getting your specs in a row – confab edu – atlanta ga, 2014-11-14
DESCRIPTION
Your college is getting a new CMS and they want your input. Best day ever! But here’s the thing: Most large, modern CMSes have hugely overlapping feature sets. Vendors will take one look at any list of feature requirements and tell you that their system can handle all of them with its eyes closed. So when making your recommendations, nuance is critical. The good news? You don’t need to be a CMS expert to give meaningful input. You DO need to know how to identify your key content management needs and communicate them to decision-makers in an effective way.TRANSCRIPT
Your role in CMS selection
Kerry-Anne GiloweyConfab Higher Ed · Atlanta · 14 November 2014
Getting Your Specs In a Row
@kerry_anne
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
This is Myra
This is Myra
She’s excited.
This is Myra
Her universityis getting a new CMS.
This is Myra
Her universityis getting a new CMS.
This is Myra
They want her input!
This is Myra
They want her input!
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
Excitement
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
ExcitementUncertainty
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
ExcitementUncertainty
Fear
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
ExcitementUncertainty
Fear
Self-doubt
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
ExcitementUncertainty
Fear
Self-doubt
Confusion
Myra’s rollercoaster ride
Despair
ExcitementUncertainty
Blind panic
Fear
Self-doubt
Confusion
“Ideally, a content strategist is on board at the very start of a CMS project.”
Paula LandStrategic Content LLC
CONTENT STRATEGIST
^
Imag
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edit:
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/pho
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The PROCESSseems intimidating.
You’re not a CMS expert.So what?
Content management is the systematic planning, development, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the SYSTEMATIC PLANNING, development, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, DEVELOPMENT, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, development, ORGANISATION, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, development, organisation, DISTRIBUTION, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, development, organisation, distribution, EVALUATION, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, development, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and PRESERVATION of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
Content management is the systematic planning, development, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and preservation OF ALL INFORMATION within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
CONTENT MANAGEMENT is the systematic planning, development, organisation, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all information within an organisation.
Erik M. Hartman@erikmhartman
You’ve got this.
GATHER
Your role is to...
contentrequirements
UNDERSTAND
Your role is to...
contentrequirements
PRIORITISE
Your role is to...
contentrequirements
COMMUNICATE
Your role is to...
contentrequirements
Your role is NOT to...
know the feature set of every CMS in existence, be able to recommend the best system, know all the technical ins and outs of CMS integration, know what Gartner thinks about all these CMSes, know how your CMS will integrate with the other plat forms your inst i tut ion is us ing, understand what hardware is required to run
What should you focus on?
Information architecture
What should you focus on?
Information architectureMetadata
What should you focus on?
Information architectureMetadataAuthoring and review
What should you focus on?
Information architectureMetadataAuthoring and reviewGovernance
What should you focus on?
Information architectureMetadataAuthoring and reviewGovernanceAnalytics and reporting
What should you focus on?
Information architectureMetadataAuthoring and reviewGovernanceAnalytics and reportingPublishing and distribution
What should you focus on?
1. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Information architecture
Information architecture
Information architecture
Information architecture
Information architecture
Information architecture
2. METADATA
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
3. AUTHORING AND REVIEW
Authoring and review
Authoring and review
Authoring and review
Authoring and review
Authoring and review
Authoring and review
4. GOVERNANCE
Governance
Governance
Governance
Governance
Governance
Governance
5. ANALYTICS AND REPORTING
Analytics and reporting
Analytics and reporting
Analytics and reporting
Analytics and reporting
6. PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION
Publishing and distribution
Publishing and distribution
Publishing and distribution
Publishing and distribution
Three words:nuance, nuance, nuance
Image from www.cmswire.com
Gartner Magic Quadrant
“Do not simply select vendors in the Leaders quadrant; vendors from the Challengers, Niche Players or Visionaries quadrants may better match your business goals and requirements.”
Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management, August 2010
CMS 5
CMS 2 CMS 3
CMS 6CMS 7
CMS 9CMS 10
CMS 1CMS 4
CMS 8
“Dear CMS vendor, can your CMS do XYZ?”
“Dear CMS vendor, can your CMS do XYZ?”
“DEAR CMS VENDOR,
CANyour CMS do XYZ?”
“DEAR CMS VENDOR,
HOW DOESyour CMS do XYZ?”
Traditional requirements-gathering PROCESSES
are problematic.
Identify and prioritise
Discovery
Getting at the information you need.
Run group workshops
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/australianshepherds
Do one-on-one sessions
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/levendis
The questions
How to get the most out of your workshop and interview sessions.
Process and workflow
Who are the authors?
Who are the
reviewers?
What are the
workflow paths? Where are
the bottlenecks?
What tools are being
used now?
Other existing systems
Are we going to
keep using them? What
content needs to bepulled in?
Whatcontent
needs to bepushed? In what
format?
Who is responsible?
Other new systems
What new systems need
to be integrated? What
content needs to bepulled in?
Whatcontent
needs to bepushed?
In what format?
Prioritising needs
CMS selection is a series of trade-offs.
How does this
feed into our
overall business
and content
strategy?
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/tambako
What happens
if we don’t
have this feature/functionality?
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian
What are we
prepared to
give up to have
this feature/
functionality?
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/annabelb
Do you speak technology?
Pretty up your spreadsheet
Charlie Peverett (@cpev)
quoting a colleagueDare Conference 2014
Explain WHY
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank
Discuss compromises
Reasons to compromise
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
LEGACY SYSTEMS
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
TECHNOLOGY STACK
LEGACY SYSTEMS
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES
TECHNOLOGY STACK
LEGACY SYSTEMS
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES
TECHNOLOGY STACK
LEGACY SYSTEMS
PLATFORM CHOICE
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES
TECHNOLOGY STACK
INTEGRATION EFFORT
LEGACY SYSTEMS
PLATFORM CHOICE
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
Reasons to compromise
SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES
TECHNOLOGY STACK
INTEGRATION EFFORT
LEGACY SYSTEMS
PLATFORM CHOICE
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLSLICENSING
COSTS
Reasons to compromise
SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES
TECHNOLOGY STACK
INTEGRATION EFFORT
LEGACY SYSTEMS
PLATFORM CHOICE
LACK OF INTERNAL
SKILLS
POLITICAL REASONS
LICENSING COSTS
Reasons to compromise
Don’t be IDEALISTIC. You’ll end up miserable.
Be willing to ask questions
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/audiolucistore
Devise use cases
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/vegard
Putting it in writing
A spreadsheet the whole team will love.
ID*CategoryWeighting/100Short name*The CMS should...PriorityExplanation and extra notes
Columns
Category and ID
Sample requirement
Short name The CMS should... Explanation and further notes
Reviewer role
Offer a specialised reviewer role, with commenting/annotation capability, but no editing capability.
This is distinct from an editor role - an editor can edit content inline; a reviewer can't edit inline, but can annotate content with comments.
Priority
Medium High Essential
Putting it all together
Let’s go over that again...
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A CMS EXPERT.
SPEAK TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN.
IDENTIFY, UNDERSTAND, AND PRIORITISE CONTENT NEEDS.
COMMUNICATE REQUIREMENTS EFFECTIVELY.
BE PREPARED TO COMPROMISE.
ASK QUESTIONS.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/dougbrown47
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/mtsofan
Thanks for listening!
Kerry-Anne [email protected]://augustsun.co.za · http://about.me/kerryanne
@kerry_anne