Developing a Multi-Channel Publishing Strategy Ann Rockley President, The Rockley Group Inc.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The Rockley Group Inc. Summer 2007

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The Rockley Group sample clients

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Requirements  Internet  Intranet  Paper  In person (service desks)  Helpdesks and numbers manned by individuals  Automated systems such as kiosks and numbers  Mobile

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Multiple content creators  Employees  Information specialists  Legal  External consultants  Individuals  Firms

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The Content Silo Trap TM  Content is created by multiple authors working in isolation  Walls are erected among content areas  Content is created, recreated, and recreated

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The effects of silos  Results in uncertainty as to what is the appropriate, official and/or up-to-date version of information  Wrong versions get used and re-used  Lack of standardization makes it impossible to share information between departments or between different levels of the organization/government  Lack of consistency results in  Incorrectly informed officials  Customer/public complaints that can have serious ramifications

Channel complexities

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Web as a primary vehicle for content  Marketing  Product/Service support  Self serve  Customer interaction

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Print  Complexity of content  Safety regulations  Customer desire  Portable medium  No/poor access to the web

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Other  Call centers  Kiosks  Mobile devices

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. It’s not about channel  It’s about content  Content separate from channel  Content is created and “pushed” to the appropriate channel with little or no hand manipulation  Well managed content from a central source  Clear strategy, underlying framework and strategy to support a unified content strategy

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The levels of multi-channel publishing  Level 1: Identical content, multiple channels Content written for one media (e.g., paper) is repurposed with no change for another channel (e.g., paper to HTML for the web)  Level 2: Static customized content This type of reuse is customized to meet the needs of the user, the type of materials to be developed, and the channel.  Level 3: Dynamic customized content On demand customized content to meet users needs.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Requirements Level 1: Straight-forward content conversion tools Level 2: Component-oriented structured content (XML) Level 3: Component-oriented structured content, dynamic delivery engine

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The role of structure “Unstructured content is stupid and old-fashioned. It's costly, complex, and does not generate a competitive advantage.” Anne Mulcahy, Xerox Chairman and CEO

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The role of XML  XML is fast becoming the new Internet standard for information exchange.  With the advent of DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) it is fast becoming the preferred method for creating, managing, and publishing content  For complex information reuse and publishing, XML is the technology of choice.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Importance of XML  Structured content  Separation of content and format  Built-in metadata  Database orientation  XSL style sheets  Personalization

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Structured content  Clear identifiable semantic structure  When structure can be identified content can be manipulated (e.g., key summary can be inline in print, sidebar online, single screen in mobile device)  Content can be reused (e.g., product/service statement can be used in multiple content types)

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Separation of content and format  The separation of content and format offers immense flexibility.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Built-in metadata  The tag names become metadata.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Database orientation  XML provides a structural format that can be stored very easily in databases.  It can be stored as a series of elements rather than a whole document, and those elements can be extracted and assembled in any order, based on your needs.

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Use of XSL  Format content for online display or for paper- based delivery  Add constant text or graphics  Filter content  Sort or reorder text

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Supporting multi-channel publishing  Clear well structured information architecture  Technology

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Information architecture roadmap

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Taxonomy  Taxonomies simplify the storage and retrieval process by providing a simplified controlled set of terms that can be used to classify content. This controlled set of terms is known as a controlled vocabulary.  Taxonomies enable us to:  create structures for the logical storage of content  enable users to navigate these structures to access a particular subject of interest

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. For example  The Reo Auto Company is preparing for the annual auto show and launch of its new vehicles.  Launching their first sports utility vehicle (SUV)— the Tsai.  Requires a press release to announce their new line-up; brochures to hand out at the show and dealer showrooms; updates to the web site; and a show catalog.  Three media; paper (show catalog, press release, brochure), web (web site, press release), (press release)

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Plan  Show catalog for the entire line-up (photo, short description, and key features, three cars to a page)  Brochure for the Tsai only (photo, long description with all the features and benefits)  Press release for the Tsai only (no photo, short description, features and benefits)  Web site for entire line-up (home page for each car with photos, list of full features combined with a pricing calculator)

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Content Modeling

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Content development

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The finished product  Show catalog  Brochure  Press release  Web site

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc.

Reuse architecture  Structural reuse map  Models are made up of content structures (e.g., Description) that can be reused in multiple content models. A structural reuse map identifies where structural elements can be reused  Content reuse map  Specific content is reused in multiple places. A content reuse map identifies where content is reused

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Structural reuse map

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Content reuse map

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Repository structure Level of granularity

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Reuse management  The rules governing reuse: what happens when…  An author creates a content object which is approved  A second author reuses the content and creates a derivative of the source object and has the derivative approved in the context they are using it in  A third author wants to reuse the content. Which object should they reuse; source or derivative?

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. The technology  Authoring  CCM  Publishing

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Authoring  Structured forms  XML-native editors  Enhanced Word

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Content Component Management (CCM)  Content Component Management systems manage content at a granular level (component) of content rather than at the document level. CCM are typically XML-based.  Each component represents a single topic, concept or asset (e.g., image, table).  Components are assembled into multiple content assemblies (content types) and can be viewed as components or as traditional “documents”.  Each component has its own lifecycle (owner, version, approval, use) and can be tracked individually or as part of an assembly. CCM is typically used for multichannel customer-facing content (marketing, usage, learning, support). CCM can be a separate system or be a functionality of another content management type (e.g., ECM or WCM).

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Publishing  XSL  DITA Toolkit  XSL FO tools (PDF)  DTP

©2007, The Rockley Group Inc. Conclusion  Its not just about the web its about print, web, mobile and more  Multi-channel publishing requires:  Content strategy  Underlying content framework (Information Architecture)  Appropriate tools and technology

Questions? Ann Rockley The Rockley Group Inc