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