content architecture at work

Content Architecture “At Work”

Cleve Gibbon (@cleveg) CTO, Cognifide

…to create digital properties at the speed of Wordpress

the scale of Salesforce, with the simplicity of Google.

Just over five years ago, a customer asked me, to give them the ability to…

Change Content

TeamsValue

Digital

Content Managed Web Site

Digital Content Platform

Content Management

System

Web Managed Solution

10+ Digital properties

Content Management Ecosystem

Web Channel

Content Managed Web Site

Digital Content Platform

Content Management

System

Web Managed Solution

10+ Digital properties

Content Management Ecosystem

Digital Platform

1000+ Digital

Properties

Multi ChannelWeb Channel

Audience

A C

Content

T

Technology

Content Architecture

Why What How

Why content architecture?To enable digital and content agility.

Digital ContentCustomer Experiences

Aggregation API

Archiving Audit

Authoring Distribution

Inventory Lifecycle

Localisation Management

Measurement Modelling

Personalisation Search

Syndication Taxonomy Translation Workflow

…

Analytics Automation Campaigns CMS CRM eCommerce Email Mobility Multi-Channel

Digital Agility

• Train and tracks are tightly coupled systems that are highly efficient.

• Cars and the road are loosely coupled systems the provide more flexibility.

• Digital agility requires organisations to place more value on flexibility.

• Companies must experiment, to learn, to optimise customer experience.

Source: http://dachisgroup.com/wrangling-complexity-the-service-oriented-company/

typical starting point for digital transformations

first step towards intelligent processes Intelligent processes

requires intelligent content.

1

Intelligent content has to be

designed for.

2

Content Agility

ManageMeasure

Make

Strategy Architecture

Production

Execute ‘that’ way

Plan ‘this’ way

Learn

Liquid ContentDon't get set into one form. Adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. !Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. !Now water can flow or it can crash. !Be water, my friend. !Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (2000)

Content Management Challenges

• More content through increased interactions

• Increased complexity through experimentation

• Fewer resources to manage more content

• Multiple channels along which content must flow

• Vast amounts of content trapped within systems

• Rate of production is exponential

But we know…

• There’s a lack of awareness around what’s happening

• Serious organisational change hurdles

• Misplaced focused on technology to solve problems

• Both processes and people need to change

• Structured and meaningful content is on the rise

• Content is a strategic business asset

What is content architecture?The time and place for continuous and collaborative content design.

Strategy Architecture Management

It’s where ‘design thinking’ for content takes place.

Content Architecture

• The design phase for content management

• Create models for structured and meaningful content

• Define author experience for content creators

• Map value workflows from production to delivery

• Develop APIs to take content everywhere it needs to be

• Design a technical architecture to sustain content

Connecting Information to Content

Content

Context UsersContent

Wireframes, Blueprints

Metadata, Taxonomy, Thesauri

Labelling, Navigation, Search

Content Inventories & Mapping

Information architecture

Content Models, Author Experience, WorkflowStructured, Reusable & Personalised Content

Content Administration, Asset Organisation

Role-Based Content, Permissions

Content Scale, Storage, Analytics

Content architecture

Mind The Gap

Content Architecture

A Communication Tool

Applying content architectureThink big, start small.

Change is your friend: Move like Neo!

You don’t need content to progress, you need structure.

Responsive Design

A

BC

AB

C

A C

B

minorbreakpoint(ipad mini)

minorbreakpoint(all devices)

Mobile Layout Tablet Layout Desktop Layout

minorbreakpoint

(decent desktop)

imag

eal

ignm

ent

adju

st

text

leng

th

diffe

rent

prom

otio

n

APIsPortfolio

Title

Amount

Owner

Fund

Entity

Manager

Portfolio GetPortfolio(name) Text GetPortfolioOwner(portfolio) Fund GetFund(portfolio, fundName)

Text GetFundManager(portfolio, fundName)

content is accessible to the entire content technology ecosystem, but most importantly internally!

Modularity

• From blobs to chunks.

• Break into parts

• Assemble into wholes

Search

• Establish taxonomy

• Indexing

• Retrieval

• Navigational

Content Repository

• Not all content lives in the CMS

• Architecture shows where content & data lives

In Summary

In Summary

Make space for content architecture within your projects. !Content architecture is where content design takes place. !There is no clear cut set of roles and responsibilities, across strategy, architecture and management. Who cares? !This is a maturing field, so let’s grow with it!

ResourcesFor more details:

1. http://www.slideshare.net/cleveg/defining-content-architecture

2. http://www.slideshare.net/cleveg/why-content-model

3. http://www.slideshare.net/cleveg/content-modelling-2013-lite

4. http://www.slideshare.net/cleveg/content-architecture-in-action

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Questions !

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!Cleve Gibbon (@cleveg) www.cognifide.com