Content management software decisions need to be based first content and business needs, then on IT considerations.

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Demystifying
Content Management
Software
Ragan Content Management Conference
December 2003
Hilary Marsh
President, Content Company <www.contentcompany.biz>
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A little about me…
• background in print publishing—editorial, catalogs,
corporate communications
• focused on the Web since 1996—seen a lot of
change
• Strategy/thought leadership—content strategy
process, wireless content, third-party content,
mentoring
• many different kinds of sites: small businesses,
nonprofits, associations, corporate brochureware,
intranets

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Takeaways
• ammunition: how to talk to IT
• understanding of how IT sees content
management
• translation
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Imagine if your information was
integrated
• ...if your organization’s information was created
through a collaboration of communications,
training, marketing, business strategy and
customer service
• ...if your customers could go to your store, your
website, your salespeople, your call center and get
the same information
• ...if your salespeople, executives, communications
department and customer service representatives
all knew what each other was saying, and that
their information matched.

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That could only happen if your
content was managed.
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Agenda
1. What is content management software? What is
the difference between content management
and CMS?
2. Benefits and risks of using a CMS
3. Do you need a CMS?
4. How to choose the right system and avoid
choosing the wrong one.

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part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS
Automates the process of publishing
information to a website.
What is content management
software?
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Elements of content management
software
• content entry
• content repository
• content workflow
• content delivery
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS

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• Separate content from
presentation w/templates
• Breaking up content into
its components, or building
blocks
• Support publishing process
(aka workflow)
• Provide role-based security
• Capture content metadata
• Provide robust repository
(formats, versions)
• Enable version control
(“rollback” feature)
•Manage entire content
lifecycle (creation, review,
publishing, archiving,
deletion)
•Support content
syndication and/or
acquisition
•Special considerations like
globalization
•Possibly dynamic delivery,
personalization, decision
support—depends on your
strategy
Elements of content management
software (more detail)
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS
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CMS assumptions
• that information is published (i.e., that it is
edited, reviewed, approved) , vs. posted
• that there is a process that is similar
enough and explicit enough that it can be
automated
• that the website will have enough content
being updated often enough that it will
warrant a substantial investment
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS

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Questions CM should address
• What do I have, and how is it organized?
• Where is it?
• How do I create it?
• How do I find it?
• How do I change it?
• Who created it?
• Who changed it?
• Who can see it?
• Who has seen it?
• When is it obsolete?
• What do I do with it when it becomes obsolete?
• What have I had in the past?
• How do I revert to what I had?
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS
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Answers will take the form of
• Auditing
• Search
• Metadata
• Versioning
• Check in/check out
• Content creation/capture
• Workflow
• Integration with other applications
• Repositories
• Security
• Taxonomy
• Governance
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS

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CM vs. CMS
Content management software cannot
• create order where there is none
• force people to participate in the publishing
process
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS
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CM vs. CMS
• Good Web content needs a publishing process
behind it, to ensure that it
– is accurate, consistent, up-to-date and on-
brand.
– meets the goals of the author and
organization.
– serves the needs of the reader.
• Content management can happen without
software.
• Processes drive the CMS technical
requirements (not vice-versa).
part 1: What is CMS software? Content management vs. CMS

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Benefits of Using a CMS
• Your website will have a consistent look
and feel, since a CMS presents content
according to sitewide standards.
• Further, if the same content appears on
different sites, it will be displayed in the
look of each site.
• Most CMSs can automatically update
internal links, ensuring that no one reaches
a dead end in your site.
• By standardizing your editorial processes,
your website is likely to have better
content.
part 2: Benefits and risks of using a CMS
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Risks of Using a CMS
• Content management systems are
expensive, costing up to several hundred
thousand dollars. Open-source software
might have no cost to buy, but it needs
extensive customization.
• Myth: If you build it, they’ll use it.
Without motivation and recognition,
people’s behavior won’t change.
part 2: Benefits and risks of using a CMS

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Risks of Using a CMS
• A CMS won’t create content for you, inspire
people to update their content, or make people
better writers.
• Many content management systems are not
usable without training...an especially
significant issue for content owners who only
need to update their information infrequently.
(This is often complicated even more if the
people who post content are not the ones who
author it.)
part 2: Benefits and risks of using a CMS
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Do you need a CMS?
• Who distributes information?
• Who receives that information?
• What information was the person looking for, and did
the information provide that?
• Why was the person looking for that information, and
did the information meet their goal?
• What was the organizational goal in communicating that
information?
part 3: Do you need a CMS?
You DEFINITELY need content management,
but do you need a CMS? Depends on your
answers to these questions:

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Do you need a CMS?
part 3: Do you need a CMS?
• Most organizations can’t answer these
questions.
• Most organizations don’t know what is
being communicated by all of its parts to
all of its audiences.
• Often, different lines of business say
contradicting things—sometimes, even to
the same audiences.
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Creating Enterprise-Level Content
Management
part 3: Do you need a CMS?
Content management efforts
• cannot only reside in the communications
department, although communicators should
take a leadership role.
• cannot be centered in IT, although technical
developers need to be involved through the
entire process.
A cross-functional team needs to assess the
organization's content management needs
and opportunities, given that organization's
culture, business goals, and audience needs.

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part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one
See content management as a strategic
companywide effort, not a technical project
• If content management is seen purely as a
technical project, its focus will be on the
implementation of a software package, vs. a
significant shift in business process.
Scrutinize CMSs in light of your needs
• Frankly, the marketing language for many content
management systems sounds similar. But start by
screening vendors and reading comparison reports,
including CMS Watch
<http://www.cmswatch.com/>.
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Start by learning what you need
part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one
• Phase 1 of your CMS project is to create a
strategy for your content and requirements
for what you need your CMS to do.
– Learn the content creation processes and develop
best practices that can be adopted throughout the
organization.
– Involve HR, motivating people to get involved
with this effort.
– Communicate and get buy-in from senior
management about the value of managing
content.
• This phase takes time...probably 8–12 weeks.

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Start by learning what you need
part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one
• DO NOT choose a software product until this
phase is complete.
• Implement content management processes
BEFORE beginning the technical side of the
project.
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Make your RFP match your needs
part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one
• State each requirement (or preference, if a
feature would be good but not essential), and
have vendors answer the following questions
for each one:
• Does your product provide this capability?
• Is this capability a standard feature, an add-
on, or will it require custom development?
• If the feature is not standard, how much will it
cost to buy/build?
• Please provide details about how you would
meet this requirement.
• Are there any qualifications to your answer?

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Create a multidisciplinary team for
the CMS selection process
part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one
• People from IT, marketing, communications
and business should be involved in the
process.
• This may inspire the software vendors to
explain their specifications more clearly.
• Each group represents a different kind of
interest in the product and its capabilities,
which are all important to account for.
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(This team would make a great
governance council, going
forward!)
part 4: How to choose the right system and avoid choosing the wrong one

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Resources
• Content Management Bible by Bob
Boiko
• Content Management for Dynamic
Web Delivery by Joann T. Hackos
• Content Critical by Gerry McGovern
and Rob Norton
• Managing Enterprise Content by Ann
Rockley
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Questions?