snakes and ladders workshop -- presentation slides

SNAKES & LADDERSCONTENT COLLABORATION

IN THE REAL WORLD

Collaboratively describing & organizing best practices & common project threats to plan better content projects

Nolwenn Kerzreho & Joe Gollner

Information Energy 2015SNAKES & LADDERS: CONTENT COLLABORATION IN THE REAL WORLD 1

SNAKES & LADDERSAGENDA

The Whys & Wherefores ofContent Collaborations

Snakes & Ladders Game The Gamification of

Content Strategy

The parts & purpose of the Game Board

Selecting & CreatingSnakes & Ladders

Designing a Game Board for your Project



The Game of Content Thrones

WORKSHOP INFOMEDIANS

Nolwenn KerzrehoEducator & Project Manager specializing in managing documentation and translation teams & projects.



Joe GollnerSpecialist in the design & deployment of content technologies, who blogs as the Content Philosopher.

THE WHYS AND WHEREFORESOF CONTENT COLLABORATIONContent Defined:Content is potential information

It is what we prepare in order to perform

It is directly bound to what we do & who we do it for

Along with the talent of people, it is the lifeblood of organizations

ContentDemands cross-silo collaboration to be complete

Enables cross-silo collaboration in being what can genuinely be shared across different groups



The contribution of work from two or more peopleto a common product

COLLABORATION DEFINED

This means thatthere is shared responsibilityfor the result

CONTENT COLLABORATION COMMON PAIN POINTS

Collaborating on large,monolithic informationproducts is hardWill be limited to

Sequential editing

review cycles

Demands modular content

There are usually weak avenuesfor back-channel discussion

There will be little experience in cross-silo collaboration or with modular, structured authoring…

SOME KNOWN PROBLEM SOURCES

BROKEN CONTENT COLLABORATION

Leads directly to a broken customer experience and inevitably to a broken organization….

THE GAMIFICATIONOF CONTENT STRATEGY

We use games to explore future possibilitiesGames are perfect for exploring your content strategy



ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentEngagement

ContentDelivery

ContentStrategy

InformationProduct

UserTask

Guidance

Feedback

A strategyis a plan of

action aimedat achievinga long-term

objective

Report Progress

against Key Indicators

Monitorprocesses,

templates, & reuse

DITA CMS Production

Ready

Train Writers on RevisedProcesses & DITA CMS

Train Reviewers in

Revised Processes

ReportProgress

against Key Indicators

Start Publishing Information

Products

Present Pilot to

Management

Capture DITA CMS needs

from all Stakeholders

Analyze further reuse opportunities

Set Writing Guidelines

Measure PilotSuccess

Analyze & Model

Content

Set Content Templates

Debrief

Involve Managers & Contributors

in project

Analyze current

Processes & Formats

Articulate benefits of moving to

DITA

Set key indicators &

starting baseline

Select DITA CMS

Writers Complain

Set PilotObjectives

Editing Tool is too

Difficult for Writers

Create Output

Stylesheets

Pilot Fails

Success

Start

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Project Game Board: DITA CMS Implementation

Game Designer: Nolwenn Kerzreho

Management Halts ProjectTrain Writers

& Set Clear Expectations

Content is InconsistentDefine New

Content Processes

IT Objects to DITA CMS Selection

Management Halts Project

Select editing tool with Writers

Revised Processes

not followed by Reviewers

THE SNAKES

The Bad Things that can happenThreats

Risks

Set-backs

Identifying possible Snakesis the best preparationWill be specific to each organization

Will be specific to each project

Some can be avoided, others tamed



CatastrophicDisasterSnake

Technology Requirements are Not Clear

SignatureImage

Short Description:If you do not clearly establish what your tool requirements are, how can you expect to choose the right one? Too many projects fail to confront this obvious question.

Danger Signs:

The list of requirements explodes in size

The list of requirements is never compiled

List of requirements only includes inputs from one team

How to Avoid:

Build list of needs with all stakeholders

Keep it simple. Add prioritization (e.g., “must have”)

Illustrate with real examples & process scenarios

Impacts:

The failure to acquire tools that meet the real requirements can derail a project

Can provide an IT Group with all it needs to block, or take-over, a project

Can lead to expensive mistakes in buying the wrong tools

Tool Requirements

unclear

Major Minor

Depending on Context

IT Opposes Project

Short Description:Information Technology (IT) group opposes the project. This can be through direct opposition, indirect withholding of support, or more subtle techniques.

Danger Signs:

IT groups will rarely (never) have much prior experience with content technologies. Their natural impulse is to oppose or undermine these projects. May appear as:- Insistence on compliance with technical standards- Insistence on a variety of certifications- Insistence that IT already has an alternative solution

How to avoid:

Clarify the scope of the project with IT as early as possible

Impacts:

Although technology is not the central focus of a content collaboration project, technology that is inappropriate or that is not working reliably is a major stumbling block

IT Opposes Project

Major Minor


EXERCISE: NOMINATE YOUR FAVOURITE SNAKES

Sharing our Content Project War StoriesWe all have bad experiences to share

What Snakes stand out in your memory?What would you like to warn others about?

What keeps you awake at night?

Sketch out your Snake description using the template.

Share your Snakes with us…



[Full Title – Project Risk / Threat / Snake]

SignatureImage

Short Description:

Danger Signs:

How to avoid:

Impacts:

Game BoardDescription

Major Minor


Contact Info (optional):

THE LADDERS

The Good Things that can be doneBest Practices

Proven Tactics

Dirty Tricks

Should be deployed as early aspossible on your projects

Can help to sidestep known Snakes



Conduct Stakeholder Briefings

Short Description:Bring together stakeholders, provide up-to-date information about the project, and facilitate an open discussion of concerns, issues, risks, and opportunities.

Explanation: Critically important to inform, and be informed by,

stakeholders.Tips:

Calls for a significant amount of preparation so that briefings are seen as valuable & worthwhile

Meet with key stakeholders in advance of any scheduled briefing [Find out what the issues are beforehand & prepare for them]

Benefits: Snakes Avoided

Maintaining good stakeholder rapport will avoid, or solve, most project problems.

Ensure Senior Management participates or are kept informed of meeting outcomes. This will prevent the risk that misinformation will be spread by project enemies.

StakeholderBriefings

Major Minor


Train a Cadre of Power Users

SignatureImage

Short Description:Train key people in the new tools and techniques that will be used to plan, prepare, and publish content collaboratively.

Explanation:

Everyone who participates in content processes will need some training but some will show extra enthusiasm. They should be equipped with the knowledge needed to provide leadership and support to others.

Tips:

Provide extra time to prospective power users in addition to more training. Let them experiment. Give them space.

Benefits: Snakes avoided

Helps to move teams forward avoiding risks rooted in lack of knowledge & fear.

Helps to amplify investments in training and assists in knowledge diffusion across teams.

Makes your project more resistant to negative gossip (whisper campaigns)

TrainPower Users

Major Minor


EXERCISE: DESCRIBE YOUR FAVOURITE LADDERS

Sharing our Content Project Success StoriesWe all have good experiences to share

What Ladders stand out in your memory?What would you like others to know about?What saved you from a dangerous snake?

Sketch out your Ladder description using the template.

Share your Ladders with us…



[Full Title – Best Practice / Tactic / Ladder]

SignatureImage

Short Description:

Explanation:

Tips:

Benefits: Snakes avoided

Game BoardDescription

Major Minor


Contact Info (optional):

THE GAME BOARD



ProjectInitiation -Laying the

groundwork

RequirementsAcquisition -

Clarifyingthe goals

CapabilityRealization -Harvestingthe Benefits

Snakes appearing in this area will be the most dangerous

Ladders deployed in this areawill have the biggest

positive impact

PLAYING THE GAME

Once a Project Game Boardhas been laid out, play it.

Introduce the Element of ChanceRolling the Dice Mirrors an important quality of realityUse only 1 Die

Like a Monte Carlo scenario, play it several times to experience possibilities



ConductCMS Pilot

Train writers on CMS

Identifyreusepatterns

Limitprojectscope

Modelcontentassets

ModelMetadatastructures

Analyze current

situation

Make the case for modular content

Identifycollaboration

goals

Success

Start

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Project Game Board: Software Documentation Project

Game Designer: Nolwenn Kerzreho & Joe Gollner

Select editing tool with writers

Create content

guidelines &examples

Set goals for PilotTrain writers

Prioritizenew

informationservices

Define newcontent

processes

Widelysolicit

CMSneeds

IT limits Pilot hosting options

IT identifiesalternativeapproaches

IT questionsproject scope

Writers add more

requirements

Writers continue to

change requirements

CMS Pilotstruggles to keep up with

changes

Executivechampionchanges

One of two power users

leaves

Writers override

CMS requirements

EXERCISE: BUILD YOUR OWNPROJECT GAME BOARD

Think about a recent or upcomingcontent project, perhaps:One that will attempt to bridge silos

One that will introduce new technologies

One that will change the ways in whichpeople work

Sketch out your Game Board using the template.

Share your Game Board with us…



Success

Start

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Project Game Board:

Game Designer:

NEXT STEPSOngoing Effort:Collect, Consolidate, and Share a collection ofSnakes & Ladders

Build up a knowledge base constructed from the experiences of veteran Infomedians

We will share with you what you share with us

Try it out and share your experiences

Contact us



Nolwenn Kerzreho: [email protected] Gollner: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


WORKSHOP OUTCOMESINFORMATION ENERGY 2015 - UTRECHT

InfoMedian contributions during the workshop:

Snakes identified

Documentation software chosen without team input

CMS project run as a “pure IT” project without team input

People do not share their process knowledge

Project manager not experienced as a manager

Team unfamiliar with structured / modular writing

Team unfamiliar with CMS / DITA tools & techniques

Ladders identified

Educate management on the job & goals of TechComm

Test & retest CMS solutions to build up confidence



WORKSHOP OUTCOMES 2INFORMATION ENERGY 2015 - UTRECHT

Discussions during the workshop:

Highlighted the commonality of problems encountered in different organizations

The difficulty of engaging the Information Technology (IT) groups in a way that did not see the “content project” turned into a pure “IT” project

The management constraints that are often applied to projects that seek to modernize and improve how content is created & information is delivered

On the positive side, at least one organization represented understood that for them “documentation was everything” & its quality was critically important



WORKSHOP OUTCOMES 3INFORMATION ENERGY 2015 - UTRECHT

Observations on how the Workshop went:

The template for describing Snakes or Ladders requested too much information

Participants invested great energy in describing many details about the challenges or strategies that they have seen

A more simple template might encourage people to focus on the key points such as good names for their Snakes and Ladders and some key details about each of them

One goal of using a game is to keep people from falling too deeply into the details…



DO IT YOURSELF

Want to try out the Snakes & Ladders game within your own organization?

Contact us

We would love to discuss with you how the templates might be tailored & used We will likely have more building blocks that you can work with

We would also love to hear back from you on your experience & what you discovered



Nolwenn Kerzreho: [email protected] Gollner: [email protected]

