Content Experience Leadership: Transforming Your Organization for Content Excellence

IBM Client Technical Content Experience (CTCX)
© IBM Corporation 2014. All Rights Reserved.@aames #tcuk15
Content Experience Leadership:
Transforming Your Organization
for Content Excellence
Andrea L. Ames (@aames)
IBM Senior Technical Staff Member
IBM Enterprise Content Experience Strategist/Architect/Designer
29 September 015

IBM Enterprise Content Strategy & Content Experience
@aames #tcuk152
Today’s agenda
Part 1: Metaworkshop
Introduction and level setting
Part 2: Key success factor #1
Process and methods
– Break (15 min) –
Measurement
Stakeholder management and communication
Part 5: Wrap up
Burning questions addressed?

@aames #tcuk153
Metaworkshop:
Introduction

@aames #tcuk154
Acknowledging Alyson Riley, my former IBM
content strategy cohort in crime
Original incarnation of the predecessor to this workshop
and its content was a labor of love
Co-created by me and Alyson
Co-taught by me and Alyson twice
Alyson designed the chart template and most of the
graphical charts
Although Alyson has moved on
from IBM to The Mayo Clinic,
she is clearly with us in sprit
through this material 
All material is used with her
knowledge and consent

@aames #tcuk155
About Andrea (@aames)
Technical communicator since 1983
Areas of expertise:
Content experience design: strategy, architecture, and interaction design
Architecture, design, and development of product-embedded assistance
Content and product usability
User-centered process for content development and experience design
Senior Technical Staff Member on corporate Enterprise Content team,
IBM CIO
University of CA Extension program chair and master instructor
STC Fellow, past president, former member of Board of Directors, and
Intercom columnist (with Alyson Riley) of The Strategic IA
ACM Distinguished Engineer

@aames #tcuk156
Setting the scene for the workshop
Learning experientially, through discussion, interaction
Focus is on the ecosystem and soft skills
Goal is to gain specific, actionable ideas that will enable you to create
and drive that ecosystem, not the acts of creating a specific strategy
document or plan

@aames #tcuk157
Success factors—MINE!
Understand what a “content strategy ecosystem” is
Identify the key components of the ecosystem
Identify the potential weak points in your ecosystem
Take away some actionable approaches for maturing your ecosystem
Have fun!

@aames #tcuk158
Burning questions—YOURS!
What is the one burning question
you’d like this workshop session to answer?

@aames #tcuk159
Metaworkshop:
Context and level-setting
Organization considerations
Systems thinking
Content ecosystem
Content experience

@aames #tcuk1510
A little context-setting…
Where do you live in this picture?

@aames #tcuk1511
Systems thinking, part 1
from wikipedia (of course ;)
The process of understanding how things, regarded as systems,
influence one another within a whole
An approach to problem solving
Viewing “problems” as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to
specific part, outcomes or events, and potentially contributing to further
development of unintended consequences
A set of habits or practices within a framework that is based on the belief
that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the
context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather
than in isolation
Focuses on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect

@aames #tcuk1512
Systems thinking, part 2
from wikipedia (of course ;)
And most importantly for our purposes…
Attempts to illustrate how small, catalytic events
that are separated by distance and time
can cause significant changes in complex systems
Acknowledges that
an improvement in one area
can adversely affect another area
Promotes organizational communication
at all levels
to avoid the silo effect

@aames #tcuk1513
The Iceberg Model
Summarized from It's All Connected: A Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, Benjamin Wheeler, Gilda Wheeler and
Wendy Church. www.facingthefuture.org
Trends/patterns of behavior
(anticipate) What’s been happening?
Systemic structure
(design) What is contributing to the patterns?
Events
(react)
What happened?
Increasing
leverage
Mental models
(transform) What keeps these patterns going?

@aames #tcuk1514
People—the “living”
organisms
Roles
Power structures and
politics, governance
Culture and community
What is a “content ecosystem?”
Products—outputs of the
interaction within the
system
Content
Packaging
Artifacts
Tools and technology
Living and nonliving components
Interacting
Resulting in content ecosystem
Processes—the non-living
components
Models, metrics, best
practices
Interdependencies
Communication

@aames #tcuk1515
What is a “content experience?”
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
• Message
• Motivation
• Form/format
• Layout
• Where
• When
• Organization
• Structure
• Perceptions
• Judgments

@aames #tcuk1516
To users, often experienced more like this…
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
Content
Presentation
Delivery
Navigation
User
www.alapilar.com

@aames #tcuk1517
Key Success Factor #1:
Methods

@aames #tcuk1518
Design Thinking: What is it? (wikipedia)
A formal method for practical, creative resolution of problems and
creation of solutions, with the intent of an improved future result
A form of solution-based, or solution-focused thinking – starting with a
goal (a better future situation) instead of solving a specific problem
By considering both present and future conditions and parameters of
the problem, alternative solutions may be explored simultaneously
It’s NOT just for “designers”

@aames #tcuk1519
A bit of history
In science… Herbert A. Simon, 1969, The Sciences of the Artificial
In engineering… Robert McKim, 1973, Experiences in Visual Thinking
Teaching… Stanford University, 1980s and 1990s
In business… David M. Kelley, founded IDEO 1991

@aames #tcuk1520
The framework (“process”)
from http://dschool.stanford.edu
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Who is
my user?
What are
their
needs?
What are
some
possible
solutions?
How can I
best
communicate
possible
solutions to
potential
users?
What
worked
and what
didn’t?

@aames #tcuk1521
Key: Solution-based thinking
Divergent
Convergent
An example…
Design a vase.
Design a better way for people
to enjoy flowers.

@aames #tcuk1522
A few useful methods
from http://dschool.stanford.edu/use-our-methods/
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Empathy
mapping
Journey
map
What, how,
why?
Brainstorm
Powers of
ten
Prototype for
empathy
Prototype to
test
Usability
testing

@aames #tcuk1523
Key success factor #2:
Measurement
Assess baseline
Measure

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1. Analyze business data
2. Analyze client data
3. Analyze current content ecosystem
4. Analyze history
5. Analyze the political landscape
Assess your baseline –the state of things today?
Define success
Measure what you defined

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Assess your baseline

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1. Before you begin
2. Analyze content
3. Analyze “packaging”
4. Analyze people
5. Analyze processes
3
Analyzing the current content ecosystem

@aames #tcuk1527
Analyzing the content ecosystem
Step 1: Before you begin, part 1
To learn about the ecosystem as a whole, you need to build and leverage a
network that includes subject matter experts from every facet and entity that
participates in the content ecosystem—you need their expertise both to gather
and interpret data
Wherever possible, use metrics to distinguish opinion from fact—but don’t try to
interpret the data you collect without others’ insights and experience
Like any ecosystem, the content
ecosystem is comprised of
interdependent elements
While it’s tempting to focus solely on the
content facet of the ecosystem, you must
see the system
To gain a nuanced and true
understanding of how the ecosystem
works (and where you’ve got work to do),
you need to analyze each element and
how the system functions as a whole
z
content process
peoplepackaging

@aames #tcuk1528
Your systems thinking skills are
really getting a workout!
Another system impacts the
content ecosystem: the
product lifecycle
When assessing your content
ecosystem, view it as the
client/buyer/user sees it: an
interconnected series of product
interactions facilitated by
content
Interpret the effectiveness of
your content ecosystem by
asking:
How well does the ecosystem
function in and between each
phase of the product lifecycle?
A generalized view of
IBM’s product lifecycle

@aames #tcuk1529
material
objects, actions—
owned, controlled, repeatable
commodities made of scarce resources
immaterial
knowledge, competencies, emotions—
not owned, boxed, or controlled
available in abundance
*Adapted from Miikka Leiononen’s “Melt,” here
*
Effective content ecosystems
generate profit for the business
and value for the client:
In the knowledge economy,
profit is created by “stuff”
but value is created by content:
new economy
old economy
Remember what the content ecosystem is for…
Company-
generated
information

@aames #tcuk1530
A word about assessing a content ecosystem…
When you analyze the content ecosystem, you look at:
Content
Packaging
People
Processes
When you measure the content ecosystem, make sure you
identify or define measurements for:
Content
Packaging
People
Processes
Only measuring content will not give you a complete
assessment of the effectiveness of the ecosystem
Think about:
Metrics for external effectiveness
Metrics for internal efficiency

@aames #tcuk1531
Step 2: Analyze content, part 1
To assess content health, do a heuristic evaluation:
How well does the content meet client/buyer/user needs?
Go back to your client data—are the high-priority client business goals, scenarios,
and tasks thoroughly covered?
Can you easily see the value propositions for the product in the content ecosystem?
Is the content client-centered, task-focused, and high-value?
How thoroughly does the content cover the full product lifecycle?
Are there gaps or disconnects between the phases of the product lifecycle?
Are there content redundancies or inconsistencies that could derail or confuse a
client?
Does the content enable client success in the typical tasks within each phase?
How well does the content address typical client content needs?
How well does the current information experience address product content such as
up-and-running, getting started, preventing or recovering from errors, and so on?
Does the information experience include embedded assistance where appropriate?

@aames #tcuk1532
Step 2: Analyze content, part 2
Continued…
How well does the content address typical information-seeking behaviors?
Starting: identifying relevant sources of interest.
Chaining: following and connecting new leads found in an initial content source.
Browsing: scanning contents of identified sources for subject affinity.
Monitoring: staying informed about developments in a particular subject area.
Differentiating: filtering and assessing content sources for usefulness.
Extracting: working through a source to find content of interest.
How well does the content contribute to a delightful client experience?
Is the information experience elegant in its presentation, visual design, etc.?
Are there opportunities to simplify or innovate?
Are there opportunities to improve the information experience, such as:
Improvements to the product that result in a need for less content?
Tighter integration between interaction (UI) and information?
Simplified information architecture—fewer sources, fewer pages, designed paths?

@aames #tcuk1533
Analyzing the content ecosystem—Step 2: Analyze content
What is high-value content?
As you analyze today-state content, spot the high-value content—track
it, measure it, note its impact on the information experience
High-value content is content that:
Speaks directly to client/buyer/user business goals
Includes only the tasks necessary to achieve those goals
Aids the client in making decisions or applying concepts in their own
situations
Is technically rich in the sense that it includes validated real-world samples,
examples, best practices, and lessons learned
High value content does not:
Focus on manipulating elements of a user interface (those things that
everyone should know by now, such as "Type your name in the name field")
Describe tasks that can't be mapped to a meaningful goal or objective
Describe what to do without explaining how to do it
Describe how to do it without explaining why to do it
!

@aames #tcuk1534
How do you measure high value content? That depends!
If your goal is to convince others that high value content matters, look at:
How does my content contribute to clients' purchase decisions? Is there click-through data
and contributions to conversions on marketing pages that I can reference?
How does my content contribute to clients' perceptions of product quality? What's the
relationship between quality problems in my content and known quality problems with the
product?
How does my content contribute to client satisfaction with our products?
How does my content contribute to the product visibility (and thus the sales cycle and
revenue streams) in the marketplace? What kind of social capital is being generated around
my content? Who's active, and how active are they? How frequently and with what impact
am I engaging with customers through my content? What are they talking about—nits, or
requirements for content or broader product strategy? Does the sum of the social
conversation support IBM business strategy and advance the eminence of our brand?
If your goal is to assess the effectiveness of your content and
experience, look at:
Heuristic evaluations (we just talked about this)
Traditional web statistics
Assess today-state content metrics, part 1
We’ll talk more about
business metrics later on—
let’s look at web stats now…

@aames #tcuk1535
Web metrics are one way to assess the effectiveness of content
Content strategists use web metrics to gain a clear picture of
client/buyer/user activity in the current information experience that the
content ecosystem supports:
Historical data: Number of visitors to the site or page over time
User data: Who is visiting your site and where they are located
Page popularity: Most and least accessed pages
File types: Files that have been loaded as opposed to viewed
Operating systems and browsers: Browsers and devices used to view content
Referrers: Who is pointing to your stuff, and who isn’t as expected
Referrals: How people are getting to your stuff
Search terms: Words with which users describe and try to find your content
Robots and spiders: Programs that have crawled your site in order to provide
information about site contents to search engines

@aames #tcuk1536
Interpret current web statistics to understand how clients:
Search for the information—whether the content is optimized for search engines
(SEO); what click-through and bounce rates show about user paths and success
Enter the experience—whether designed entry points are effective
Think about the information space—what search terms they enter, what topics
they pick as they browse found content
Navigate the information space—whether user paths make sense relative to
your understanding of their business goals and tasks
Use the information—how actual usage patterns differ from designed or
predicted usage patterns; how much time they spend on certain pages;
whether they’re accessing content on mobile devices, etc.
Value the information—any social interaction to consider?
Web usage statistics give us hints at the core issues:
Is my content ecosystem performing in the ways that I expect it to,
based on user actions? Is the information experience effective?
Is my content high-value, or just highly-findable?

@aames #tcuk1537
Consider “packaging” aspects of the ecosystem:
Is the presentation of content effective and predictable across the ecosystem? Does
the visual design of content support the branding strategy for the product?
Where and how is your content delivered to the client? Lots of places? One place? Do
the delivery vehicles integrate well with each other? Is the content easily accessible
from the client’s context or point of need?
How findable is your content across delivery vehicles? Are the signposts for wayfinding
visible, usable, and predictable across the ecosystem? Is your content progressively
disclosed in support of clients’ need for increasing depth or breadth of content?
In the information experience,
several mediators come between the
client/buyer/user and the content. We
call these mediators “packaging”:
Presentation—the visual design of the
content
Delivery—the vehicle used to publish the
content for client access
Navigation—the various ways in which the
user finds the content
Step 3: Analyze “packaging”

@aames #tcuk1538
Step 3: Analyze people
Who are the human players in the ecosystem?
Internal players
Professional content producers
Marketing team
Sales enablement content team
Education teams
Beta programs teams
Support teams
Product documentation teams
Non-professional content producers
Subject matter experts
Client-facing personnel
External players
Business partners
Clients, with all their social networking tools and capabilities
What unique value does each player contribute to the ecosystem?
Look for:
 Strengths—these are your assets!
 Mission overlap—these are your pitfalls!
 Ways to maximize organizational
capabilities—this is your vision!

@aames #tcuk1539
Step 4: Analyze process
The processes at work in the content ecosystem
have as profound an effect as the content itself.
Analyze:
What processes are present in the ecosystem?
Business processes
Corporate-level processes
Business unit-level processes
Content design and delivery process
Processes that span all content producers
Processes unique to individual content producing teams
Are the processes effective?
Do processes make it easier or harder to package content for publishing?
Do processes make it easier or harder for people to work together?
Do process make it easier or harder to produce high-value content?

@aames #tcuk1540
Measuring success

@aames #tcuk1541
1. Before you begin—rethinking metrics
2. Plan to sell to two different audiences
3. Map stakeholders to metrics
4. Map content metrics to stakeholder metrics
5. Set metrics-based goals
6. Plan for a closed-loop process
Defining success

@aames #tcuk1542
Defining success
Step 1: Before you begin—rethink metrics, part 1
Problem: Metrics have gotten a bad rap
Numbers can be hard for word people
The right numbers are hard for everyone
Getting metrics to work for you requires a significant shift in thinking
Solution: Rethink metrics
Metrics are another form of audience analysis (who cares about what?)
Metrics are another form of usability testing (what works for whom?)
Motivation for change: Metrics are a powerful tool for getting what you want (and
making sure you want the right things)
Metrics transform opinion into fact
Metrics remove emotion from analysis and decision-making
Strategize with metrics: Use metrics at every phase
Beginning: identify opportunity, prove the strategy is right
Middle: show incremental progress, course-correct
End: to prove value and earn investment for the future

@aames #tcuk1543
Defining success
A strategist is (among other things) a story-teller:
Define the right vision
Tell a compelling, true story that inspires people to buy into your vision.
What makes a story true? Facts—things you can prove.
What makes a story compelling? It speaks to what matters most.
What matters most? Depends on your audience. Duh, right?
We prove the value of content with metrics
Value is in the eye of the beholder.
Who’s your “beholder?” Understand who your beholders actually are—that
is, the real decision-makers and influencers in your world. (Remember the
stakeholder management plan from Part 1?)
Use metrics that target actual decision-makers.
Your actual decision-makers are probably business people—executives,
managers, and others who hold the purse-strings.
Figure out what your audience values—their metrics for success.

@aames #tcuk1544
Defining success
So what audience are we speaking to when we talk about things like this?
Site visitors
Page hits
Visitor location
Most popular pages
Least popular pages
Bounce rate
Time spent on page
Referrals and referrers
Search terms
Etc.

@aames #tcuk1545
Defining success
Step 2: Plan to sell to 2 different audiences
Audience 1: Business people
Unless you can make a direct connection between your content metrics
and the metrics that drive business, you are telling the wrong story for
this audience.
You need this audience! The business community funds us. We have to
sell our vision to them, with a metrics story that resonates with them.
We must learn to speak “business”—that is, prove the value of content
using metrics that matter to business.
Audience 2: Content producer people
A enterprise content ecosystem typically includes many kinds of content
producers
Content producers across the ecosystem tend to reflect the values of their
leadership and business unit in which they’re located
This means that even kindred spirits—other content people—can have
widely different goals and metrics
Your job is to define common ground by speaking to what matters most
to this audience, too.

@aames #tcuk1546
Defining success—Step 2: Selling to two audiences
Selling content strategy to a business audience
The kinds of metrics that we use to build
effective content strategies don’t resonate with
most executives, managers, and finance people.
Sometimes we “talk to ourselves”—that is, use
metrics that resonate with content people, not the
actual people we need to support our strategy.
“Page hits” resonate with us. “Sales leads”
resonates with business.
You cannot directly connect things like page hits
and bounce rates to core business metrics.
You need an informational professional’s
intuition to know how content supports business
metrics—most business people don’t have that
intuition.
The business audience funds us. We have to
sell our vision and prove our value to them, with
a metrics story that speaks to what they care
about most.
Example
business metrics:
Revenue streams
Sales leads
Cost per lead
Customer satisfaction
Customer loyalty
Return on investment (ROI)
Time to value
Market share
Mindshare

@aames #tcuk1547
At IBM, we’re learning to tell a better story for a business audience
We conducted a survey from 2010-2012 with clients and prospective
clients about the value of content—here’s the hot-off-the-press data:
Proving the business value of content—IBM example
Shameless
ad:
The May 2013
issue of STC’s
Intercom
magazine
contains an
article that
Alyson Riley
and I wrote on
proving the
business value
of content.

@aames #tcuk1548
Selling content strategy to a content audience
Analyze each organization or team that contributes to the content ecosystem
In what business unit are they located?
Who are their executives, sponsors, and stakeholders?
Who “grades them” on their performance?
Who funds them?
What matters to them?
How do they measure their progress or results?
What are they doing well (both in your analysis and theirs)?
Where can they improve (both in your analysis and theirs)?
Identify areas of similarity and difference
Where do their goals align with yours? build bridges!
Where do their goals conflict with yours? build business cases!
Use metrics to craft a story that:
Shows problems and opportunities that each content team cares about
Maps in key areas to their goals for content
Diverges from their current goals in ways that would increase their value to sponsors
and stakeholders

@aames #tcuk1549
Defining success
Step 3: Map stakeholders to metrics
Remember the stakeholder management plan
from “Assessing and analyzing the today-state?”
Here’s another place where it provides value.
Be highly intentional about making sure that
your metrics plan includes data that map to the
things your key stakeholders care about.
This mapping activity will help you:
Validate your strategy—does your work align with
mission-critical organizational objectives?
Prepare persuasive communications for your key
decision-makers—do you have the framework for
a strong story to connect in meaningful ways with
your various stakholders?

@aames #tcuk1550
Defining success—Step 3: Map stakeholders to metrics
Metrics for a business audience
Use the research you did
during the today-state
analysis phase
Target the key decisions-
makers—those who hold the
purse-strings
Identify what the key business
decision-makers care about
Use language that resonates
with that business audience
Remember: unless you can tie
a particular goal or result to a
measurement that the
stakeholder cares about, that
result ultimately doesn’t
matter
Stakeholder Example metrics
VP Marketing  ROI
 Cost per lead
 Campaign performance
 Conversion metrics
VP Sales  Viable leads
 Sales growth
 Product performance
VP Support  Call volume
 Call length
 Customer satisfaction
VP Development  Development costs
 Market share
 Lines of code
 Compliance
 Quality and test results

@aames #tcuk1551
Defining success—Step 3: Map stakeholders to metrics
Metrics for a content team audience
Now map
players in the
content
ecosystem to
the metrics
they care
about
Remember
that each
content team
has their own
decision-
makers who:
Approve
their goals
Determine
their
funding
Determine
their
futures
Stakeholder Example
metrics
Example associated
content teams
Example
content metrics
VP
Marketing
 ROI
 Cost per lead
 Campaign
performance
 Conversion
metrics
 Web team
 Social team
 Event team
 Web traffic
 Click-throughs
 Likes and shares
 Conversions
 Collateral distributed
 Cost per unit produced
VP
Sales
 Viable leads
 Sales growth
 Product
performance
 Sales enablement
 Education & training
 Beta programs
 Proofs of Concept (PoCs)
to sale
 Number of classes
 Beta program participants
VP
Support
 Call volume
 Call length
 Customer
satisfaction
 Web support team
 Call center team
 Amount of web
information produced
 Number of calls reduced
 Time of calls reduced
VP
Development
 Dev cost
 Market share
 Lines of code
 Compliance
 Quality and test
 Product documentation
team
 Developers who publish
whitepapers and case
studies
 Product community
forums and wikis
 Lines of text, number of
pages, etc.
 Web traffic
 Number of forum
participants

@aames #tcuk1552
Defining success
Step 4: Map content metrics to stakeholder metrics
Tie your content strategy metrics to the metrics that matter most to your
stakeholders so you can tell a story that inspires the outcomes you want.
This means researching how content influences the metrics that are most
important to the specific people you need for success.
Start your research with these hints:
How does content drive
purchase decisions? direct link to the revenue stream
How does content impact
product quality? direct link to customer loyalty
How does content influence
customer satisfaction? direct link to ROI
How does content shape clients’
perceptions of your company? direct link to mindshare

@aames #tcuk1553
Defining success
Step 5: Set metrics-based goals
So what are the goals for your content strategy? Express those goals in the form
of business metrics and content metrics. Some examples:
Business metrics Sample content metrics Sample content goals
Purchase decisions
(revenue)
 Reach—visits, etc.
 Engagement—referrals, etc.
Contribute to revenue stream
through referrals from technical
content that become sales leads.
Product quality
(customer loyalty)
 Reach—visits, etc.
 Engagement—referrals, etc.
Contribute to product quality
through by simplifying the
amount of content in the user
experience.
Customer satisfaction
(ROI)
 Web traffic
 Direct feedback
 Ratings
 Shares (social)
Create high value content that
speeds customer time to success.
Perceptions of company
(mindshare)
 Sentiment—nature of social
dialogue, etc.
 Direct feedback
Create high quality, highly usable
content delivered in an elegant
information experience.

@aames #tcuk1554
Defining success
Step 6: Plan for a closed-loop process
Closed loop: end up at the beginning!
Start with metrics—use at project outset to:
Identify problems and opportunities
Define the vision
Prove that the vision is right
Continue with metrics—use during implementation to:
Measure the success of your progress in small increments
Stay on-target through implementation
Determine when it’s time to course-correct (before change gets expensive)
Keep your sponsors and stakeholders engaged throughout the long haul
Ensure that you remain connected to the broader goals and metrics of the surrounding
business
Ensure that you stay responsive and adapt to change
End with metrics—use at project conclusion to:
Prove the business value of cultivating an effective content ecosystem
Prove the business value of your work—enhance your credibility and career
Encourage future investment in the content ecosystem

@aames #tcuk1555
Managing and communicating with
stakeholders

@aames #tcuk1556
1. Before you begin—understanding the role and value of
stakeholders
2. Assess your stakeholders
3. Build a community-based model
4. Tell the right story
1
Managing your stakeholders

@aames #tcuk1557 57
Step 1: Before you begin—their role and value
To make content strategy happen, you have to master politics
Think of it as a game—moving pieces on a board
You can’t touch the pieces directly to move them where you want them
You have to inspire them to move
You inspire them by figuring out what they care about and helping them
succeed
It doesn’t have to be an evil game
Look for win-win alliances and opportunities
Discover and play to people’s strengths
Enjoy finding kindred spirits in the game—don’t get bogged down by pieces
on the board that refuse to move
Enjoy the wins—be sure to share the rewards
Learn from the losses—keep your eye on the end game on not on emotional
setbacks
Make smart compromises for the greater good—but remember who you are

@aames #tcuk1558
Step 2: Assess your stakeholders
Whose agendas do you need to understand to be
successful?
Which influencers can help you? What are their agendas?
Which influencers could block you? What are their
agendas?
How can you help your influencers be successful?
How can you map your success to business priorities and
metrics?
Manage your stakeholders intentionally:
Their top concerns
Their metrics
The level of support you desire from them
What role they play (or you’d like them to play) in your
work
The actions that you want them to take (and their priority)
The messages that you need to craft for them to enable the
outcome you want
—Rachel Thompson
Stakeholder Management:
Planning Stakeholder
Communication. MindTools.
Web. 12 April 2013.
Free stakeholder
management worksheet
here: http://bit.ly/8UnUdj
“Stakeholder
management is critical
to the success of every
project in every
organization … By
engaging the right
people in the right way
in your project, you can
make a big difference to
its success...
and to your career.”

@aames #tcuk1559
Step 3: Build a community-based model
Executive sponsor
Business unit sponsors
Content thought
leaders from
each domain
or department
Content teams
from each domain
or department
infrastructure gurus
graphic design
content marketing
product management
Network of
supportive friends
interaction design
engineering
writers
editors

@aames #tcuk1560
Step 3: Build a community-based model, cont.
Define priorities
Which common metrics can we unite around?
Which metrics will we be measured against?
Which common metrics tell our story best?
Take first steps toward impact
What mission unites us?
What small, measurable projects could we do together to build
relationships and demonstrate incremental progress?
How can we crawl—walk—run toward value?
Communicate constantly—up, down, across
Take interim measurements
Maintain sponsor interest
Course-correct as needed

@aames #tcuk1561
Step 4: Tell the right story
What your metrics give you:
The “black and white” part of your strategy
The facts that prove your strategy is a good one
An argument that speaks to the analytical mind
What your metrics don’t give you:
A guaranteed successful “sell” to your stakeholders
A vision that inspires people to believe
A story that speaks to the emotional heart
Think through the content, tactics, and rhetorical devices that will sell
your vision
Be sure that your metrics help you gather all the data you need to tell an
ethos—logos—pathos story (huh?)

@aames #tcuk1562
Ethos—your credibility (professionalism; authority)
Logos—the logic of your argument; the clarity of your message and evidence,
using either inductive (bottom-up) or deductive (top-down) reasoning
Pathos—an emotional appeal, vivid storytelling, creative envisioning
Use all the techniques you can to help your audience visualize the future!
Show, don’t tell—include imagery, video, and audio as appropriate to show the
challenges of the today-state and help your audience imagine tomorrow
Keep your packaging professional—high-quality, visually-appealing charts and
documents will enhance your ethos
Help your audience learn—start with the big picture (an executive summary),
then feed them the details
Remember good old Aristotle? Use your skills as a technical
communicator to tell a compelling story with your business case!
Ensure your story speaks to:
Step 4: Tell the right story

@aames #tcuk1563
Managing stakeholders
Step 4: Tell the right story, cont.
Ethos
Your authority, credibility,
professionalism, and authenticity
Pathos
Emotional appeal, vivid imagery,
creative envisioning, imagining
Logos
Logic, data, clarity, evidence—
either inductive (bottom-up) or
deductive (top-down) reasoning
Use metrics to:
 Speak to the analytical mind
 Tell the “black and white” part
of your strategy
 Articulate facts that prove that
your strategy is a good one
Use vision to:
 Speak to the heart
 Inspire people to believe
 Craft a narrative that
resonates and lingers long
after you’ve left the room
Use expert communication to:
 Prove that you own the space
 Provide powerful evidence that
you are worthy of trust and
investment
 Build a network of influencers

@aames #tcuk1564
1. Before you begin
2. Specify the issue
3. Depict the outcome
4. Articulate your recommendation
5. Provide justification
6. Identify the team
2
Building a high-level business case

@aames #tcuk1565
Building a business case
Step 1: Before you begin—embrace the case
The beauty of black-and-white—a business case helps you:
Ensure that your strategy is complete and that you’ve thought through every
potential issue
Fight the battle for content strategy by equipping you with powerful
ammunition
Transform your message from “I want this” to “These critical data show
that…”
Demonstrate rigor and professionalism
Assert your credibility—it is the lingua franca of the business world
Lots of mental roadblocks out there about writing business cases!
Let’s demystify business cases a bit! There are lots of approaches and
templates out there for building good business cases—but for our
purposes today, let’s pare down the content in a typical business to a few
key ideas…

@aames #tcuk1566
Step 2: Specify the issue
Describe the business problem—clearly, briefly, factually
What business problem does your content strategy solve?
What is the impact of this business problem—today, and tomorrow?
Go back to your metrics and stakeholder management plans—state the
problem in those terms, mapped directly to business priorities
“Management is concerned with decreasing costs and increasing
revenue, so state the problem in those terms.” —Jack Molisani
“Don’t assume that management can see the ‘pain’ of this problem as
clearly as you can.” —Jack Molisani
Do not describe how the problem will be addressed—merely define the
problem.

@aames #tcuk1567
Step 3: Depict the outcome
What would an ideal tomorrow-state look like?
What would success look like?
This is the spot where you help your audience imagine the possibilities
that your solution will address!
Your vision!

@aames #tcuk1568
Step 4: Articulate your recommendation
So how do we achieve the outcome you described?
Describe your solution and how your solution solves the problem
Describe the benefits of your solution (another spot where you can use those
metrics and stakeholder management plans)
Revenue?
Customer satisfaction?
Client ROI?
Mindshare?
Marketshare?
Cost reduction or avoidance?
You get the idea…
Describe how moving forward with your strategy will achieve desirable results.
Use your skills as a technical communicator—write your justifications using
why? and for whom? and how much?

@aames #tcuk1569
Step 4: Provide justification
Let your audience see how you arrived at this solution:
Describe all viable/meaningful alternatives (including doing nothing)
Use your metrics plan to evaluate each option
Calculate ROI (where you can): amount returned / costs
Estimate how long it will take to see those returns on investment
Identify any risks and communicate a plan to mitigate those risks
Specify why you selected your approach over alternative options

@aames #tcuk1570
Step 5: Identify the team
Who do you need in order to achieve your vision?
Leaders of the project?
Sponsors?
Stakeholders?
What skills do you need?
Leadership/strategy/vision
Project management
Technical
End-to-end information experience skills
Information development skills
Etc.
Make a clear and concise request for resources, and be sure that these
resources have been accounted for in your cost assessments

@aames #tcuk1571
Wrap up

@aames #tcuk1572
Themes from today’s session
1. The importance of systems thinking—analyze and strategize at the ecosystem-
level
2. The importance of metrics—tell the right story in the right way to the right people
3. The value of knowing who you are—play to your strengths
4. The value of knowing who influences your success—identify the real
decision-makers
5. The importance of soft skills—communication, evangelism, assertive outreach,
networking, breaking down barriers
6. The critical role that community plays in your success—managing your
stakeholders, building relationships with key players in your content ecosystem
7. The wisdom of crawl-walk-run—don’t boil the ocean, but rather envision the run
phase, start with crawl, and plan for walk
8. The critical importance of understanding users, business—every phase of the
content strategy process, every deliverable, every communication

@aames #tcuk1573
Resources

@aames #tcuk1574
Resources
Ames, Andrea. “Creating a Content Strategy Ecosystem” http://bit.ly/1iYCykY
Ames, Andrea and Alyson Riley. “Strategic information architecture: The information
user experience.” Intercom (October 2012). 28-32.
Bhapkar, Neil. 8 KPIs Your Content Marketing Measurements Should Include. Content
Marketing Institute. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/Wnb7Cy
Carliner, Saul. Ten tips for building a business case. Intercom (June 2012).
Checkland, Peter. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. 1999.
Ecology, Mind, & Systems: ecomind.wikidot.com
Ellerby, Lindsay. Analysis, plus synthesis: Turning data into insights. UX Matters (27
April 2009). Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/C2vQ6
Ellis, David. (1989). A behavioural model for information retrieval system design.
Journal of information science, 15 (4/5): 237-247.
Johnson, Steve. Writing the market requirements document. Pragmatic Marketing.
Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/SiTrF2
Kalbach, James. “Designing for Information Foragers: A Behavioral Model for
Information Seeking on the World Wide Web.” Internetworking, Internet Technical
Group newsletter. Web. 20 April 2013. http://bit.ly/11Ryc15

@aames #tcuk1575
References
Kalbach, James and Aaron Gustafson. Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User
Experience. Cambridge: MA: O’Reilly Media, 2007.
Kantner, Laurie, Roberta Shroyer, and Stephanie Rosenbaum, "Structured Heuristic
Evaluation of Online Documentation.” http://bit.ly/1Gf3IZq
Klipfolio. The KPI Dashboard—Evolved. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/LhzeL9
Molisani, Jack. How to build a business case. Intercom (July/August 2008).
Muldoon, Pamela. 4 metrics every content marketer needs to measure: Interview with
Jay Baer. Content Marketing Institute. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/X8IvMJ
Plowman, Kerry J. Five pitfalls of requirement writing. Pragmatic Marketing. Web.
12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/RWKbUY
Sehlhorst, Scott. Writing good requirements—the big ten rules. Tyner Blain blog.
Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/13Y7t0
Stanford d school http://stanford.io/1qM2OAt
Thompson, Rachel. Stakeholder management: Planning stakeholder communication.
MindTools. Web. 12 April 2013. http://bit.ly/8UnUdj
Wheeler, Benjamin, Gilda Wheeler, and Wendy Church. It's All Connected: A
Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions:
www.facingthefuture.org

@aames #tcuk1576
andrea ames (@aames)
thank you

Content Experience Leadership: Transforming Your Organization for Content Excellence

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