Copyright © Joe Gollner 2014

Getting it Right:Building Quality into your

Content @joegollner

Commentary: Introduction

This presentation was delivered as a webinarhosted by STC France on July 8, 2014.

See http://stcfrance.org

The goal of the presentation was to explore thekey steps to be taken in order to achieve andsustain content quality.

A Practitioner with Content Technologiesfor 25 years (!)

A little too interested in exploringthe nature of content& what it means tomanage & leverage it.

Based inOttawa, Canada

The ContentPhilosopher blogwww.gollner.ca

The Messenger

Content Quality: Topics

Some Definitions

Content Quality

Tools of the Trade

The Role of Automation

The Human Element

The Outcomes

ContentIs what we plan, design, create, reuse & manage so that we can deliver a rangeof effective information products

Content is potential information (it is the asset we manage)

Information Is the meaningful organization of data communicated in a specific context to achieve specific goals

Information is a transaction (a product) that contains & delivers Content

Key Definitions

Aqua

Mechanica

Content ComponentsText Modules

Media Resources

Data Sources

Relationship Links

Metadata Properties

Concept Taxonomies

Assembly Maps

Governing Models

Validation Criteria

Processing Rules

Formatting Instructions

Distribution Rights

Authority References

An information product is composed

of numerous content components

coming together to create an effective

information transaction

Content Assets come together to make Information

The phrase “Potential information” encompasses all

of the components that must come together

to produce an information product.

Contentus / Contenta / Contentum:that which is assembled & contained

Ingredients

Tools

Procedures

Packaging

Presentation

The Essence of Content

Commentary: Defining Content

The example of the Sachertorte is a useful wayto understand this particular approach to defining content. If we are to reproduce anexquisitely delicious torte then we need morethan just the ingredients. It would be possible,even likely, to mix those ingredients, bake them,and then be left with a mess. Tools, skills anda proven recipe outlining the step-by-steppreparation instructions are all needed. Just sowith content. If we rewind an effective information transaction, we will find all thepieces that need to come together to produce

a comparable information event.

Commentary: Defining Content – 2

By introducing such a sharp distinction betweencontent and information, we make it possibleto focus fully on the challenges of managing and optimizing content. It also makes it clearthat managing information is a different, butno less challenging, area of specialization.

These two domains overlap in the InformationProduct that is published from the availablecontent assets and that is transacted withinthe context of one or more business processes.

The Secret Life of Content

Why is this Important?

A discussion of Content Quality must begin with a clear understanding of what Content is

The definition of content as potentialinformation underscores itstechnical dimension

Content is typicallyencountered in a published form, whichis the result of many pieces being assembled & delivered using automation

The Content Life Cycle

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentDelivery

ContentEngagement

How content is created, converted or licensed

How content is selected, assembled & published

How content is changed, controlled & protected

How content is improved by user feedback

Commentary: Balance within the Content Lifecycle

The content lifecycle activities effectively encompass all of the things that happen tocontent and that can be done with content.These activities share numerous inter-dependencies, and improvements inone area will often be dependent on supportingimprovements being made in other activities.

It is one of the key functions of a Content Strategy to establish and maintaina working balance among the content lifecycleactivities.

Content Strategy: A Plan for Continuous Improvement

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentDelivery

ContentEngagement

ContentStrategy

Peter Drucker (Management Thinker)Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for….Customers pay only for what is of use to them and gives them value. Nothing

else constitutes quality.

John Ruskin (English Artist / Art & Social Critic)Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.

Aristotle (Greek Philosopher)Quality is not an act, it is a habit.

The Content PhilosopherQuality is the alignment of results with requirements

Defining Quality

Commentary: Quality as a Form of Balance

The alignment of results & requirements as the essence of quality is an important thing to stress.

Over-investment in solution capabilities, or gold-plating as it is also known, is as seriousa problem as under-investment. Gold-plating isa serious problem because it leads, quite quickly, to elevated system complexity and withthat increased development & support costs.

It is important to balance investments so thatthey align with business priorities which usually

means addressing client needs effectively.

Content Quality

Information Quality Feedback Loop

Content quality can only be measured indirectly

It is information that interacts with real users & their tasks

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentEngagement

ContentDelivery

ContentStrategy

InformationProduct

UserTask

Guidance

Feedback

Feedback & analytics from information use is what drives Content Engagement

Content Quality Feedback Loop

The Key Challenge for the Content Quality Process

Content is associated with many information products & uses

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentEngagement

ContentDelivery

ContentStrategy

InformationProduct

UserTask

Guidance

Feedback

The more variety in information products, the greater the content quality challenge

Commentary: Quality Feedback Loops

Any one content component may participate inpotentially large numbers of informationproducts. Dozens of information products beingproduced from a set of content components iscommon. In some projects, a content componentcan find itself being published in thousands of concurrent information products.

These information products reflect different product versions, different audience views, different languages, different formats,….Content quality is determined by aggregating

feedback on all active information products.

Do we have good quality contentif it is accurate & up-to-datebut only useful in one of theneeded information formats? No!

Rhetorical Question

Tools of the Trade

Content Creators & Editors

Need to be able to workefficiently & naturally

This calls for:

A stable & responsive tool forediting XML content

A management environmentthat supports the discovery & reuse of content components

Referencing & reuse activities are continuously streamlined

Improves content consistency

Tools Matter

Customizing yourXML Editor to bringauthors “closer” totheir content

and to all outputs…

Enhanced validation services

Provide useful feedback to authors

Tailored Authoring Experiences

Schematron

ISO/IEC 19757-3:2006 Information technology

-- Document Schema Definition Language (DSDL)

-- Part 3: Rule-based validation -- Schematron

Authors will increasingly need to experience content as it will be experienced by users

Previewingis thefirst step

InformationPrototypingallowsauthors to exploreuser tasksas a way torefine content

From Previewing to Information Prototyping

Commentary: Information Prototyping

Information Prototyping extends the previewing function to the generation of completeenvironments that users will experience.

More and more users interact not so much withindividual information artifacts as with networkedcollections of information items that they searchand navigate through in order to complete tasks.

Authors need to be able to see content as it willbe experienced by users. A tangible sense of thiswill feed directly into how the content is prepared.

Information Prototyping

Makes it possible to engage usersin formal usability tests

Key Questions

Are users able to performtheir key tasks?

When more complex situations arise, can users find the right informationquickly?

Does the information formattingwork well with the target device?

Information Usability Testing

The Role of Automation

Automatedprocesses cananalyze yourcontent & giveauthors input

Analysis canbe tailoredto addressknown issuesor goals

Automated Content Analysis

www.acrolinx.com

Commentary: Content Analysis

All analysis processes should be welcomed.

The analysis results should be integrated & displayed in ways that are informative & useful.Authors & managers find ways to interpret them.

Running analysis processes on content provides a secondary benefit. It subjects content to processing scenarios (e.g., with third party tools)that can uncover low-level issues that cancause trouble elsewhere. (Processability is integral to the nature of content.)

The processes bywhich content becomes informationproducts are critical

How well these processes are designed, built &supported will determinehow reliable & responsive they will be

An important area of technical specialization

Information Prototyping can be used to continually test processes

Content Processing Pipelines (often the weak link)

The Human Element

Ultimately a Management Responsibility

Tactics for engaging Authors

Provide useful feedback

Eliminate inefficiencies

Involve authors in the design & evolutionof information products

Help to bring authors close to how the information will be used

Content Quality depends upon Author Engagement

Commentary: Author Engagement

There will be significant politics & cultural dynamics in any initiative to change the waycontent is handled.

Management needs to display leadershipbut is usually engaged elsewhere. Managementcontributions are more likely to take the form ofabrupt changes to the budget or plan.

Making up for the general weakness of management leadership in most organizationswill be your biggest challenge.

Outcomes

The effects of content quality surface in many ways

This can be a challenge

The investment in content qualitycan be hidden behind the effects

Organizations often forgetwhere high quality informationproducts come from

It is our task to make sure thatorganizations understand theimportance of content quality& that they do not forget it…

Information Quality is the Outcome of Content Quality

Commentary: Selling Content Quality

A useful tactic is to pitch new informationproducts that are only possible throughwell-managed content.

Management will still only see the new information products and quickly forget thatthey depend on well-managed content.

Often you will need to introduce a stream ofnew and improved information products thattogether cannot be achieved without well-managed content.

Questions & Comments