people say IAs do:
Wh t l IA d
“They make the site maps and wireframes.”
(um… not always )
( tl )

How’d we get in this mess?
H ’d t i thi ?
A wee bit of history
• 1975: Wurman makes up the term “information
architecture”
• 1975: Age of librarians
• 1985: Age of database designers
• 1995: Age of web “designers” (graphic designers
and programmers)

Melissa’s first “interactive agency”
gy
business card (circa 1997) – the back
Genius!

Melissa’s first “interactive agency”
gy
business card (circa 1997) – the front
Eh?
Eh?

IA today (age of user experience design)
IA t d
A small sample of tasks sometimes performed by “IAs”:
• Document business goals
• Define user types, tasks, and attributes
• Define or analyze information repositories (databases etc )
Define or analyze information repositories (databases, etc.)
• Define and prioritize site content
• Categorize and organize content (overall site and per template/
page/component)
• Design access paths to content (navigation, search, linking, etc.)
• Provide detailed specifications for functional flows
Provide detailed specifications for functional flows
• Define detailed page structure (layout)
• Create a working prototype of the site
• Perform usability tests

And, then there’s Information Design
A d th th ’ I f ti D i
Sure I have my opinion…..
….but that’s not scientific
…….so I asked my colleagues instead
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According to a few HUGErs
A di t f HUGE
ID is… IA is….
Project vision: Less page level design, less vision around
(voice/positioning/feel/experience), product positioning and product definition and more of a
definition and scope, feature definition, overall data driven focus.
user flow and page level design.
user flow and page level design
ID is a holistic role that incorporates IA, CS, IA is a more focused discipline that is about the
vision/product development & research, abstract informational structure of a site.
IDs need to know how to do IA well, and
, IAs focus on page level data flow, taxonomy
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likewise, IAs need to understand how their work building.
will play out in IA.
ID is a far more integrative role than IA IA is a part of the ID process. There are some
people who specialize in this area.
people who specialize in this area
Laying out pages is more design driven then [IAs] focus exclusively on organizing existing
science driven. content [and] typically do not have the added
ability to design and create things that are
entirely new.

According to a few HUGErs
A di t f HUGE
Content Strategy is…
Guid[ing] the voice of the site and shape the structures and processes that make that
voice possible
CS develops an overall editorial strategy and then ensure that the publishing process,
p gy p gp ,
IA and CMS supported that strategy.
CS lies somewhere between IA, Editorial Strategy and Development.
CSs determine the next steps and details for maintaining a site that I design.
the next steps and details for maintaining a site that I
The CS can help the client realize the vision – give them clear steps
CS could also help the team understand the best way to achieve the vision at the
early stages when product is being defined.
early stages when product is being defined
A CS can contribute insight into the scope/LOE for what the site might become
against what resources the client has to maintain the site.
[CS] is part of IA. How can the content be presented, arranged, updated to appeal to
[CS] is part of IA How can the content be presented arranged updated to appeal to
the users.

Our definition of CS
O d fi iti f CS
At Brain Traffic, content strategy includes:
At Brain Traffic content strategy includes:
‐ What content exists and why
What content exists and why
‐ How content will be created
‐ How content will be published
How content will be published
‐ How content will governed

Roles spectrum, a flattened ring
Rl t fl tt di
copywriting
VD ID IA CS

CASE STUDY
Brain Traffic

What we learned by trial and error
Wh t l db t i l d
• When IA done without CS, the client often makes
decisions based on subjective opinions, politics, or
personal agendas
personal agendas
• When CS is done without IA, the strategy is often vague
and not actionable
d i bl
• If IA and CS are by separate teams, one or both will
likely need to be redone or significantly changed

Our process

Strategic foundation
St t i f d ti
• Examines internal factors that affect CS/IA
Examines internal factors that affect CS/IA
goals, existing strategies (business, web,
communications), source inventory, client
team/structure, technology restraints, existing
/ hl i ii
databases, existing messaging, etc.
• Examines external factors that affect CS/IA
users, competitors, government regulations, etc.
• Defines tasks, assumptions, risks, success factors

Content strategy
C t tt t
The content strategist and the IA work together and
present one cohesive strategic deliverable.
present one cohesive strategic deliverable
• The architect recommends:
– What content lives on the site
– How the content is organized and accessed
• The strategist recommends:
– The organizational path to create, publish, and
g p p
govern content
– The business reasons behind those recommendations
– The business impacts of those recommendations

Content strategy
C t tt t
IA Content Strategy Tools
IA Content Strategy Tools
‐ Site Map
‐ Templates
‐ Page Tables
(very few wireframes)

Content specifications
Ctt ifi ti
• The architect produces:
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– Any detailed wireframes for functional flows or
unusual pages/components
– Detailed specs for technologists, designers, and
writers
• The strategist produces:
– Style guide
– Taxonomy guidelines

CASE STUDY
HUGE

Merging is hard
M i ih d
1. Role seepage
2. Uncertainty over who owns what
3. Confusion over when CS should be specifically
assigned (billing ID for both ID/CS roles)

“IA” ASPECTS A CS SHOULD OWN

Inventory /content audit
I t / t t dit
Why?
y
• Often a deliverable in which ID/IA skims through (listing
URLs and roughly mapping existing site structure)
• CS mind has the capability to question value of content
CS‐mind has the capability to question value of content
being inventoried and accessing level of effort for
repurposing
• CS can communicate what is flat, dead or unappetizing &
identify opportunities for innovation
In what capacity?
• Ownership with input from ID/IAs

Classification schema
Cl ifi ti h
Why?
• CS knows the content in and out
• CS is the content shepherd through project
duration and will work with tech teams to ensure
effective build of CMS
In what capacity?
• Ownership with input from ID/IAs

“IA” ASPECTS A CS SHOULD BE
INVOLVED IN
INVOLVED IN

Site vision
Sit i i
Why?
• Content program will be ‘sold’ to the client in
this deliverable
In what capacity?
• 100% collaboration
100% collaboration
• Defining product strategy and high‐level
content expectations
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Method of success
• Long brainstorming sessions

Personas
Why?
y
• CS will be defined around target audience
(backed by research)
In what capacity?
• 100% collaboration
100% collaboration
• Defining page‐level content hierarchy
Method of success
• During discovery phase, define personas based
on content needs of each

Wireframes
Wi f
Why?
• Placement of content on page is central to storytelling
• Creative ways to expose content groupings
• Determine Ad template needs
Determine Ad template needs
In what capacity?
• Collaborating on page level content hierarchy & flow
Collaborating on page‐level content hierarchy & flow
Method of success
• Pre‐wireframing: scheduled working sessions with
ID/IAs to define schematics via whiteboard
• Wireframing: scheduled check‐ins with ID/IAs to ensure
Wireframing: scheduled check ins with ID/IAs to ensure
solid product

Old Deliverables
Old D li bl
Interface design
Functional specifications
Navigational & user flows
Navigational & user flows

New Deliverables
N D li bl
Interface design
Content hierarchy
C t t hi h
• Does the page prioritize the right content at the right time?
• What are the rules around interchangeable modules?
Functional specifications
Content requirements
• How will individual page items grow over time?
• Exposed tags > how will post‐launch content interact with these?
Navigational & user flows
Content program
Content program
• How do broad & narrow topics work together in terms of interface?
• What are the individual content types that live in the back end and how do they map to
wireframes?
• What are the expectations for content expansion over time?

THE END