This document discusses content strategy and how it has become essential for organizations. It outlines how the role of content strategist has expanded from focusing solely on information architecture to encompassing a broader set of responsibilities including content planning, governance, and quality evaluation. The presentation emphasizes that effective content strategy requires looking beyond templates to consider user needs and evaluating existing content. It provides examples of how to think more holistically about an organization's content needs.

1. WE ARE ALL
CONTENT STRATEGISTS
NOW
IDEA Conference 2010

2. Hi!
I’m Karen McGrane
from Bond Art + Science
@karenmcgrane
2

3. 3

4. CONTENT?
INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE VISUAL
DESIGN
INTERACTION
DESIGN
4

5. WHY CONTENT STRATEGY?
WHY NOW?
5

6. FROM TO
Static Dynamic
Centralized Decentralized
Walled Social
Costly Cheap
Geeky Mainstream
6

7. USER EXPERIENCE
Information
Architecture
CONTENT
STRATEGY
Social Media Content
Marketing Management
MARKETING TECHNOLOGY
7

8. Here I told a little story about clients figuring
out that the name of their problem is
“information architecture.”
I didn’t think it needed a funny picture.

9. NAMING A PAIN POINT.
9

10. DEFINING A PROCESS.
10

11. 11

12. 12

13. Current Site Audit
Stakeholder & Competitive &
User Interviews Market Research
Vision
Insight
Design
Development
QA
Requirements IA Design Creative
Design
Usability Testing Post Launch
Paper Prototype & Creative Comps Analytics Report
Test, Measure, and Optimize

14. User Experience Design Process: Critical Path
Kickoff
Project Initiation Initial Design Cyc l e Design Iteration / Testing / Itera
Meeting
Project is
Product Marketing
Prod. Marketing does P&L, content evaluation, Product Team meets -
inititated by Product creates materials that describe needs, goals,
Marketing with Prod. Mktg. feeds team Design presents functional
objectives, dependencies, partnerships, user flow, potential user
Program business issues and any other relev a n t any results from Marke t
Management scenarios and high level
content or functionality issues, pulls together Resear c h
screens need e d
cross-functional tea m Approval cycle h e r e
Feasability Studies / Field
Resear c h Expert advice on
Usability
What do Users w a n t previous research a n d feedback cyc l e
How do they want to do it Meeting new research need e d
(Usability Conceptual Phase) (Usability 2nd Phase)
coordinated by
Program
feedback cy
Management
UE Team member
Create D e s i g n
assigned to
Spec/Creative Rapid prototype for
Experience Design
project
Brie f proof of concept
attends meeting UE Team
Material is from and early testing w /
brainstorm with
Initial concept MRP/PRD and Early functionality usability
brainstorms wit h Takes input from Usability - led by
brainstorming notes designs and
all members as project team
Product Marketing to and other definitions of Could be paper
UE Team member assigned related to UI member
collect and gather requirements, distills pages needed for prototype, functional
to project design
requirements and info, looks at developed static HTML, Flash
what's the best
understand competitive functionality interaction,
Receives Requirements scenario fo r
competitive landscape landscape, rev i e w s Mockups/
Document use r s
scope in context of Wireframes as
Needs:
network and sit e image maps
List of team
precedenc e
members,
contact info, initial
schedule,
approval process
Initial exposure to
(people)
scope of design and
functionality
HTML
Assess techn i c a l
limitations and
alternatives
Engineering
Engineering might
begin coding
work from initial
functionality
spe c s
Credits: Erin Malone: Designed for AltaVista November 10, 2000
14

15. An Example LEGEND MILESTONE
DELIVERABLE IDEA REVIEW CHECKPOINT
Product / Software / Web Design Process Guide KEY MEETING INFORM
PHASES concept discover definition refinement developmen
conceptual
MILESTONES start concept
approval
proposal approval and scheduling design
review
PRD
approval
UI design
approval
committed
schedule
Communicate business needs Communicate business needs Brand Positioning Review Promotional & Marketing Needs Business developm
& brand identity & brand identity
{
Mockups to marke
Note: In some companies these roles are
business
owners
encompassed by one person
Collect team input Product Roadmap Promotion plan
Describe problem or needs, Develop strategic rationale, business case,
proposed solution, and benefits. financial analysis, policy considerations,
implementation plans. Research: Solicit input from Business owners/ Point release plan
product Gather information for and
brands - contact other associated stakeholders
(legal, customer support, international)
manager create the Concept Document Gather supporting market research, etc.
Write Draft PRD and Review
Gather information for and create the Deliverables:
ROLES
Proposal Document
Project kickoff Product
Requirements
Document
Review user feedback on previous product Refine design concepts
(PRD) Wireframes and navigation maps
UI's and analyze competitive products. (authored by a
{
ui/id/ia Develop navigation model and Product Manager) Product prototype, e.g. paper, HTML, director, or flash
refine scenarios
design Provide input for level of effort
UI Design Approval
or two people. i.e. ui may do user research or visual designers may do ia, etc.
and
Idea Deliverable: Deliverable: Deliverable:
Define personas, usage scenarios, user Proposal Templates
Concept goals, and perform task analysis I T E R AT I O N S I T E R AT I O
Document Document Concept Design Review
&
Develop usage scenarios this step Navigation
and/or design concepts Concept
and / or may be (authored by
Note: In some companies these roles are blended into one
optional Design UI / ID / IA Design)
Provide input for level of effort Visual design explorations Refined Visual design explorations Art direction
Materials
Leads brainstorming Concept
(authored by
visual Prototype
blended design
design team)
Provide input for level of effort UCD research cont'd. (i.e. paper prototyping, Competitive usability testing Prototype usability test Prototype testing
participatory design, field studies, surveys,
etc.
Define personas, usage scenarios, user
user goals, and perform task analysis.
research
production Provide input for level of effort
credits Design based on earlier maps created by various UI design teams at America Online Incorporated. Revised and edited by Erin Malone, September 2003 for the AIfIA.
15

16. PHASE 1 PHASE 2
Design Analysis Design Solutions
TSDesign User Experience Audit SM
Product Strategy and Product Design Strategy Blueprint* Technology Audit
description:
• an expert design analysis from the user’s perspective
description:
• define ‘what the product should be’ and ‘how it
1 understand 2 investigate 3 define users 4 qualify features
should work’
benefits: corporate mission persona user profiles user, feature, objective matrix
• benchmarks the effectiveness of your site based upon stated benefits: core competencies
• the achievement of clearly articulated, agreed- user profiles
business objectives for the site and your users corporate goals
• analyzes the design of the site to find out if the benefits of use
upon and aligned mission, core competencies,
culture and values User Personae &
corporate goals, and objectives for the site
are actually being delivered
Profiling Module speculate &
+ interviews
SM
skills and methodologies
• the articulation and understanding of your users,
• recommends methods for substantially improving your users
experiences and meeting future business objectives
their needs and and your business objectives for
knowledge capital and experience (UP&P) innovate
people, processes & technology
establishing and extending relationships
with each one stakeholders and initiatives
Intentional User Experience table •
TSDesign Analysis FrameworkSM
• the definition of the organizational resources enterprise-wide challenges competitive and comparative analysis experience brief:
1 Delivery of User Benefits The intended value the organization
required to build and maintain the site Internet objectives strategy story
and positioning
delivers to users and customers through its site.
• the creation of a detailed blueprint for design or customers and users
redesign:
The sequence of questions, prompts, and results - site organization (footprint) competitive landscape
2 Transaction Flow that make up a task. - useful and usable features and functions
for the users * workbooks not shown
The degree to which a site affords the user to easily - descriptions of intended functionality scope or
3 Navigation & Hierarchy navigate the environment and efficiently locate rele-
- messaging strategy rescope
relationship
5 7
vant content.
The representation and support of the identity,
• the receipt of a phased implementation plan with
associated costs innovate 6 refine describe
4 Visual Language brand and information architecture through
visual elements and overall style.
new ideas new footprint and reclustered content Product Strategy Blueprint/Functional Description
existing
Audit comments: and new
• Users arriving at the front page of the
site may not understand what information
is there for them.
technology
• The names of the sections do not give
users a path to follow to find the informa-
tion they need.
• No specific path has been established for
each user type. Users must use their best
judgement to find the information they’re
looking for and often may not be successful.
Identity and Visual Language Audit Visual Identity Systems visual language research
description: description:
• By collecting and reviewing print, other tangible artifacts and • establish, with the client, a shared
Web sites your company creates and disseminates, and understanding and common language for
corporate standards (if they exist) we can then distill the basis visual design and how it effectively
for the visual language to be developed that is consistent with communicates the brand
the company's identity and product brands. This work is • define a visual language for the site
continued in the Visual Systems Design phase. - logo, logotype systems
- typography
- grid system
- color palette
- imagery style and usage
benefits:
• provides the visual language components
with which to build the interface
16

17. Peter Morville,
The Three Circles of Information Architecture 17

18. THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS
18

19. 1. THINK BEYOND THE TEMPLATE.
19

20. This page was redacted so I don’t get yelled at
by lawyers. Honestly, doesn’t that sound awful?
You wouldn’t want that to happen to me, right?
If you’re really curious this was a persona. It
looks pretty much like every other persona
you’ve ever seen. So just imagine one of those.

21. This page showed a competitive audit. If you
want to recreate the experience for yourself, go
click around to some other websites and write
down a few comments about whether they’re
any good or not.

22. This here is a series of moodboards that show
an approach to creating a design system,
including photography, color palettes, and
typography.

23. Sigh. Okay, this page shows some sketching
exercises we did.
Except apparently no one on the team could
figure out how to operate a pen, so somehow
“sketches” wound up meaning “wireframes
made with wavy lines and handwritten fonts.”
I’m embarrassed just admitting that. Can we go
back to talking about how your content sucks?

24. This page showed a wireframe.
The lines were all straight and the font was
Arial.
Master of my craft, here.

25. We opted to go live
with the existing content.
25

26. Buy-in for that decision stretched
to the highest levels of the organization.
26

27. We knew the content sucked.
We just believed there was
nothing we could do about it.
27

28. Within an hour, the angry calls started. Client received
hundreds of angry calls from hotels the first day.
Complaint call volume held steady over the next week
as people called back to check on status.
The client team was unprepared to make quick
changes to the content, and their slow response just
added fuel to the fire.
Site had to be rolled back to the previous version while
they came up with a plan to update the content.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schoppa/3148751414 28

29. 7000 pages. The upside is that the second
45 people. launch was very successful.
Six weeks. Still, I can't say that I'd choose to
5400+ hours. do it that way again.
29

30. HOW?
30

31. HOW TO THINK PAST TEMPLATES
_Talk about why it’s important to provide great
content. Even when people don’t want to listen.
_Get content in the project plan, even if you’re not
responsible for it.
_Scare people with the “giant spreadsheet of terror.”
_Prototype and test wireframes and designs with best
and worst case example content.
_Start content migration early: first step, not the last.
31

32. 1. THINK BEYOND THE
TEMPLATE.
2. EVALUATE CONTENT QUALITY.
32

33. From Flickr User 2493™ 33

34. 34

35. I’m better at thinking about abstract
relationships between content types,
classification frameworks, metadata elements,
than I am at looking at the specifics of
content.
Dan Brown, Letter to a Content Strategist 35

38. This page showed a video. You’re not going to
be able to see it on Slideshare, so I took it out.
It contained the phrase “fecal matter,” which to
me is more offensive than saying “sh*tstorm.”
Mythbusters, Polishing a Turd 38

39. 39

40. From Flickr User 2493™ 40

41. HOW?
41

42. HOW TO EVALUATE QUALITY
_Don’t just inventory: analyze your content. Don’t just
look at what you have, assess whether it’s any good.
_Have a strategy for how to persuade stakeholders
that your approach is valid.
_Conduct a gap analysis to compare what you have to
what you need.
_You can usability test content too.
42

43. 1. THINK BEYOND THE TEMPLATE.
2. EVALUATE CONTENT QUALITY.
3. PLAN FOR CONTENT
CREATION.
43

44. WRITERS ARE LIKE DEVELOPERS.
THEY WORK BETTER WITH
DIRECTION.
44

45. Logo Features Browse Our Sites About Us Sign Up Login Support
Feature Name
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esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla
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diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
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adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Find out more about:
Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name 45

46. Logo Features Browse Our Sites About Us Sign Up Login Support
Feature Name
PUT PRODUCT DESCRIPTION HERE esse molestie
consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros
et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent
luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed
diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
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euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
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Find out more about:
Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name 46

47. 47

48. HOW?
48

49. HOW TO SPEC CONTENT
_Connect back to the overall brand and messaging
architecture.
_Direct the writer to appropriate source materials,
both online and offline.
_Guide selection of images, videos, and data
visualizations, if needed.
_Indicate how often each content element should be
reviewed, edited, or deleted.
_Provide direction across channels: web, email, social.
49

50. 1. THINK BEYOND THE TEMPLATE.
2. EVALUATE CONTENT QUALITY.
3. PLAN FOR CONTENT
CREATION.
4. DON’T FEAR NEW ROLES.
Extra super bonus
fourth thing!
50

51. 51

52. 52

53. 53

54. We don't need a Any backend
project manager. The developer should be
developers should be able able to crank out some
to manage themselves. HTML. HTML is easy.
Why do we even I don’t get why we
need different roles need a content strategist.
for interaction and Writers can make
visual design? spreadsheets.
54

55. Here I went off on a little rant about roles on
projects.
I try to avoid talking about roles and job titles;
I agree with Jared Spool that we should be
talking about skills.
I was actually afraid to talk about this but it
seemed to go over well. I might try talking
about it again someday.

56. FIRST:
YOU WILL ADVOCATE
FOR CONTENT.

57. SECOND:
YOU WILL USE YOUR NEW
CONTENT STRATEGY TOOLS.

58. THIRD:
YOU WILL PARTNER WITH
A CONTENT STRATEGIST.

59. THANKS!
@karenmcgrane
karen@bondartscience.com
www.bondartscience.com
+1 (917) 887-8149