content scenarios new information products

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About Adobe

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74 Offices in 43 Countries

Corporate Headquarters inSan Jose, California

Founded in December 1982

$4.2 billion in revenue in FY2011

More than 10,000 employees

Adobe donates a minimum of 1%of net income to philanthropy

We simplify complicated, inefficient, and expensive workflows.We enable more engaging, compelling content.We drive greater return from digital media and marketing investments.


About Maxwell Hoffmann

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Maxwell Hoffmann Product Evangelist, Tech Comm Suite

Former Product Manager and Sales Training Directorfor Frame Technology

15 years in translation industry, working on “whatever documents walked through the door”

Trained over 1,200 people in hands-on, scalable publishing solutions


About Joe Gollner

Joe Gollner is the Director of Gnostyx Research. He has been implementing large-scale standards-based content management systems for over twenty years. His role has typically been that of the enterprise content strategist and senior project manager. He now provides objective support to organizations as they venture into projects that will modernize how they create, manage, publish and evolve their content assets.

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Gnostyx Research is an independent consultancy that helps organizations to make good choices early in their content management projects. To support this mandate, Gnostyx Research is developing resources that can be used to accelerate projects and improve investment success rates. These resources include training materials, implementation methodologies, test suites and design tools.


Content Scenarios for exploring New Information Products

Topics

Confronting a Core CM Challenge

Introducing Content Scenarios

What are Content Scenarios?

What makes up a Content Scenario?

What can Content Scenarios be used for?

What are the benefits of Content Scenarios?

A Recent Case Study

A Public Domain Content Scenario for DITA

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The Stark Reality of Most CM Projects

Productivity

Cost

Tim

e

Productivity Hit

Typical Content Management Investment Curve

Productivity Gains & other benefits begin to offset aggregate costs

between 18 and 24 months after project initiation (in better cases)

Typical CM project requires modernization re-investment between 48 and 60 months

after project initiation – meaning the overall investment is never offset

Aggregate Cost

ExpendituresGain

Offset

One Key Challenge: New CM technology & information products introduce numerous changes in the requirements baseline – technology is not neutral & this is why scope management is such a challenge. If it always seems like your requirements are changing – it’s because they are!


The Promised Land of Content Management

Productivity

Cost

Tim

e

Productivity Hit

Preferred Content Management Investment Curve

Reduced expenditures & productivity hit plus accelerated gains begin to offset

aggregate costs in less than 12 months (or sooner)

Flexible architecture supports continuous evolution instead of cyclic

re-investment in modernization – with each evolutionary step being self-funded

Gain

Offset

Aggregate Cost

Expenditures

There are a number of improvement strategies. See Adobe webinar on Just Enough Content Management. One key strategy is to explore new requirements as soon in the project as possible. This will reduce the cost of addressing those needs & increase downstream benefits realization.


Random Question: Why do Demos blow up so often?

Simple Question

Well known phenomenon

Software misbehaves as soonas someone important is inthe room

Possible Answer

Demos for senior stakeholders(aka important people)will seek to introduce a relevantbusiness scenario to demonstrate the value of the software

This transgresses the unspoken scope boundaries that were beingfollowed by the developers

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Key Lesson

Introduce meaningful business scenarios into the software development process as early as possible

Demo-based development

Content Scenarios


One Improvement Strategy: Content Scenarios

Content Scenario – A Definition

A Content Scenario isa functionally realistic demonstration of an end-to-end business activityfacilitated by exemplary content resources and process steps that can be used throughout the content solution lifecycle to maximize CM investment effectiveness

Short Form: End-to-end business demonstrations that showcase how content solutions will make things better

Key Point:Content Scenarios must be completely oriented towards the needs & interests of business stakeholders at the executive levelThis means they must be:

Based on real business activities

Use real business data9


What is a Content Scenario? A Simple Example

Engineering

Authoring

Suppliers

ResellerMarketing

Translation

1. Engineering provides material in MS Word

2. MS Word is transformed into XML

3. XML is exchanged with Suppliers

4. XML input is returned from Suppliers

5. Authoring works with XML sources

6. Authoring produces publications modules

7. Modules exchanged with Translators

8. Some content provided to Marketing in MS Word

9. Marketing produces sales support tools

10. Sales support tools provided to Resellers

11. Sales support tools provided in MS Word

12. Publication content also provided as dynamic web

13. Publications also provided as an ePub Manual

Example of a Content Scenario:A series of individual user stories, interchange events & rendition processes

that combine into a meaningful business activity


The Anatomy of a Content Scenario

What makes up a Content Scenario

Functionally realistic content examples

Assembled from real documentation

Sensitive details removed

Should be able to share it with technology providers & others

Support a coherent & compelling story

Content & process models

Background information about

Business context

Key users & stakeholders

Critical requirements

Demonstration scripts for key process steps

Reference implementations (components) for key process steps

Content scenarios arerequirementsyou can kick


The First Step towards a Content Scenario

The First Step is a Humble One: Content

Functionally realistic content instances

Demonstration content

Illustrating the most representative content and processes

Supported by web-friendly media resources

Business Demonstrations

Scripted scenarios for demonstrating business events

End-to-End demonstrations of new capabilities & benefits

Compelling to business executives & stakeholders

Need to bring forward new delivery capabilities (e.g., tablet)

Anything is better than

A garage, a snow shovel, or a bicycle

Important to emphasize new information

products to explore & validate some of the usage assumptions


The Uses of Content Scenarios

Content Analysis tool

One way to analyze content is to create sample instances

Content model validation & documentation

Prevent schemas from becoming divorced from reality

Initiative Sales Pitch & Proof of Concept

Helping executives to really understand what is being proposed

Reference instances

Supporting conversion processes, development tasks & authoring guidelines

Testing based on bona fide requirements

Tool evaluation, solution acceptance, regression testing

Interoperability & conformance validation


Case Study: An Online Discovery Service

Project chartered to explore new territory

Provide integrated discovery services that combines resources from many jurisdictions

Present government information from the users’ perspective (not the government’s)

Content Scenarios

Used to prototype information experiences

Used to refine taxonomy & application behaviour

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Lightweight JavaScript-enabled prototype used for initial requirements solicitation & validation

Resulting solution was remarkably successful especially with user

community:Farmers


The Benefits of Content Scenarios

Leveraging Content Scenarios

A mechanism for engaging the whole team

Writers & illustrators as well as information architects & developers

Ensures the focus stays on end-to-end processes & outputs

Emphasizes investments that realize new products & services

Enables a learning process by engaging users & clients

Feedback mechanisms drive ongoing investments

Content Scenarios build bridges with Stakeholders

Engaging stakeholders, especially executives, is key

The importance of this is always under-estimated

Engaging tool providers is almost as important

Aligning practical technology capabilities with key business drivers


DITA Content Scenario: A Work in Progress

ComputerPlatform

MessagingSystem

130 Topics7 Maps

ControlSystem

ApplicationSoftware

EquipmentSystem

EquipmentSystem

SupportSystem

SupplierSystem

An Evolving & Expanding StoryShared Source Scenario

One hope is that it can provide a point of reference for the evolution of the DITA standard


Public Domain DITA Content Scenario: Hard Work!

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Consider Deploying Content Scenarios on your Next Project

Content Scenarios

A very simple idea

Not entirely new

Worth considering when:

Your project is charting new territory

You will be delivering new types of information products to your customers

You would like enhanced support from your executives for your plans

See:www.gollner.ca/2011/11/introducing-content-scenarios.html

Watch for the release ofthe DITA Content Scenario…

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Upcoming Adobe TechComm Webinars

Char James-Tanny

Part II: Creating an Accessible Layout – Tips to make documents more accessible (structure, colors, fonts, more) (17 July, 10-11 AM PST)

Part III: Developing Accessible Content – Tips on grammar, paragraph, and sentence length, alternate text, and more (31 July, 10-11 AM PST)

Find Out How to Write XSLT Statements for XML to XML Transformations in a 5-part eSeminars Series, 28 June to 19 July, Thomas Aldous

Expand Your Content Reuse Potential through Indirect Addressing: Using @keys-based Referencing in DITA 1.2, 11 July, Nancy Harrison

Are You Tempted to Use a Template to Expedite Policies & Procedure Development? 12 July, Raymond Urgo

Are you struggling to create long, complex documents with Microsoft Word? There is a much easier way! 13 July, Thomas Aldous

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Questions and Answers

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Contact Information

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InformationJoe GollnerGnostyx Research IncDirector

Blog http://www.gollner.caTwitter http://twitter.com/joegollnerEmail [email protected] http://www.gnostyx.com

Maxwell HoffmannAdobe Systems, Inc.Product Evangelist

Blog blogs.adobe.com/techcomm Blog blogs.adobe.com/mbhoffmann Twitter twitter.com/maxwellhoffmann

Email [email protected] Web www.adobe.comLinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmannFacebook As Maxwell HoffmannFacebook As Adobe Technical Communication Professionals Group

Previously recorded eSeminars: http://adobe.ly/qo3pzc

Calendar of upcoming eSeminars: http://adobe.ly/xdzOYa

http://www.gollner.ca/

http://www.gollner.ca/

http://twitter.com/joegollner

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.gnostyx.com/