The New Face Of Documentation

Short history of documentation methods In the beginning, there was the book. Desktop publishing Then there was the PDF of the book. The internet Next there were online documents / help. Content management Modular/ topic-based content

Parallel developments Interactivity of Web 2.0 Smaller apps Better interfaces Faster access to help

Minimalist documentation Twitter documentation: Changed expectations 1. Document basics. 2. Get user comments. 3. Respond to comments. Twitter

The No Documentation approach: “We don’t document it; we just fix it.” Orange Peel Media

Public record of support response encourages responsiveness. Get Satisfaction

Does that mean elimination of documentation? • Some form of documentation needed when: – System is complex – First-to-market features (no transferable concepts) – Embedded assistance – Training – Wayfinding content • Guiding user to add-ons and supplies • Enriching the experience of using a product or service

Change attitudes toward content • How does your organization view your content: – Pain point in a cost center? – Corporate asset in a profit center? • Hardware lives in bins. • Content lives in database cells. • Both are assets.

Manage your content like an asset. • Financial assets: – How much care is given their management? – What happens when financial assets are mismanaged? (witness Sarbanes-Oxley!) • Content assets: – How much care is given their management? – What happens when content assets are mismanaged? Is it time for SOX for docs?

Learn from industries that run on content: Work your content Beyoncé, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

What goes into a musical experience? MP3 file Track + metadata + Track + metadata + Track + metadata + Cover art Cover art + VIdeo Cover art + Video + Film + Game + Value-add content Blair Douglas, Nelson Mandela’s Welcome to the City of Glasgow Zachary Richard, Marjolaine OK Go, Here It Goes Again Fantasia, Walt Disney Productions

TV Value-add = ROI show Music Feature Music track film video Music is no longer Video Sound “just a track” Game track TV show Music Feature Music Multiple formats, video film track what content TV show Video Sound supports what? Game track Music Feature track film Live show Music Sound video track Video game

Adding value to content Single-use assets Multiple-use assets • Cheap • More cost • Little value • More value • Utilitarian • More care How do you from here to here?

Focus on the UX If simplicity = joy, and instant mastery = brand loyalty, then use experience design* to create a delightful UX. * Experience design includes: • Multi-channel experience • Digital experience design • User experience • User-centered design • Service design • Usability

In a word: strategy Content strategy that allows for content to: •Provide value for consumers •Gain value for your organization

Rich UX, This is, in essence, a lots of content product portal www.allmusic.com

Work the content: the “buy” is only content type #5 Genre lists Genre descriptions Navigation data Cover art Blog posts Music files Ads Music labels www.allmusic.com

Look at the end goal: find content • How do you develop a content strategy that: – Integrates incoming content types? – Converges possibly 10,000+ incoming content components per day? – Ensures content is findable? – Uses appropriate content types? – Syndicates user-specified subsets of content?

Management of content designed to serve the consumer • Critical aspects: – Presentation layer to control the user experience – Content management to automate delivery – Taxonomy to handle the searchability • The ability of content to be created for: – Convergence – Integration – Syndication

Look at the end goal: find content When is a treasure hunt not a treasure hunt? Where there’s no treasure at the end of the hunt. • Universal user goal – Consume content (text, graphics, video, sound) for instruction, information, social connection, and/or entertainment. • Universal provider goal – deliver the content in the best possible way for consumer consumption.

Content convergence is a move away from content silos a move away from arbitrary content silos.

Content integration is combining content combining content from multiple sources.

Content syndication is efficiencies Portable content creates using automated publication to reach your audience.

A tech comm example - “The Triumverate”: 3 sections, 3 instantiations Training instantiation Support instantiation TechComm instantiation

HP Knowledge Center Same idea; better delivery. Presentation shows thought and consideration for user’s time. h30413.www3.hp.com/SupportServices/country/us/en/support/T1100.html.htm

Strategic content means portable content. Content can be mixed-and-matched to fit new contexts.

Portable content makes context more important. Content must support multiple contexts.

Complex contexts demand concise content. Shape content around a single concept.

Context changes content. The ability to re-use content across contexts increases content value.

Portable content and experience design Content on the page comes from external sources: convergence and syndication.

Mash-ups are also can improve comprehension Experience design a form of content convergence. The content here is integration of data and visual content.

Experience design creates consumer value Content is integrated from: • Airline booking • Hotel booking • Car rental booking • Google maps • Weather network • User-generated content … and more. Convergence is automated, generating an automatic, customized itinerary. This convergence of content provides a value-add service to the user. www.tripit.com

Content is self-contained but not isolated. Content is not isolated. As in music, the convergence is more powerful than single bits of content.

To be portable, content needs to: • Be structured • Conform to standards • Have semantic properties • Be findable (searchable) Match structures to purpose  HTML XHTML Microformats  XML DITA DocBook S1000D Data  Wikis Structured wikis DITA wikis

WHY? The market demands it Internally: • Organizations need to deliver more content, faster, cheaper. • The content needs to work for many similar products. • There is a need to deliver to multiple markets , sometimes in multiple languages. • There is too much content to deal with, to create linear content. • Organizations need to protect their brands. Externally: • Users want what they want. •Users want their content now. • There’s always an alternative. • They can DIY in the blink of an eye.

Gaming communities: Users take charge • New games have minimal instructions – Don’t know what users want yet • As users gain experience, they want to share tips, tricks, information – Vendor can provide the user forum or users will set up their own • What happens when user/fan sites take over? – Their sites can rank higher in search – You’ve lost ability to manage your brand

Apple iPhone: Brand implications

BBC: Delivery of cross-silo content

Users demand it Organic content convergence Games • Some users dissatisfied with documentation provided. • Built their own database. • Better quality, more features. Apple • Search for “iPhone help” or “iPhone error 12846” and observe the rankings •Users stepped in and started forums •Brand management issues arrive. BBC • Delivering a mix of content. • Multiple languages • Value-add to service consumers • Strengthens brand

Corporate sites are like icebergs: the visible tip is “marketing;” below the surface, it’s all technical info. User-generated Subscriptions RSS feeds content CRM Marketing Information content content portal Engineering Tech Support center Training content Comm content content content Strategic content should flow through organizations as needed by consumers.

Convergence creates possibilities. The end goal is consumer delight and satisfaction.

The move away from single-use, linear content is happening fast. Every day, the bar is raised a little higher.

The pressure is on to devise strategies for portable content. You snooze, you lose.

Strategic content leverages business drivers Product differentiation Customer price Cost impact sensitivity Customer profitability Capital ROI: Market Number of customers intensity attractiveness Number of suppliers Switchability Level of Current Spare industry capacity service profitability Entry barriers Relative Relative service perceived value Product performance IRR: Competitive Relative market share advantage Relative Overhead costs Variable cost

Content strategy means rethinking the nature of content. The new documentation doesn’t necessarily look like documentation.

If it can’t delight, content should at least be useful.

Strategic content is everyone’s issue “Nothing can deter confidence quicker than a broken experience.”* With social media, broken experiences can damage brands faster than ever. * Christopher Cashdollar, Creative Director, Happy Cog Studios

New content delivery is multi-layered, out of the silos.

In tough economic times ... • Necessity is the mother of invention ... • Hard economic times drive innovation – from energy to manufacturing to technology • When times get tough: – You can’t afford to be complacent – It’s not enough to be “competent” – It’s not enough to do a “good” job – It’s not enough to “follow orders”

Challenge = opportunity • Not just advice for the music industry • Not just for entertainment content • Tough times demand: – Inspiration – Vision – Innovation – Initiative

Think holistically; act boldly. Deliver well.

If you can’t be entertaining, be enjoyable. • By making the customer experience user- focused, you create a better experience. • Better experience is a market differentiator. • It says, “We care about our customers.”

How will your audiences use your content? • Example: – First, there was Twitter. – Then came TweetDeck. – Then came TinyTweet. (and so on, and so on) • The UX gap was filled by others. • Close to 400 Twitter apps out there. • That could be deliberate strategy. • Is that OK for your brand?

Think outside the site • What are the touch points? • What can be automated for users? • What are the preferences of your audiences? • How creative can you be? • What is the best you can provide, in practicality?

Can you fill a gap? • Exploit the potential of your content – Structure – Findable – Engaging • Deliver a rich UX • First impression of a site: 50 milliseconds! • Watch teenagers surf for information. • Watching the Geek Squad: technicians leave a page within a few seconds in search of “something shorter” (easier comprehension).

Are you a T-shaped thinker? You’re adept at convergent, synergistic thinking. www.davidarmano.com/thought.html

Does your content have semantic properties? • Is it structured? • Can it be re-used? • Can it be filtered? • Can it be searched (more importantly, found)? • Can it be personalized? • Can it be integrated, syndicated? • Can your content converge?

Lots of places to find inspiration • How does your content measure up? • Do you have a strategy to move to the next level? • Check your competition. • Look to other industries for inspiration. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Contact Info, Acknowledgements, Resources Presentation © 2009 Intentional Design Inc. Presenter: Rahel Anne Bailie, Content Strategist +1.604.837.0034 www.google.com/profiles/rahel.bailie Photographs used under Creative Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdecomite/

HTML, XHTML, Microformats HTML  http://www.w3schools.com/html/DEFAULT.asp  http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ XHTML  http://www.w3schools.com/Xhtml/  http://www.xhtml.org/ Microformats  http://microformats.org/about/  http://www.xfront.com/microformats/

XML, DITA, DocBook, S1000D XML  http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/  http://www.w3schools.com/xml/default.asp DITA  http://dita.xml.org/  http://dita.xml.org/5-minute-dita-tutorial DocBook  http://www.docbook.org/  http://wiki.docbook.org/topic/DocBookTutorials S1000D  http://www.s1000d.org/ And many other schemas: http://www.w3schools.com/schema/schema_intro.asp

Wikis, Other XML Wiki languages  http://www.it.uu.se/internt/web/wikihelp/wikilang  http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Structured_wiki  http://talk.bmc.com/blogs/blog-gentle/anne-gentle/dita-wiki Specialty XML, conversions  http://www.stilo.com/  http://www.stylusstudio.com/xml_to_xml_mapper.html

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The New Face Of Documentation

by Rahel Anne Bailie

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