Metrics that matter Making the business case that documentation has value

12:40

Christopher WardBernard Aschwanden

www.webworks.comwww.publ ishingsmarter.com

[email protected]@publishingsmarter.com

Metrics That Matter:Making the Business Case that

Documentation Has Value1

@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

12:40

Slides?


2

http://www.slideshare.net/PublishingSmarter/metrics-that-matter-making-the-business-case-that-documentation-has-value-67733639

12:40

3

Overall Objectives

Tell the story around content as a business asset. We agree there is value in documentation but have been challenged at times to “prove it”

Present to groups including sales, support, service, IT, engineering, QA/testing, manufacturing, HR, training, finance, marketing, and every other business unit in your organization

Demonstrate how documentation drives sales and generates corporate revenue to managers and executives helping them see how important documentation is to them


12:40

We will not…4

Discuss HOW to collect the numbersDetail complex spreadsheets, charts, graphs


12:40

Let’s ensure that when we talk metrics we…


5

Remember they are used to influence a discussion

It’s about an audience and a purpose Know who you are talking to Know why you are having the discussion Know what the outcomes you both want are

12:40

Defining “business case”6

Formal, written content created to convince decision makers to approve a specific action

Ideally it explores all feasible approaches to a given problem and enables you to provide the business owners the right solution

In the context of documentation, let us justify why a documentation team best serves a business by adding value to every part of the organization


12:40

The story7

WebWorks was launching a new product (CloudDrafts) and had a development plan

Needed docs, and looked at that early onSales (Chris) was onboard early to have

professional writers for many reasons Frees up developers to develop Provide higher quality content Leads to more revenue

Had to pitch this to others in the organization


12:40

What we knew going into the discussions around this project

8

The business value of content


12:40

Content effects the whole business

Content is not a problem to be addressed by: Sales IT Marketing Development Any single business unit

It is a business problemWrong or right, it affects the whole business

9


12:40

How we wanted to position the conversation with key players

10

Promoting the value


12:40

Talk to Sales11

Metrics they care about: Qualified leads who read online docs, ask better questions, informed consumer

People review docs as part of the purchasing cycle

Sales people need to know that docs help make sales easier, and that numbers go up

More time with qualified buyers, less time wasted with uninformed consumers

More sales helps the business


12:40

Talk to Support/Service12

Metrics they care about: Testing the products, and that is what writers do in creating content

Reduce bugs, increase time answering “real” questions

Support continues to support clients, not act as software testers (in beta… not even a final product)

Service continues to develop solutions with clients (billable time to a client)

Happy clients helps the business


12:40

Talk to QA/Testing13

Metrics they care about: Usability tested during content creation (if it doesn’t work as planned, documentation will prove it)

Let QA/testing focus on complex use cases, not the day-to-day ones

Stable, reliable products helps the business


12:40

Manufacturing? HR/Training/Finance/Marketing?14

Every business unit in your organization is similarThey are often overworked, underappreciated,

understaffed, or they feel they areMore often than not this is because they aren’t doing

their core jobs, and not through fault of their own

Dedicated doc teams helps the business With the right support you increase productivity in other

departments People do the jobs they were hired to do, and are supported in

content creation for the customer, with a focus on user need



12:40

Some of the names should be on the l is t , and some are not what you expect

Backup the idea that content matters

Top 500 corporations love content

12:40

16

Content is a business asset

Apple: Empowers people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Depends on content, provides tools to consume it.

Netflix: The world’s leading Internet television network with millions of members in over 190 countries enjoying 100+ million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films.

Google: Everything they do is about content. Finding content, delivering content, creating content. They make money when you look for content.


12:40

More companies, more content17

Adobe: Help you create contentMicrosoft: Create and manage contentIBM: Manage, deliver, analyze contentSamsung: Consume contentVerizon: Deliver contentWalt Disney: Create content

See a pattern? Content is king


12:40

January, 1996 essay: Content is king“Content is where I

expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting.”

Remains true today: Content is a business asset

Content is not just what is seen by the public

Copyright, trademarks, software code, legal, medical patents, help docs, sales reports, marketing materials and so much more

18


12:40

Without them you have no baseline and no hope to have a

business discussion

19

Get your metrics started


12:40

20

General ideas

Metrics are calculated You can’t make this up Track what matters,

start now ID what you want to

change, then plan, implement, see if it changes

Metrics must have value as they pertain to a project

Used for decision making@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

12:40

Measure and have metrics about21

Things your business valuesCustomer satisfactionEfficiencyResourcesQualityTimeCosts


12:40

Benefits and uses22

Create accurate project estimatesTalk clearly/numerically about scope (why

more/less)Speak with authorityJustify expenditures (e.g. new hires,

contractors), tools (licenses, upgrades), or services (trainers)

Have numerically sound reasons for updates to procedures & processes, changes in software tools, attendance at training or seminars, etc.@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

12:40

Benefits and uses (continued)23

Justify saying “no” to increased project scope or to insist on “yes” to your needs

Measure time, money, resources, etc; use this for making strategic decisions

Present information in a way that is easily consumed by management

Determine your documentation improvement strategy with customer satisfaction metrics


12:40

Discovery of a need for content, and how metrics helped form the

discussion

24

The WebWorks story


12:40

WebWorks: Key Players / Celebrities25


Tony McDow, CEO/Founder(may double as “The Hoff” in Baywatch)

Ben Allums, Director of Engineering(may double as “Locutus” from Star Trek)

Chris Ward, Director of Sales(may double as “The Dude” Jeff Bridges)

12:40

The Vision: CloudDrafts26


12:40

Development27

No documentation existed for CloudDraftsKnowing content is a key business asset, helps

drive sales Chris pitched the importance of content to Tony Easy pitch as Tony is already in the world of tech comm Tony grasped the importance of docs for both internal

and public useFirst thought was “let’s get the developers to

write it” Then laughter, lots of laughter Not because the developer isn’t a good writer, but…


12:40

Writing expertise28

Chris to Tony: “Ben can’t do all the writing…”Common reasons include:

He’s an engineer, we don’t pay them to talk to customers He’s paid to manage development, not write manuals

Developers are paid to create code, support product growth, enhance functions and features

This is new, advanced tech, putting demand on Ben’s team There is an education period for customers, we need

tutorials We need to explain the concept of our repository Knew we needed good docs to ensure people can relate to

it and to generate revenue. Good docs equals success.


12:40

Initial steps29

Discussed budget numbers (metrics)Asked vendors for a few quotes/bids,

reviewed themDidn’t make the call JUST on the

dollars Also looked at experience in writing tech

content Vetted writers based on knowledge of

similar tools Had discussions with stakeholders, got to

know the personalities and found a good fitLooked for ROI (metrics)


12:40

Initial onboarding of writers30

Demo to show functions and ask questions Writers and developers asked questions The product evolved with writers

questions Expectation of lower service and support

needs due to questions (anticipated issues before product release based on input, changes made before RTM)

During testing and docs writing, WebWorks reorganized the product, value added to the engineering team


12:40

Once content was published…31

Finished product seen by CEO/sponsor Positive impression, understood the benefits of what

was done by the content team, Delivered content and attached metrics

Tracking who looks at what, how oftenContent achieves the goals it was designed

for Easy to use Educates and encourages people to use the product Helps drive sales


12:40

Moving forward32

Metrics help with future product development Pinpoints where people have trouble Identify the most common topics searched for, time on

page, search results, other valuable informationSpecific implementation:

Through discovery realized more features were needed Docs helped provide a clear roadmap to CloudDrafts

v2.0


12:40

Net results of metric driven decisions33

Metrics via Google Analytics 24/7 responses to customer inquiries Feedback expresses true needs of

consumers Better than a focus group, live results

evolved as content was updatedAllowed WebWorks to realize

revenue quicker with solid documentation

The case was made with metrics delivered in the format best suited to the audience@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

12:40

Proof that this where youmake the business profitable

34

Which metrics showthe value of docs?


12:40

35

Top 10 lists are awesome

Ask support for the top 10 questions Document how often they are asked, and how long to answer If 2 times/day/rep, for 5 minutes

Rep spends 10min/day. If 6 reps, 1 hour… Each day 365 hours per year (about 9 weeks if people work 40hrs/week)

ID how long a team needs to document answers Or how long to code/rebuild UI/fix the damned thing at the

source Assume it takes 2 weeks with 3 people = 6 weeks effort

Compare the savings 2 weeks pass, you “spend” 6 resource weeks, to save 9

weeks/year Resource cost = 6 units. Return is 9 units (50%) within 2 weeks…


12:40

Top 10 your sales reps36

What do they demo the most Create videos so that the world can see it Add tutorials to the demo version (if you have one)

What do they find most complex to explain Write clear information to summarize it Free up reps to say “sure, let me send you a copy of

the specs for IT” and then move on


12:40

Top 10 your content37

Not only the 10 things MOST read/reviewedAlso the 10 things LEAST read/reviewed

Is it because the content is not ‘findable’ Or no longer relevant Has the issue been fixed In any case, if no one reads it, why do you

create/edit/manage it


12:40

38

Tools, t ips, processes

What you can do to improve


12:40

Stop doing “the same thing”39

Just rewriting content doesn’t helpIf you repackage bad content into good

content, but do not solve a problem, no one wins


12:40

40

12:40

Comparing two sets of text Your browser is not one of our officially

supported varieties and therefore the flow through certain areas of our site may not be as robust as otherwise. To fully utilize all of our great features, we recommend switching to one of the following: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (

download now) Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher (

download now) If you prefer not switching to one of

our recommended browsers at this time, you are still more than welcome to visit our website, although you may not get to utilize all of our features to their fullest extent,

If you have any questions, please call our Sales Super Centre at 1-800-538-5696.

Our site does not officially support your browser. Feel free to explore with it, but you may not be able to use all our features.

You may want to update your browser. Consider using one of the following: Microsoft Internet Explorer (download now

) Mozilla Firefox (download now)

If you have questions or encounter problems, please call our Sales Super Centre at 1-800-538-5696.

From 114 words to 67 ~40% reduction! Message is clean, easy to understand Translation costs decrease Message removes the feeling of blame

41


http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/default.mspx

http://www.mozilla.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/default.mspx

http://www.mozilla.com/

12:40

Add metrics44

You can start to see how to build a story Make it something they relate to Talk about what others have done Talk about successes and about failures Explore your metrics Then get to know what people are looking for

Take the story and make it personal


12:40

45

Summing up the discussion,and options to continue it.

Conclusion and contact


12:40

Your next challenge46

Go tell the story around content as a business asset. Use information in this session to “prove it”

Present to groups including sales, support, service, IT, engineering, QA/testing, manufacturing, HR, training, finance, marketing, and every other business unit in your organization, using their terms, and show value to their teams

Demonstrate how documentation drives sales and generates corporate revenue and help managers and executives understand how important documentation is


12:40

How to do it47

Stats and case studies are ways to prove valueEngage and educate your audience, reduce

support, complaints, costs; improves sales cycle, increases profits

Show that good docs (written by good people) reduce overhead and turnover of staff in other departments, improving the entire organization

Walk into any discussion and present the value of documentation

Explain why technical communicators should always be in charge of that documentation.


12:40

48

Follow up contact information

[email protected] 905 833 8448Twitter: publishsmarter OR aschwanden4stcLinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden

[email protected]: @WebWorksChrisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebWorksChrisCompany Facebook:

www.facebook.com/WebWorksePublisherBlog: http://blogs.webworks.com/christopher


12:40

Slides?


49

http://www.slideshare.net/PublishingSmarter/metrics-that-matter-making-the-business-case-that-documentation-has-value-67733639

Entertainment & Humor

Metrics that matter Making the business case that documentation has value