Content Quality
(It’s More Than Fixing Typos)
Content Strategy Consortium
IA Summit 2009
threebrick Colleen Jones

A style guide is not enough!
Content quality is more than adhering
to a style or using spell check.

6 Content Quality “Lenses”
 Usefulness
 Clarity & Accuracy
 Influence
 Completeness
 Voice & Style
 Usability & Findability

Usefulness
 How is the content meeting user /
customer needs & business / editorial
goals?
 How is the content helping the user /
customer?
 Is the content expired or outdated?

Clarity & Accuracy
 Is the content clear to users / customers?
 Is the content organized logically &
coherently?
 Is the content correct?
 Does the content contain factual errors,
typos, or grammatical errors?

Influence
 Is the content using the most appropriate
techniques to influence or persuade?
 Is the content executing those techniques
well?
 Is the content using too many or too few
techniques?

Completeness
 Does the content include all the information
the needed for the topic?
 Does the content include too much or too
little information about the topic?

Voice & Style
 Does the content reflect brand / editorial
voice?
 Does the content emphasize the appropriate
editorial or brand qualities?
 Does the content adhere to the established
style?
 Does the content read or sound
professionally crafted?

Usability & Findability
 Is the content easy to scan or read?
 Is the content in a usable format including
headings, bulleted lists, white space, or
similar techniques?
 Does the content have the appropriate
metadata & key words?
 Does the content follow SEO guidelines
without sacrificing quality in other areas?

What Lenses Do You Use?

Toward Content Heuristics
These lenses are the groundwork for
heuristics to
 Evaluate our content
 Conduct competitive analysis of content
 Train new employees or team members
 Educate clients or stakeholders

A Few Ways to Ensure Quality
 Testing with customers / users
 Governance
 Content quality guides or standards
 Incorporating standards into CMS approval
(Checklists, reminders, contextual help, what
else?)
 Hiring people who care about content

Next Steps
 Develop “lenses” into heuristics
 Share examples of ensuring quality
 Develop & share tools for testing content
 GET MORE PEOPLE TO CARE ABOUT
CONTENT!

Thank you!
Colleen Jones
Partner, UX & Content
threebrick
Email: colleen@threebrick.com
Twitter: @leenjones
Blog: www.leenjones.com/blog
Website: www.threebrick.com