Content Experience Leadership: Transforming Your Organization for Content Excellence

IBM Client Technical Content Experience (CTCX)

© IBM Corporation 2014. All Rights Reserved.@aames #tcuk15

Content Experience Leadership:Transforming Your Organizationfor Content Excellence

Andrea L. Ames (@aames)IBM Senior Technical Staff MemberIBM Enterprise Content Experience Strategist/Architect/Designer

29 September 015

IBM Enterprise Content Strategy & Content Experience

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Today’s agenda

Part 1: MetaworkshopIntroduction and level settingPart 2: Key success factor #1Process and methods

– Break (15 min) –Part 3: Key success factor #2Measurement Part 4: Key success factor #3Stakeholder management and communicationPart 5: Wrap upBurning questions addressed?


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Metaworkshop: Introduction


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Acknowledging Alyson Riley, my former IBM content strategy cohort in crime

Original incarnation of the predecessor to this workshop and its content was a labor of love

Co-created by me and AlysonCo-taught by me and Alyson twice

Alyson designed the chart template and most of the graphical charts

Although Alyson has moved on from IBM to The Mayo Clinic, she is clearly with us in sprit through this material

All material is used with her knowledge and consent


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About Andrea (@aames)

Technical communicator since 1983Areas of expertise:

Content experience design: strategy, architecture, and interaction designArchitecture, design, and development of product-embedded assistance Content and product usabilityUser-centered process for content development and experience design

Senior Technical Staff Member on corporate Enterprise Content team, IBM CIOUniversity of CA Extension program chair and master instructorSTC Fellow, past president, former member of Board of Directors, and Intercom columnist (with Alyson Riley) of The Strategic IAACM Distinguished Engineer


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Setting the scene for the workshop

Learning experientially, through discussion, interactionFocus is on the ecosystem and soft skillsGoal is to gain specific, actionable ideas that will enable you to create and drive that ecosystem, not the acts of creating a specific strategy document or plan


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Success factors—MINE!

Understand what a “content strategy ecosystem” isIdentify the key components of the ecosystemIdentify the potential weak points in your ecosystemTake away some actionable approaches for maturing your ecosystemHave fun!


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Burning questions—YOURS!What is the one burning question

you’d like this workshop session to answer?


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Metaworkshop: Context and level-setting

Organization considerationsSystems thinkingContent ecosystemContent experience


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A little context-setting…Where do you live in this picture?


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Systems thinking, part 1from wikipedia (of course ;)

The process of understanding how things, regarded as systems, influence one another within a wholeAn approach to problem solving

Viewing “problems” as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to specific part, outcomes or events, and potentially contributing to further development of unintended consequencesA set of habits or practices within a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation

Focuses on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect


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Systems thinking, part 2from wikipedia (of course ;)

And most importantly for our purposes…

Attempts to illustrate how small, catalytic events that are separated by distance and time

can cause significant changes in complex systems

Acknowledges thatan improvement in one area

can adversely affect another area

Promotes organizational communication at all levels

to avoid the silo effect


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The Iceberg ModelSummarized from It's All Connected: A Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, Benjamin Wheeler, Gilda Wheeler and Wendy Church. www.facingthefuture.org

Trends/patterns of behavior (anticipate) What’s been happening?

Systemic structure(design) What is contributing to the patterns?

Events(react)

What happened?

Increasing leverage

Mental models(transform) What keeps these patterns going?


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People—the “living” organisms

RolesPower structures and politics, governanceCulture and community

What is a “content ecosystem?”

Products—outputs of the interaction within the system

ContentPackagingArtifactsTools and technology

Living and nonliving components

Interacting

Resulting in content ecosystem

Processes—the non-living components

Models, metrics, best practicesInterdependenciesCommunication


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What is a “content experience?”

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

• Message• Motivation

• Form/format• Layout

• Where• When

• Organization• Structure

• Perceptions• Judgments


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To users, often experienced more like this…

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

Content

Presentation

Delivery

Navigation

User

www.alapilar.com


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Key Success Factor #1:Methods


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Design Thinking: What is it? (wikipedia)

A formal method for practical, creative resolution of problems and creation of solutions, with the intent of an improved future result

A form of solution-based, or solution-focused thinking – starting with a goal (a better future situation) instead of solving a specific problem

By considering both present and future conditions and parameters of the problem, alternative solutions may be explored simultaneously

It’s NOT just for “designers”


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A bit of history

In science… Herbert A. Simon, 1969, The Sciences of the ArtificialIn engineering… Robert McKim, 1973, Experiences in Visual ThinkingTeaching… Stanford University, 1980s and 1990sIn business… David M. Kelley, founded IDEO 1991


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The framework (“process”)from http://dschool.stanford.edu

Empathize

Define

Ideate

Prototype

Test

Who is my user?

What are their needs?

What are some possible solutions?

How can I best communicate possible solutions to potential users?

What worked and what didn’t?


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Key: Solution-based thinking

DivergentConvergent

An example…

Design a vase.

Design a better way for people to enjoy flowers.


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A few useful methodsfrom http://dschool.stanford.edu/use-our-methods/

Empathize

Define

Ideate

Prototype

Test

Empathy mapping

Journey mapWhat, how, why?

BrainstormPowers of ten

Prototype for empathyPrototype to test

Usability testing


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Key success factor #2:Measurement

Assess baselineMeasure


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1. Analyze business data2. Analyze client data3. Analyze current content ecosystem4. Analyze history5. Analyze the political landscape

Assess your baseline –the state of things today?

Define success

Measure what you defined


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Assess your baseline


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1. Before you begin2. Analyze content3. Analyze “packaging”4. Analyze people5. Analyze processes

3Analyzing the current content ecosystem


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Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 1: Before you begin, part 1

To learn about the ecosystem as a whole, you need to build and leverage a network that includes subject matter experts from every facet and entity that participates in the content ecosystem—you need their expertise both to gather and interpret data

Wherever possible, use metrics to distinguish opinion from fact—but don’t try to interpret the data you collect without others’ insights and experience

Like any ecosystem, the content ecosystem is comprised of interdependent elements

While it’s tempting to focus solely on the content facet of the ecosystem, you must see the system

To gain a nuanced and true understanding of how the ecosystem works (and where you’ve got work to do), you need to analyze each element and how the system functions as a whole

z

content process

peoplepackaging


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Your systems thinking skills are really getting a workout!Another system impacts the content ecosystem: the product lifecycleWhen assessing your content ecosystem, view it as the client/buyer/user sees it: an interconnected series of product interactions facilitated by contentInterpret the effectiveness of your content ecosystem by asking:

How well does the ecosystem function in and between each phase of the product lifecycle?

A generalized view ofIBM’s product lifecycle


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materialobjects, actions—

owned, controlled, repeatablecommodities made of scarce resources

immaterialknowledge, competencies, emotions—

not owned, boxed, or controlledavailable in abundance

*Adapted from Miikka Leiononen’s “Melt,” here

*

Effective content ecosystems generate profit for the business

and value for the client:

In the knowledge economy,profit is created by “stuff”

but value is created by content:

new economy

old economy

Remember what the content ecosystem is for…

Company-generated information

http://www.slideshare.net/Miikka/melt-beta?utm_source=slideshow03&utm_medium=ssemail&utm_campaign=share_slideshow


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A word about assessing a content ecosystem…When you analyze the content ecosystem, you look at:

ContentPackagingPeople Processes

When you measure the content ecosystem, make sure you identify or define measurements for:

ContentPackagingPeopleProcesses

Only measuring content will not give you a complete assessment of the effectiveness of the ecosystemThink about:

Metrics for external effectivenessMetrics for internal efficiency


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Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 2: Analyze content, part 1

To assess content health, do a heuristic evaluation:How well does the content meet client/buyer/user needs?

Go back to your client data—are the high-priority client business goals, scenarios, and tasks thoroughly covered?

Can you easily see the value propositions for the product in the content ecosystem?

Is the content client-centered, task-focused, and high-value?

How thoroughly does the content cover the full product lifecycle?Are there gaps or disconnects between the phases of the product lifecycle?

Are there content redundancies or inconsistencies that could derail or confuse a client?

Does the content enable client success in the typical tasks within each phase?

How well does the content address typical client content needs?How well does the current information experience address product content such as up-and-running, getting started, preventing or recovering from errors, and so on?

Does the information experience include embedded assistance where appropriate?


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Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 2: Analyze content, part 2

Continued…How well does the content address typical information-seeking behaviors?

Starting: identifying relevant sources of interest.

Chaining: following and connecting new leads found in an initial content source.

Browsing: scanning contents of identified sources for subject affinity.

Monitoring: staying informed about developments in a particular subject area.

Differentiating: filtering and assessing content sources for usefulness.

Extracting: working through a source to find content of interest.

How well does the content contribute to a delightful client experience?Is the information experience elegant in its presentation, visual design, etc.?

Are there opportunities to simplify or innovate?

Are there opportunities to improve the information experience, such as:Improvements to the product that result in a need for less content?Tighter integration between interaction (UI) and information?Simplified information architecture—fewer sources, fewer pages, designed paths?


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Analyzing the content ecosystem—Step 2: Analyze contentWhat is high-value content?

As you analyze today-state content, spot the high-value content—track it, measure it, note its impact on the information experienceHigh-value content is content that:

Speaks directly to client/buyer/user business goalsIncludes only the tasks necessary to achieve those goalsAids the client in making decisions or applying concepts in their own situationsIs technically rich in the sense that it includes validated real-world samples, examples, best practices, and lessons learned

High value content does not:Focus on manipulating elements of a user interface (those things that everyone should know by now, such as "Type your name in the name field")Describe tasks that can't be mapped to a meaningful goal or objectiveDescribe what to do without explaining how to do itDescribe how to do it without explaining why to do it

!


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How do you measure high value content? That depends! If your goal is to convince others that high value content matters, look at:

How does my content contribute to clients' purchase decisions? Is there click-through data and contributions to conversions on marketing pages that I can reference?

How does my content contribute to clients' perceptions of product quality? What's the relationship between quality problems in my content and known quality problems with the product?

How does my content contribute to client satisfaction with our products?

How does my content contribute to the product visibility (and thus the sales cycle and revenue streams) in the marketplace? What kind of social capital is being generated around my content? Who's active, and how active are they? How frequently and with what impact am I engaging with customers through my content? What are they talking about—nits, or requirements for content or broader product strategy? Does the sum of the social conversation support IBM business strategy and advance the eminence of our brand?

If your goal is to assess the effectiveness of your content and experience, look at:

Heuristic evaluations (we just talked about this)

Traditional web statistics

Analyzing the content ecosystem—Step 2: Analyze contentAssess today-state content metrics, part 1

We’ll talk more about business metrics later on—let’s look at web stats now…


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Web metrics are one way to assess the effectiveness of content

Content strategists use web metrics to gain a clear picture of client/buyer/user activity in the current information experience that the content ecosystem supports:

Historical data: Number of visitors to the site or page over time

User data: Who is visiting your site and where they are located

Page popularity: Most and least accessed pages

File types: Files that have been loaded as opposed to viewed

Operating systems and browsers: Browsers and devices used to view content

Referrers: Who is pointing to your stuff, and who isn’t as expected

Referrals: How people are getting to your stuff

Search terms: Words with which users describe and try to find your content

Robots and spiders: Programs that have crawled your site in order to provide information about site contents to search engines


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Interpret current web statistics to understand how clients:Search for the information—whether the content is optimized for search engines (SEO); what click-through and bounce rates show about user paths and successEnter the experience—whether designed entry points are effectiveThink about the information space—what search terms they enter, what topics they pick as they browse found contentNavigate the information space—whether user paths make sense relative to your understanding of their business goals and tasksUse the information—how actual usage patterns differ from designed or predicted usage patterns; how much time they spend on certain pages; whether they’re accessing content on mobile devices, etc.Value the information—any social interaction to consider?

Web usage statistics give us hints at the core issues:Is my content ecosystem performing in the ways that I expect it to, based on user actions? Is the information experience effective?

Is my content high-value, or just highly-findable?


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Consider “packaging” aspects of the ecosystem:Is the presentation of content effective and predictable across the ecosystem? Does the visual design of content support the branding strategy for the product?

Where and how is your content delivered to the client? Lots of places? One place? Do the delivery vehicles integrate well with each other? Is the content easily accessible from the client’s context or point of need?

How findable is your content across delivery vehicles? Are the signposts for wayfinding visible, usable, and predictable across the ecosystem? Is your content progressively disclosed in support of clients’ need for increasing depth or breadth of content?

In the information experience, several mediators come between the client/buyer/user and the content. We call these mediators “packaging”:

Presentation—the visual design of the contentDelivery—the vehicle used to publish the content for client accessNavigation—the various ways in which the user finds the content

Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 3: Analyze “packaging”


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Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 3: Analyze people

Who are the human players in the ecosystem?Internal players

Professional content producersMarketing teamSales enablement content teamEducation teamsBeta programs teamsSupport teamsProduct documentation teams

Non-professional content producersSubject matter expertsClient-facing personnel

External playersBusiness partners

Clients, with all their social networking tools and capabilities

What unique value does each player contribute to the ecosystem?

Look for: Strengths—these are your assets! Mission overlap—these are your pitfalls! Ways to maximize organizational

capabilities—this is your vision!


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Analyzing the content ecosystemStep 4: Analyze process

The processes at work in the content ecosystem have as profound an effect as the content itself. Analyze:

What processes are present in the ecosystem?Business processes

Corporate-level processesBusiness unit-level processes

Content design and delivery processProcesses that span all content producersProcesses unique to individual content producing teams

Are the processes effective?Do processes make it easier or harder to package content for publishing?Do processes make it easier or harder for people to work together?Do process make it easier or harder to produce high-value content?


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Measuring success


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1. Before you begin—rethinking metrics2. Plan to sell to two different audiences3. Map stakeholders to metrics4. Map content metrics to stakeholder metrics5. Set metrics-based goals6. Plan for a closed-loop process

Defining success


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Defining successStep 1: Before you begin—rethink metrics, part 1

Problem: Metrics have gotten a bad rapNumbers can be hard for word peopleThe right numbers are hard for everyoneGetting metrics to work for you requires a significant shift in thinking

Solution: Rethink metrics Metrics are another form of audience analysis (who cares about what?)Metrics are another form of usability testing (what works for whom?)

Motivation for change: Metrics are a powerful tool for getting what you want (and making sure you want the right things)

Metrics transform opinion into factMetrics remove emotion from analysis and decision-making

Strategize with metrics: Use metrics at every phase Beginning: identify opportunity, prove the strategy is rightMiddle: show incremental progress, course-correctEnd: to prove value and earn investment for the future


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A strategist is (among other things) a story-teller:Define the right visionTell a compelling, true story that inspires people to buy into your vision.

What makes a story true? Facts—things you can prove.What makes a story compelling? It speaks to what matters most.What matters most? Depends on your audience. Duh, right?

We prove the value of content with metricsValue is in the eye of the beholder.Who’s your “beholder?” Understand who your beholders actually are—that is, the real decision-makers and influencers in your world. (Remember the stakeholder management plan from Part 1?) Use metrics that target actual decision-makers. Your actual decision-makers are probably business people—executives, managers, and others who hold the purse-strings.Figure out what your audience values—their metrics for success.


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So what audience are we speaking to when we talk about things like this?Site visitors

Page hits

Visitor location

Most popular pages

Least popular pages

Bounce rate

Time spent on page

Referrals and referrers

Search terms

Etc.


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Defining successStep 2: Plan to sell to 2 different audiences

Audience 1: Business peopleUnless you can make a direct connection between your content metrics and the metrics that drive business, you are telling the wrong story for this audience. You need this audience! The business community funds us. We have to sell our vision to them, with a metrics story that resonates with them.We must learn to speak “business”—that is, prove the value of content using metrics that matter to business.

Audience 2: Content producer peopleA enterprise content ecosystem typically includes many kinds of content producers Content producers across the ecosystem tend to reflect the values of their leadership and business unit in which they’re locatedThis means that even kindred spirits—other content people—can have widely different goals and metricsYour job is to define common ground by speaking to what matters most to this audience, too.


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Defining success—Step 2: Selling to two audiencesSelling content strategy to a business audience

The kinds of metrics that we use to build effective content strategies don’t resonate with most executives, managers, and finance people.

Sometimes we “talk to ourselves”—that is, use metrics that resonate with content people, not the actual people we need to support our strategy.

“Page hits” resonate with us. “Sales leads” resonates with business.

You cannot directly connect things like page hits and bounce rates to core business metrics.

You need an informational professional’s intuition to know how content supports business metrics—most business people don’t have that intuition.

The business audience funds us. We have to sell our vision and prove our value to them, with a metrics story that speaks to what they care about most.

Examplebusiness metrics:

Revenue streams

Sales leads

Cost per lead

Customer satisfaction

Customer loyalty

Return on investment (ROI)

Time to value

Market share

Mindshare


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At IBM, we’re learning to tell a better story for a business audienceWe conducted a survey from 2010-2012 with clients and prospective clients about the value of content—here’s the hot-off-the-press data:

Defining success—Step 2: Selling to two audiencesProving the business value of content—IBM example

Shameless ad:

The May 2013 issue of STC’s

Intercommagazine

contains an article that

Alyson Riley and I wrote on

proving the business value

of content.

http://intercom.stc.org/


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Defining success—Step 2: Selling to two audiencesSelling content strategy to a content audience

Analyze each organization or team that contributes to the content ecosystemIn what business unit are they located?Who are their executives, sponsors, and stakeholders? Who “grades them” on their performance?Who funds them?What matters to them? How do they measure their progress or results?What are they doing well (both in your analysis and theirs)?Where can they improve (both in your analysis and theirs)?

Identify areas of similarity and differenceWhere do their goals align with yours? build bridges!Where do their goals conflict with yours? build business cases!Use metrics to craft a story that:

Shows problems and opportunities that each content team cares aboutMaps in key areas to their goals for contentDiverges from their current goals in ways that would increase their value to sponsors and stakeholders


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Defining successStep 3: Map stakeholders to metrics

Remember the stakeholder management plan from “Assessing and analyzing the today-state?” Here’s another place where it provides value.

Be highly intentional about making sure that your metrics plan includes data that map to the things your key stakeholders care about.

This mapping activity will help you:

Validate your strategy—does your work align with mission-critical organizational objectives?

Prepare persuasive communications for your key decision-makers—do you have the framework for a strong story to connect in meaningful ways with your various stakholders?


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Defining success—Step 3: Map stakeholders to metricsMetrics for a business audience

Use the research you did during the today-state analysis phase

Target the key decisions-makers—those who hold the purse-strings

Identify what the key business decision-makers care about

Use language that resonates with that business audience

Remember: unless you can tie a particular goal or result to a measurement that the stakeholder cares about, that result ultimately doesn’t matter

Stakeholder Example metricsVP Marketing ROI

Cost per lead Campaign performance Conversion metrics

VP Sales Viable leads Sales growth Product performance

VP Support Call volume Call length Customer satisfaction

VP Development Development costs Market share Lines of code Compliance Quality and test results


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Defining success—Step 3: Map stakeholders to metricsMetrics for a content team audienceNow map players in the content ecosystem to the metrics they care about

Remember that each content team has their own decision-makers who:

Approve their goalsDetermine their fundingDetermine their futures

Stakeholder Example metrics

Example associated content teams

Example content metrics

VP Marketing

ROI Cost per lead Campaign

performance Conversion

metrics

Web team Social team Event team

Web traffic Click-throughs Likes and shares Conversions Collateral distributed Cost per unit produced

VP Sales

Viable leads Sales growth Product

performance

Sales enablement Education & training Beta programs

Proofs of Concept (PoCs) to sale

Number of classes Beta program participants Cost per unit produced

VP Support

Call volume Call length Customer

satisfaction

Web support team Call center team

Amount of web information produced

Number of calls reduced Time of calls reduced Cost per unit produced

VP Development

Dev cost Market share Lines of code Compliance Quality and test

Product documentation team

Developers who publish whitepapers and case studies

Product community forums and wikis

Lines of text, number of pages, etc.

Cost per unit produced Web traffic Number of forum

participants


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Defining successStep 4: Map content metrics to stakeholder metrics

Tie your content strategy metrics to the metrics that matter most to your stakeholders so you can tell a story that inspires the outcomes you want.

This means researching how content influences the metrics that are most important to the specific people you need for success.

Start your research with these hints:

How does content drive purchase decisions? direct link to the revenue stream

How does content impact product quality? direct link to customer loyalty

How does content influence customer satisfaction? direct link to ROI

How does content shape clients’ perceptions of your company? direct link to mindshare


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Defining successStep 5: Set metrics-based goalsSo what are the goals for your content strategy? Express those goals in the form of business metrics and content metrics. Some examples:

Business metrics Sample content metrics Sample content goalsPurchase decisions(revenue)

Reach—visits, etc. Engagement—referrals, etc.

Contribute to revenue stream through referrals from technical content that become sales leads.

Product quality(customer loyalty)

Reach—visits, etc. Engagement—referrals, etc.

Contribute to product quality through by simplifying the amount of content in the user experience.

Customer satisfaction(ROI)

Web traffic Direct feedback Ratings Shares (social)

Create high value content that speeds customer time to success.

Perceptions of company (mindshare)

Sentiment—nature of social dialogue, etc.

Direct feedback

Create high quality, highly usable content delivered in an elegant information experience.


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Defining successStep 6: Plan for a closed-loop process

Closed loop: end up at the beginning!Start with metrics—use at project outset to:

Identify problems and opportunitiesDefine the visionProve that the vision is right

Continue with metrics—use during implementation to:Measure the success of your progress in small incrementsStay on-target through implementationDetermine when it’s time to course-correct (before change gets expensive)Keep your sponsors and stakeholders engaged throughout the long haulEnsure that you remain connected to the broader goals and metrics of the surrounding businessEnsure that you stay responsive and adapt to change

End with metrics—use at project conclusion to:Prove the business value of cultivating an effective content ecosystemProve the business value of your work—enhance your credibility and careerEncourage future investment in the content ecosystem


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Managing and communicating with stakeholders


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1. Before you begin—understanding the role and value of stakeholders

2. Assess your stakeholders3. Build a community-based model4. Tell the right story

1Managing your stakeholders


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Managing your stakeholdersStep 1: Before you begin—their role and value

To make content strategy happen, you have to master politics

Think of it as a game—moving pieces on a boardYou can’t touch the pieces directly to move them where you want them

You have to inspire them to move

You inspire them by figuring out what they care about and helping them succeed

It doesn’t have to be an evil gameLook for win-win alliances and opportunities

Discover and play to people’s strengths

Enjoy finding kindred spirits in the game—don’t get bogged down by pieces on the board that refuse to move

Enjoy the wins—be sure to share the rewards

Learn from the losses—keep your eye on the end game on not on emotional setbacks

Make smart compromises for the greater good—but remember who you are


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Managing your stakeholdersStep 2: Assess your stakeholders

Whose agendas do you need to understand to be successful?

Which influencers can help you? What are their agendas?

Which influencers could block you? What are their agendas?

How can you help your influencers be successful?

How can you map your success to business priorities and metrics?

Manage your stakeholders intentionally:Their top concerns

Their metrics

The level of support you desire from them

What role they play (or you’d like them to play) in your work

The actions that you want them to take (and their priority)

The messages that you need to craft for them to enable the outcome you want

—Rachel ThompsonStakeholder Management:

Planning Stakeholder Communication. MindTools.

Web. 12 April 2013.

Free stakeholder management worksheet here: http://bit.ly/8UnUdj

“Stakeholder management is critical to the success of every

project in every organization … By engaging the right

people in the right way in your project, you can make a big difference to

its success...and to your career.”

http://bit.ly/8UnUdj


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Managing your stakeholdersStep 3: Build a community-based model

Executive sponsor

Business unit sponsors

Content thought leaders from each domain or department

Content teams from each domainor department

infrastructure gurus

graphic design

content marketing

product management

Network of supportive friends

interaction design

engineering

writers

editors


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Managing your stakeholdersStep 3: Build a community-based model, cont.

Define prioritiesWhich common metrics can we unite around?Which metrics will we be measured against?Which common metrics tell our story best?

Take first steps toward impactWhat mission unites us? What small, measurable projects could we do together to build relationships and demonstrate incremental progress?How can we crawl—walk—run toward value?

Communicate constantly—up, down, acrossTake interim measurementsMaintain sponsor interestCourse-correct as needed


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Managing your stakeholdersStep 4: Tell the right story

What your metrics give you:The “black and white” part of your strategyThe facts that prove your strategy is a good oneAn argument that speaks to the analytical mind

What your metrics don’t give you:A guaranteed successful “sell” to your stakeholdersA vision that inspires people to believeA story that speaks to the emotional heart

Think through the content, tactics, and rhetorical devices that will sell your vision

Be sure that your metrics help you gather all the data you need to tell an ethos—logos—pathos story (huh?)


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Ethos—your credibility (professionalism; authority)

Logos—the logic of your argument; the clarity of your message and evidence, using either inductive (bottom-up) or deductive (top-down) reasoning

Pathos—an emotional appeal, vivid storytelling, creative envisioning

Use all the techniques you can to help your audience visualize the future!

Show, don’t tell—include imagery, video, and audio as appropriate to show the challenges of the today-state and help your audience imagine tomorrow

Keep your packaging professional—high-quality, visually-appealing charts and documents will enhance your ethos

Help your audience learn—start with the big picture (an executive summary), then feed them the details

Remember good old Aristotle? Use your skills as a technical communicator to tell a compelling story with your business case! Ensure your story speaks to:

Managing your stakeholdersStep 4: Tell the right story


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Managing stakeholdersStep 4: Tell the right story, cont.

EthosYour authority, credibility, professionalism, and authenticity

PathosEmotional appeal, vivid imagery, creative envisioning, imagining

LogosLogic, data, clarity, evidence—either inductive (bottom-up) or deductive (top-down) reasoning

Use metrics to: Speak to the analytical mind Tell the “black and white” part

of your strategy Articulate facts that prove that

your strategy is a good one

Use vision to: Speak to the heart Inspire people to believe Craft a narrative that

resonates and lingers long after you’ve left the room

Use expert communication to: Prove that you own the space Provide powerful evidence that

you are worthy of trust and investment Build a network of influencers


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1. Before you begin2. Specify the issue3. Depict the outcome4. Articulate your recommendation5. Provide justification6. Identify the team

2Building a high-level business case


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Building a business caseStep 1: Before you begin—embrace the case

The beauty of black-and-white—a business case helps you:

Ensure that your strategy is complete and that you’ve thought through every potential issue

Fight the battle for content strategy by equipping you with powerful ammunition

Transform your message from “I want this” to “These critical data show that…”

Demonstrate rigor and professionalism

Assert your credibility—it is the lingua franca of the business world

Lots of mental roadblocks out there about writing business cases!

Let’s demystify business cases a bit! There are lots of approaches and templates out there for building good business cases—but for our purposes today, let’s pare down the content in a typical business to a few key ideas…


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Building a business caseStep 2: Specify the issue

Describe the business problem—clearly, briefly, factually

What business problem does your content strategy solve?

What is the impact of this business problem—today, and tomorrow?

Go back to your metrics and stakeholder management plans—state the problem in those terms, mapped directly to business priorities

“Management is concerned with decreasing costs and increasing revenue, so state the problem in those terms.” —Jack Molisani

“Don’t assume that management can see the ‘pain’ of this problem as clearly as you can.” —Jack Molisani

Do not describe how the problem will be addressed—merely define the problem.


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Building a business caseStep 3: Depict the outcome

What would an ideal tomorrow-state look like?

What would success look like?

This is the spot where you help your audience imagine the possibilities that your solution will address!

Your vision!


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Building a business caseStep 4: Articulate your recommendation

So how do we achieve the outcome you described?

Describe your solution and how your solution solves the problem

Describe the benefits of your solution (another spot where you can use those metrics and stakeholder management plans)

Revenue?

Customer satisfaction?

Client ROI?

Mindshare?

Marketshare?

Cost reduction or avoidance?

You get the idea…

Describe how moving forward with your strategy will achieve desirable results.

Use your skills as a technical communicator—write your justifications using why? and for whom? and how much?


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Building a business caseStep 4: Provide justification

Let your audience see how you arrived at this solution:

Describe all viable/meaningful alternatives (including doing nothing)

Use your metrics plan to evaluate each option

Calculate ROI (where you can): amount returned / costs

Estimate how long it will take to see those returns on investment

Identify any risks and communicate a plan to mitigate those risks

Specify why you selected your approach over alternative options


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Building a business caseStep 5: Identify the team

Who do you need in order to achieve your vision?

Leaders of the project?

Sponsors?

Stakeholders?

What skills do you need?

Leadership/strategy/vision

Project management

Technical

End-to-end information experience skills

Information development skills

Etc.

Make a clear and concise request for resources, and be sure that these resources have been accounted for in your cost assessments


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Wrap up


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Themes from today’s session

1. The importance of systems thinking—analyze and strategize at the ecosystem-level

2. The importance of metrics—tell the right story in the right way to the right people

3. The value of knowing who you are—play to your strengths

4. The value of knowing who influences your success—identify the real decision-makers

5. The importance of soft skills—communication, evangelism, assertive outreach, networking, breaking down barriers

6. The critical role that community plays in your success—managing your stakeholders, building relationships with key players in your content ecosystem

7. The wisdom of crawl-walk-run—don’t boil the ocean, but rather envision the run phase, start with crawl, and plan for walk

8. The critical importance of understanding users, business—every phase of the content strategy process, every deliverable, every communication


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Resources


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Resources

Ames, Andrea. “Creating a Content Strategy Ecosystem” http://bit.ly/1iYCykYAmes, Andrea and Alyson Riley. “Strategic information architecture: The information user experience.” Intercom (October 2012). 28-32.Bhapkar, Neil. 8 KPIs Your Content Marketing Measurements Should Include. Content Marketing Institute. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/Wnb7Cy

Carliner, Saul. Ten tips for building a business case. Intercom (June 2012).

Checkland, Peter. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. 1999.

Ecology, Mind, & Systems: ecomind.wikidot.com

Ellerby, Lindsay. Analysis, plus synthesis: Turning data into insights. UX Matters (27 April 2009). Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/C2vQ6

Ellis, David. (1989). A behavioural model for information retrieval system design. Journal of information science, 15 (4/5): 237-247.

Johnson, Steve. Writing the market requirements document. Pragmatic Marketing. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/SiTrF2

Kalbach, James. “Designing for Information Foragers: A Behavioral Model for Information Seeking on the World Wide Web.” Internetworking, Internet Technical Group newsletter. Web. 20 April 2013. http://bit.ly/11Ryc15

http://bit.ly/1iYCykY

http://bit.ly/Wnb7Cy

http://ecomind.wikidot.com/

http://bit.ly/C2vQ6

http://bit.ly/SiTrF2

http://bit.ly/11Ryc15


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References

Kalbach, James and Aaron Gustafson. Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience. Cambridge: MA: O’Reilly Media, 2007.

Kantner, Laurie, Roberta Shroyer, and Stephanie Rosenbaum, "Structured Heuristic Evaluation of Online Documentation.” http://bit.ly/1Gf3IZq

Klipfolio. The KPI Dashboard—Evolved. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/LhzeL9

Molisani, Jack. How to build a business case. Intercom (July/August 2008).

Muldoon, Pamela. 4 metrics every content marketer needs to measure: Interview with Jay Baer. Content Marketing Institute. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/X8IvMJ

Plowman, Kerry J. Five pitfalls of requirement writing. Pragmatic Marketing. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/RWKbUY

Sehlhorst, Scott. Writing good requirements—the big ten rules. Tyner Blain blog. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/13Y7t0

Stanford d school http://stanford.io/1qM2OAtThompson, Rachel. Stakeholder management: Planning stakeholder communication. MindTools. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/8UnUdj

Wheeler, Benjamin, Gilda Wheeler, and Wendy Church. It's All Connected: A Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions: www.facingthefuture.org

http://bit.ly/1Gf3IZq

http://bit.ly/LhzeL9

http://bit.ly/X8IvMJ

http://bit.ly/RWKbUY

http://bit.ly/13Y7t0

http://stanford.io/1qM2OAt

http://bit.ly/8UnUdj

http://www.facingthefuture.org/


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andrea ames (@aames)

thank you

Content Experience Leadership: Transforming Your Organization for Content Excellence

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Content Experience Leadership: Transforming Your Organization for Content Excellence