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At the heart of many a content project is the dreaded content matrix. But what goes into it and what comes out? In this presentation, you’ll go deep inside content matrix examples to learn how to bend this flexible, but often intimidating, tool to your will. Sarah will dissect matrices designed for a wide variety of uses, from small stand-alone projects to enterprise-level application content management. Learn how to create a matrix easy enough for an executive to understand or as complex enough to manage 50 versions of application content. She’ll also illustrate how to integrate the matrix into a larger deliverables package. This presentation offers templates you can start using immediately.
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What’s the Matrix? The Content Matrix Deconstructed Intelligent Content 2012 24 February 2012 Sarah Beckley @sarahbeckley
SARAH BECKLEY
• Senior Content Strategist, Razorfish, Chicago
• 6 years in CS, 10+ years tech writer/print editor
• Specialize in the financial services industry
• @contentstrategy – accepting contributors
Page 2 © 2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.
THE RABBIT HOLE
• Brass tacks
• Recipes
• Resources
• Conclusion
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BRASS TACKS
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WHAT IS A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Definitions vary widely
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WHEN DO YOU USE A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Whenever you need a: • Content inventory or audit/assessment
• Gap analysis
• ROT analysis
• Migration plan
• Content development plan
• Site map
• Any time capturing content and/or data about the content supports the project goals
• “A superficial understanding of content isn’t going to cut it anymore.” -Rachel Lovinger
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WHERE DO YOU USE A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Discovery: inventory, audit, audience
• Design: crude digital asset management
• Develop: templates
• Deploy: migration plans
• Govern: metadata
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WHY DO I NEED A CONTENT MATRIX?
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MOST OF US ARE IN THE MATRIX
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HOW? THE MATRIX RECIPE
• Identify goals/needs • E.g., track, audit, build
• Define your audience(s) • E.g., execs, tech, content owners
• Add inputs • E.g., owner, disposition, metadata
• Build your matrix • Implement macros
• Morph the matrix through project phases
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SAMPLE MATRIX INGREDIENTS
• Content itself • Text, video, audio, user comments, etc.
• Information about content • Metadata, owner, status, url, content type
• CMS data for input
• Accessibility metadata
• Disposition • Toss, edit, archive
• Status • Edited, approved, in legal review
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RECIPES
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PROBLEM: MANUAL INVENTORY
• Spider inventory needs to be validated
• Small to medium-sized project
• Sample-size inventory of larger site
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RECIPE: PARSE URLS MACRO
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RECIPE: PARSE URLS MACRO
• Copy live urls from a website
• Create a macro to separate those urls from their page name
• Create a second macro to reformat names and paste them into the spreadsheet
• As in the example on the previous page
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PROBLEM: MULTIPLE AUDIENCES
• One document, many audiences • Content owners, technology, legal, etc.
• Very different needs
• Large matrix
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RECIPE: AUDIENCE MACRO
• Macros let you hide or show sets of data
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PROBLEM: CONTENT VARIANCE
• Content in the matrix
• One product, 50 variations
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RECIPE: VARIENCE MACRO
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PROBLEM: EXECUTIVE AUDIENCE
• Executives are a special challenge
• Don’t want to see unnecessary information
• Want lots of context
• Need lots of direction • How to read
• How to give feedback
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RECIPES: SIMPLE MATRICES
• AVOID giving executives a matrix
• Create a new, simpler matrix
• Strip/hide extra content from existing matrix
• Format matrix to be easier to read
• Copy content into Word
• Add wireframe or comp images to doc
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RECIPE: PROGRESSIVE FORMATTING
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PROBLEM: CONTENT DELIVERY
• Content editing and delivery must be in a matrix
• Long and short content blocks
• Must map to other deliverables
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RECIPE: REVIEWER COLUMNS
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RECIPE: MAP TO OTHER DELIVERABLES
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RECIPE: GET GRANULAR
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Bank Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
SIMPLIFY NUMBERING: NOT LIKE THIS
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Bank
Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
RECIPE: EMBED WORD FILES
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Chose to “Display file as icon” to get this result.
RESOURCES
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Resources
• Templates
• KPN: kevinpnichols.com
• Intentional Design • http://intentionaldesign.ca/2011/04/19/transactional-content-matrix/
• Google Knoll • http://knol.google.com/k/content-strategy#Content_Strategy(3A)_Deliverables
• Web Content Strategist’s Bible • http://www.contentstrategyweblog.com/2008/09/content-matrix-master-
template.html
• CMS Consultants • http://www.cmsconsultants.org/resources/website/contentMatrix.html
• LinkedIn Content Strategy group
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Resources
• Excel guidance
• Excel Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools by David E. Hawley, O’Reilly
• Excel Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Favorite Spreadsheet by Curtis Frye, O’Reilly
• General help: Chandoo.org: Become awesome in Excel
• Count formulas: Contextures.com/xlfunctions04.html
• Learn VBA: ozgrid.com/VBA
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CONCLUSION
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THE MATRIX RECIPE
• Nail down the ingredients
• Add macros to make it cook faster
• Use formulas to slice and dice
• Adapt the recipe throughout project phases
• Enjoy!
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Thank you!
• Questions?
• Contact options: • sarah.beckley@razorfish.com
• @sarahbeckley
• @contentstrategy
• LinkedIn.com/in/sarahbeckley
Page 34 © 2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.
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