Lots of things are changing for Content Professionals but among the most important is the fact that content has very much become a team sport. This session will look into how the business of content has changed over the last twenty years and what this tells us about future trends. One of these trends merits closer attention and that is the emergence of, or at least the need for, Integrated Content Teams. Drawing from models developed for “concurrent engineering”, the speaker will introduce approaches to planning and conducting content projects in ways that achieve great results and that sidestep many of the challenges that organizations find themselves saddled with. As an unexpected outcome from this exploration, a picture emergences of a new role for communicators and one that makes communication skills more important than ever. Attendees will take away practical guidelines on how to establish an integrated content team and an awareness of some of the challenges, as well as opportunities, that await the communicator within these environments.

1. Integrated
Content Teams Joe Gollner
Gnostyx Research Inc.
jag@gnostyx.com
LavaCon 2012 www.gollner.ca
@joegollner
Copyright © Joe Gollner 2012

2. Topics
Context
The Intelligent Content
Imperative
Intelligent Content
Lifecycle Model
Integrated Content Teams
Global Project Case Study
Shifting the Focus to
Upstream Content
Intelligent Content &
Lean Manufacturing Case Study

3. The Intelligent Content Imperative
A Global Economy calls for
Continuous
process improvement
Maximized automation
Dynamically tailored products
Localized delivery & support
Reconfigurable supply chains
This Demands Peter F. Drucker
Standardized parts
Only Intelligent Content
Flexible & dynamic assembly has a future in this world
for products, services & content

4. XML Behind the Scenes
Extensible Markup Language
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation
A simplification of ISO8879 Standard Generalized
Markup Language (SGML) to enable portable web data
Massively influential on
• Technology interoperability
• Electronic data interchange
• Supply chain automation
• Internet commerce
• Social media integration
• eBook publishing
• Responsive web design…
Absolutely Central to the Nature of Intelligent Content

5. Intelligent Content in Practice
A Practical Definition
Intelligent Content is designed, created, managed and processed
using open standards so that the resulting information products
can be dynamically tailored to meet the needs of the user and
can be efficiently maintained & leveraged by the content owner
Intelligent Content
Portable
Reusable
Findable
Manageable
Processable
Intelligent Content leverages XML to expose its meaning
Sustainable
in ways that both people & machines can use

6. Building Blocks of Intelligent Content
Content Components Technology Considerations
Text Modules Management Systems
Media Assets Authoring Environments
Data Sources Publishing Processes
Relationship Links Discovery Frameworks
Metadata Properties Social Media Venues
Concept Taxonomies Mobile Devices
Assembly Maps
Governing Models
Processing Rules
Formatting Instructions
Distribution Rights

7. The Name of the Game is Automation
Intelligent Content is essential if automation
is to be deployed successfully
To bring down costs
Shorten update cycles
Streamline work processes
Optimize information products
• For different users
• For different markets
• For different locations
• For different devices
• For different situations
• For different needs
In a way that can be measured & improved

8. The Intelligent Content Lifecycle Model

9. Intelligent Content Lifecycle Components
Content Strategy
Establishing a vision for what can be achieved
with the right content delivered in the right ways
Validated through stakeholder engagement
A vision must be made tangible to take hold…
Content Acquisition
Creating or converting content to establish
the potential to execute on the strategy
Refined continuously to improve efficiency
Adapted in response to stakeholder feedback

10. Intelligent Content Lifecycle Components
Content Delivery
Publishing information products
Adapting product to each user’s unique needs
Content Management
Applying a formal process to content lifecycle
Facilitating all the activities that need to occur
Content Engagement
Engaging the entire stakeholder community
Incorporating stakeholder content contributions
Tapping into Social Media to build engagement

11. Adaptive Content as Staged Intelligence
Realizing the vision
of Steve Jobs with
Adaptive Content

12. Integrated Content Teams on a Global Project

13. Challenges
Highly complex integrated weapon system
To be integrated into a massive array of existing ships
Operated as part of Fleet-wide real-time air defence
To be developed through a multi-national collaboration
Content to be delivered for
Different electronic platforms
Different system configurations
Different documentation styles
Different languages
Different Military Standards

14. The NATO Pathfinder Project Solution
Goal: Facilitate
international content
collaboration from the very start

15. Concurrent Engineering & Integrated Product Teams
Critical Responses to the Challenges
Concurrent Engineering
Engage all disciplines from the start
Ensure the core design streamlines
downstream processes
American Engineers
Integrated Project Teams
Canadian Hippy Assemble diverse specialists
to work together collaboratively
Engineers, communicators &
business stakeholders all in
the same room French Scientist

16. Shifting the Focus to Upstream Content

17. Mommy, Where do Airplanes Come From?
From the mind
of a genius,
of course!
2
1 Design 3 Document
Most
common
answer but
4 wrong!

18. The Quest for the Content behind Airplanes
A trail of references led back to the primary sources
A library of Engineering Standards provided the
starting point with guidance, controls & a lot of data

19. The Real Answer Looks More Like This
4
2
3 Design
1 Document 5 Document
6 6

20. A New View of Document Content
An Integrated View of Content
Controls
Sources (Precedence)
Outputs (Goals)
Processes (Mechanisms)
IDEF0
Integrated Definition
Activity Models from USAF

21. The Assembly before the Assembly
Content work
moves forward
in the
product
lifecycle
Content is
rendered in
whatever form
that best
addresses
the need
- Lookup
- Wizard
- Product
design
feature

22. The Brave New World of Intelligent Content

23. Intelligent Content & Lean Manufacturing
Integrated team
defining business
processes Intelligent Content
Modeling Language
(ICML)
Constructed of
intelligent content
components
Connecting business goals
to the guidance provided to the
staff & suppliers performing work activities

24. A Digression concerning Content Modeling
Goal:
Provide a
streamlined
representation
of content
models &
associated
processes
Sources:
Object Process
Methodology
& IDEF0

25. Enabling The Smart Enterprise
The core intelligence lies in the precedence network – connecting ideas to actions.
This facilitates the matching of actuals & feedback back to goals.

26. Integrated Content Teams
Teams integrate participants
from all content disciplines
Technical communicators
Publishing specialists
UX & Usability experts
Information architects
Media artists…
This team is then integrated
into the full product team
Engineers
John M. Manly &
Lawyers Edith Rickert (1932)
Business stakeholders…

27. Implications

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