Slides from a Webinar conducted for the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Special Interest Group (SIG) on the Content Life Cycle. It introduces a Content Life Cycle model and situated within the context of a Content Solution framework.

1. Copyright © Joe Gollner 2014
Getting a Handle on
the Content Life Cycle @joegollner

2. Getting a Handle on the Content Life Cycle
Topics
Content Life Cycle Models
Back to Basics:
Definitions
Content Life Cycle
Working Model
Content Strategy
& the Life Cycle Model
Building Content Solutions

3. A Brief History of
Content
Life Cycle
Models
Content Life Cycle Models

4. Business
Process in a
central position
Management is
just one of the
stages
Features
influences from
Information
Management
CM Pros Content Life Cycle Model

5. Collect – Manage – Publish is simple
but it covers a lot of detail
Bob Boiko CM Model
Bob Boiko
http://ischool.uw.edu/people/faculty/bboiko

6. Brings
analysis to
the fore
Simple
quadrant
model
that is
easy to
remember
& use
Rahel Bailie – Content Life Cycle Model
http://thecontentstrategybook.com/

7. Product
Content Model
developed
for a
Telecom
Enterprise
in 2000
Revisited more
recently to distill
the key elements
Product
Content
Strategy
Product Content
Life cycle Model

8. Content Strategy & Corporate Collapse
Share
Price
Content Life Cycle Model introduced as part of an Enterprise Content Strategy
“It’s not my fault”
- Joe Gollner

9. Content
Information
Publishing
Documents
Data
Knowledge
Back to Basics: Key Definitions

10. Content & Information
Content
Is what we plan, design, create,
reuse & manage so that we can
deliver effective information products
Content is potential information
(an asset)
Information
Is the meaningful
organization of data
communicated in a
specific context with the
purpose of influencing others
Information is a transaction (an action)
that contains Content
Visual Credit: oneiromancernjv.deviantart.com

11. Content Components
Text Modules
Media Resources
Data Sources
Relationship Links
Metadata Properties
Concept Taxonomies
Assembly Maps
Governing Models
Validation Criteria
Processing Rules
Distribution Rights
Formatting Instructions
Authority Precedents
Technology Factors
[Technology is never neutral]
Management Systems
Authoring Environments
Publishing Processes
Discovery Interfaces
Social Media Venues
Mobile Devices
An information transaction is composed
of numerous content components
coming together to create an effective
information experience
Content & Information: In Practical Terms

12. Publishing
The process of transforming
content assets
into information products
that can be effectively transacted
Documents
Documents are the persistent form of
information transactions that have been
exchanged as part of a business process.
Documents are a fact of life
& can take many forms.
Publishing & Documents

13. Data & Knowledge
Data
The meaningful
representation
of experience.
The building blocks
of communication.
Knowledge
The meaningful organization of information
expressing an evolving understanding of a subject
and establishing the basis for judgement
and the potential for effective action
Information
Data
Knowledge
Content
Substantiated Information Content is the most valuable
asset an enterprise has – it is Liquid Knowledge

14. Needed a Model that would
Align with the grounded
definitions of core concepts
Provide a prominent & practical
position for the ascendant
practice of “Content Strategy”
Limits the prominence of “Content Management”
Provides a prominent position for
“Content Engagement” to reflect the rise of
social media, user generated content, & analytics
Content Life Cycle Working Model

15. Content Life Cycle: Core Activities
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Engagement

16. Content Acquisition
Designing
Creating
Converting
Licensing
Content Acquisition
Content
Acquisition
Key Points:
- Maximize quality
- Minimize costs
- Support authors
- Formalize & optimize
supplier channels

17. Content Delivery
Selecting
Resolving
Filtering
Compiling
Rendering
Deploying
Content Delivery
Content
Delivery
Key Points:
- Maximize automation
- Increase abstraction of rules
- Manage complexity
Print Delivery
Deliver
- Resolve
- Compile
- Publish
Content
Resolve
Publish
Deploy
Digital
Products
Deploy
Printable
Products
XML
XHTML
HTML5
OOXML
PDF / EPS
InDesign
Quark
MS Word
Templates
Output Plan
(Map & View)
Assets
Rules
OutputVariants
Render
Transformations
Compile
Content
Digital Delivery

18. Content Management
Content
Management
Content Management
Facilitating content workflows
• Editorial
• Production
Protecting content value
• Security
• Recovery / Roll-back
Facilitating Reuse
• Discovery
• Reference
• Resolution
Managing links to data sources
Enabling reporting services
Key Points:
- Formalize processes
- Control access
- Facilitate change
- content
- processes
- components
- users

19. Content Engagement
Content
Engagement
Content Engagement
Tapping into user experiences
Soliciting user feedback
Incorporating user
contributions
Leveraging user analytics
Maximizing user effectiveness
Facilitating user collaboration
Key Points:
- Published information optimized for users
- Provides user support services, specifically “discovery”
- Traceability back to source content maintained
- Drive content evolution

20. Best Practice: Maintaining Life Cycle Balance
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Engagement
Over-investment in any one area can be a problem

21. A strategy is a plan of
action directed towards
achieving a long-term goal
through the coordination,
integration and application
of the resources and
capabilities available to
an enterprise
A Content Strategy seeks to make content a strategic asset that
can be leveraged by state-of-the-art technology to achieve
concrete business goals. It will determine what content is
needed and why.
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Engagement
Content
Strategy
Content Strategy

22. Introducing a Measurement Framework
Content
Delivery
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Engagement
1
10
1
1 1
10
1010
For a Content Strategy to be a genuine plan of action,
it must deploy measurement in order to target & monitor investments.

23. Content Metrics reflect the measurements that an organization
deems important. The first step is determining what needs to be measured.
Content
Delivery
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Engagement
2.4
4.2
As Is
2.8
4.0
8.3
8.77.8
To Be
1
10
1
1 1
10
1010
8.8
Content Metrics
“As Is” Current Score: 45 “To Be” Target Score: 281

24. Grounded Content Strategy
Content
Delivery
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Engagement
1
10
1
1 1
10
1010
Content
Strategy
A grounded Content Strategy is one that identifies concrete & measurable
objectives for balanced investments in the Content Life Cycle.

25. Content Strategy & the Content Life Cycle
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Engagement
Content
Strategy
A continuously evolving Content Strategy
will drive a continuously improving Content Life Cycle
which delivers continuously increasing benefits to the enterprise

26. Content Engineering, Technology & Solutions
Content Engineering
Content
Acquisition
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Engagement
Content
Strategy
Content Technology
Content Solutions

27. Content Engineering
Content Engineering:
The application of engineering discipline to the
design, acquisition, delivery, management, and use
of content and to the technologies
deployed to support the full content life cycle
The Language of Content Strategy

28. A Definition of Engineering
Engineering:
Engineering is the application of scientific principles to the
design, development, support and use of systems which are
themselves made up of structures and processes.
Engineering entails the
methodical & documented use of
 precedents
 standards
 experiments
 measurements
 tests
 best practices
 past experience
 state-of-the-art
technology

29. Metadata Model
Discovery support
Connect semantic markup
to application behaviour
Content Model
Core content types
Support essential patterns
Integrate with metadata model
Content Process Model
Establishes interim representations,
points of validation, output
goals & results
Content Engineering in Practice
Models provide
context for markup
Markup supports
processing

30. Content Technology
Technology that has been specifically designed to
create, store, manage & process content with all its
complexity including content that has been
optimized for portability & processability
using open standards
Some technologies
have been designed
to work with content
Many technologies
can be made to work
with content
Content Technology

31. Content Technology
Content
Acquisition
Content
Delivery
Content
Management
Content
Engagement
Authoring tools: XML Editors / Augmented Word Processors & DTP
Conversion services: Full Service Providers / SaaS Options
External sourcing: Electronic aggregation & validation
Open Source Options: DITA OT / FOP
Transformation Tools: Saxon / MSXML
Formatting Tools: AntennaHouse / RenderX
CCMSs: Trisoft / Ixiasoft / Bluestream / Componize
Augmented CMSs: DITAExchange / Documentum
Alternatives: SaaS (EasyDITA / DocZone) / VCSs
Dynamic Delivery: SDL LiveContent / SuiteShare
Help Publishers: WebWorks / MadCap / RoboHelp
XML Databases: Ixiasoft TextML / MarkLogic / EMC Dynamic Server
Social Media / WCMS: MindTouch, Ingeniux,…
Some Representative Examples

32. Content Solutions
Technology
Knowledge
Business
Content
SolutionsContent
Management
Knowledge
Management
Business
Systems
Documented & Integrated
Global&Dynamic
Open&Extensible
Content Solutions
are far more important for the
modern enterprise than is appreciated
Content Solutions
integrate the three
key enterprise domains:
- Knowledge
- Business
- Technology
Historically, the
failure to integrate
these domains has
been a major
stumbling block
impeding
improvement

33. Life Cycle Models
Should be judged by how
useful they are in helping
content initiatives to succeed
Should help organizations
to understand the real nature
of content as well as the
challenges and opportunities
surrounding its effective use
Should help organizations to approach
their content assets strategically
and to tackle long-standing integration problems…
Getting a Handle on the Content Life Cycle

34. Making Connections
Joe Gollner
Gnostyx Research Inc.
www.gnostyx.com
jag@gnostyx.com
Twitter: @joegollner
Blog:
The Content Philosopher
www.gollner.ca