CS Summit 2016: Better Strategy Through Structure
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It can be tricky to prioritize content work in the design process, especially amid shrinking budgets and widening scopes. But learning to focus on patterns and hierarchies in content—like how it’s arranged, how it creates relationships across pages, or how it maps to the CMS—can help you bring strategic planning to content, even with teams that don't have dedicated IAs and word-nerds. A structural approach to understanding and designing content can lead to new insights, opportunities for collaboration, and thoughtful, cohesive user experiences.
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CS Summit 2016: Better Strategy Through Structure
- 1. @ redsesame #cssummit 1 Better Strategy Through Structure CONTENT STRATEGY SUMMIT | AUGUST 24, 2016 LISA MARIA MARTIN
- 6. @ redsesame #cssummit 6 Yes, I’m hinging this entire presentation on 1990s analog publishing, fight me.
- 12. @ redsesame #cssummit 12 That is one weird memory palace, huh.
- 13. @ redsesame #cssummit 13 “Before the spread of printing, a highly developed Memory was needed by the entertainer, the poet, the singer, the physician, the lawyer, and the priest.” D A N I E L J . B O O R S T I N
- 14. @ redsesame #cssummit 14 “The printed book would be a new warehouse of Memory, superior in countless ways to the internal invisible warehouse in each person.” D A N I E L J . B O O R S T I N
- 15. @ redsesame #cssummit 15 Structured information is useful information.
- 16. @ redsesame #cssummit 16 Structure helps us: • Understand content • Organize content • Connect content
- 18. @ redsesame #cssummit 18 “…to make every subject easier to understand...” B A R B A R A A N N K I P F E R
- 19. @ redsesame #cssummit 19 Plan your audit with purpose.
- 20. @ redsesame #cssummit 20 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX
- 21. @ redsesame #cssummit 21 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX Message, voice & tone, audience, readability…
- 22. @ redsesame #cssummit 22 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX Volume, distribution, categorization, consistency…
- 23. @ redsesame #cssummit 23 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX Hierarchy, categorization, navigation, URLs, linking…
- 24. @ redsesame #cssummit 24 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX Modules, buttons, interactions, visual patterns…
- 25. @ redsesame #cssummit 25 Plan your audit with purpose. • Quality • Data • Structure • Design • UX A little of everything…
- 27. @ redsesame #cssummit 27 Track patterns and themes.
- 29. @ redsesame #cssummit 29 Track patterns and themes. • Keep separate notes for high- level observations • Group and regroup notes to find patterns • Try Boardthing or post-its
- 30. @ redsesame #cssummit 30 Be particular about presentation.
- 33. @ redsesame #cssummit 33 Be particular about presentation. • Visualize content distribution and other data points • Lead with themes, not spreadsheets • Share raw data as a reference
- 35. @ redsesame #cssummit 35 Ground your sitemap in your strategy.
- 36. @ redsesame #cssummit 36 Ground your sitemap in your strategy. • Strategy statements • Concepts • Design principles • Audit insights
- 40. @ redsesame #cssummit 40 Test and iterate for best results.
- 44. @ redsesame #cssummit 44 Test and iterate for best results. • Revise with feedback • Test with users (Optimal Workshop) • Keep it flexible
- 45. @ redsesame #cssummit 45 Build for next steps.
- 47. @ redsesame #cssummit 47 Build for next steps. • Who needs to understand it? Approve it? Build from it? • What other work will it inform? • How much detail does it need? What other layers can it support?
- 49. @ redsesame #cssummit 49 Understanding structure comes from constantly moving between macro and micro.
- 50. @ redsesame #cssummit 50 Prepare stakeholders for content modeling.
- 52. @ redsesame #cssummit 52 Prepare stakeholders for content modeling. • Don’t jump to technicalities too soon • Identify broader content needs and groupings • Lay groundwork for future structuring
- 53. @ redsesame #cssummit 53 Build relationships, not just categories.
- 56. @ redsesame #cssummit 56 Build relationships, not just categories. • Taxonomies are your friend • Structure and design the connections • Create multiple paths through content
- 57. @ redsesame #cssummit 57 Use structure as a collaboration point.
- 61. @ redsesame #cssummit 61 Use structure as a collaboration point. • Consider who else needs to use your documentation • Don’t be afraid to make changes • Make sure your content is aligned
- 62. @ redsesame #cssummit 62 And then what?
- 65. @ redsesame #cssummit 65 Structure helps us: • Understand content • Organize content • Connect content
- 66. @ redsesame #cssummit 66 Structure helps our strategy.
- 67. @ redsesame #cssummit 67 Thank you. LISA MARIA MARTIN @REDSESAME CONTENT STRATEGY SUMMIT #CSSUMMIT
- 68. @ redsesame #cssummit 68 Resources • Content Analysis Tool, content-insight.com • Optimal Workshop’s Treejack, optimalworkshop.com • Boardthing, boardthing.com • Eileen Webb’s taxonomy work on the-toast.net: http://responsivewebdesign.com/toast/taxonomy/ • The Order of Things, Barbara Ann Kipfer • The Discoverers, Daniel J. Boorstin • Thanks to the clients whose work I’ve shown here (Carnegie Mellon University and Seton Hill University), and the agencies I’ve worked with (Brain Traffic, Seven Heads Design, and Happy Cog) • Photos sourced from Unsplash.com under a CC0 license