CS/IT: Where Content and Technology Meet
Content Strategy Consortium
March 19, 2009
Laura Melcher
National Association of REALTORS®

CS and IT
• Where do CS and IT meet?
• How to align IT/CS
• Why is this important?
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Content Strategy Consortium

Where do CS and IT meet?
Content features/functions
• Page-level and site-level features and functions (new navigation menus,
drop-downs, etc.)
• Dynamic content delivery options
Content management system functionality
• Authoring (user) permissions and configuration
• Authoring templates – interface, taxonomy support, etc.
• Presentation-to-authoring template ratio/strategy
• Workflow capability (incl. e-mail notification, archiving/removal)
• Folder/site section structure to support tagging/analytics efforts
Metadata/SEO “tagging”
• Input fields available within content repositories
Analytics
• Reporting capabilities based on departmental needs
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Where else do CS and IT meet?
Site support/communications
• Communications to authors about system functionality, upgrades,
outages, etc.
• Communications to site users about planned outages, new features, etc.
Content publisher training
• CMS documentation – user guide and specific “how-to” information
• Training sessions – classroom, online, etc.
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Content Strategy Consortium

How to align IT and CS
Shared goals
• Align strategy for content management/delivery and IT strategy for
software and hardware.
• Develop (together) shared goals that are clear, documented, measurable,
mutually beneficial, and for which there is an incentive.
Reporting structure/accountability
• If possible, develop a reporting structure to ensure that IT and content
groups do not operate completely independently.
• Develop an oversight board or body to which both content and IT
functions are accountable.
Communication
• Define a protocol for communicating.
• Address issues related to roles/responsibilities, if they exist, and get
support from higher-ups in both areas.
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Content Strategy Consortium

Why is this important?
Examples:
• Content inventory project
• New search engine implementation
• Recent CMS implementation and requirements definition
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Content Strategy Consortium

Questions/discussion
For more information, contact:
Laura Melcher, manager, editorial development
National Association of REALTORS ®
Phone: 312-329-8572
E-mail: lmelcher@realtors.org
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Content Strategy Consortium