Value Beyond WordsMaximizing Your Role In The Content Ecosystem

Charles L. Rygula II The LavaCon Conference, 2016 Las Vegas

A bit of background

The business’ idea

Improve efficiency and value by

creating a centralized,

shared serviceorganization!

Their recipe for successPreparation:

No planningNo data analysisNo defined benchmarks

Leadership org structure:

No experience running a shared serviceNo experience managing content development teams (upper management)

The consequence

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

7 monthsBudget reduction 1

Budget reduction 2 DecentralizeCentralize

Budget reduction 3

The failed experiment

The envisioned goal: Turned into:

http://theoutsourcing-guide.com/shared-services-vs-bpo-why-make-the-choice/http://www.theleonardo.org/dt_portfolios/rube-goldberg-machine-activity/

• We are part of a Content Ecosystem. • Value is not only what we deliver, but also what else we do in

our content ecosystem.

Different perspectives on value

In the most cost effective and efficient manner and within policy, deliver what our customers expect.

Your Business:

Receive what I want or need, cost effectively.

Customer/User:

What doesthis mean

for us?

Agenda• What the Content Ecosystem is• Factors for Content Ecosystem expansion and related risks• Identifying your Content Ecosystem• Maximizing your value in the Ecosystem

What is the Content Ecosystem?

Obligatory definition

Interesting…• Definition “1” seemingly refers to a natural construct while “2” refers to

something that is man-made.• Definition “2” draws an association with business but does not include

the use of the word community.

Ecosystem 1. a system, or a group of interconnected elements, formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.

2. any system or network of interconnecting and interacting parts, as in a business..."

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ecosystem?s=t

Ecosystems are about relationships

• Community involves relationships beyond interconnecting parts – it accounts for the organisms (us) involved and their impact on each other.

• Whether community or business, relationships bring mutual success or failure – they involve dependencies.

>

Content is also about relationshipsStructured Content development tools

Unstructured Content

development tools

Multimedia development tools

Content Management

SystemsPublishing Systems Delivery Systems Content

Consumption Tools

http://mythresults.com/adam-savage

“I reject your reality and substitute my own.”

…words …tools

…reality

Infromation

Document Online Help Website

Metadata, Attributes, Conditions

I. IntroductionA. Thesis statement.B. Example statements

a. Example statement 1.b. Example statement 2.

C. Conclusion.

II. Example statement 1 detail.A. Detail 1B. Detail 2

…information

…people

The People aspect of the Content Ecosystem

• Working within the different perceptions of value, we have the most opportunity here.

• To maximize our potential here, we must consider:

• What do we do that is different?

• What is it that makes us unique?

• What else can I do?

Content Ecosystem expansionFactors and risks

Information overload

http://www.internetlivestats.com/10/14/16, ~11:15 AM CST

By 2020:• Global Internet traffic = 2.3 Zettabytes (3x

increase over 2015)

• 52% of global population (~4.1B) will be Internet users

• > 26B global IP-connected devices

http://www.cisco.com/c/m/en_us/solutions/service-provider/vni-complete-forecast/infographic.html

On 10/14/16:

Average Attention Span (seconds)

2000 12

2015 8.25

Goldfish 9http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/

By comparison:

Content Ecosystem growth factors

Business size:

More people = more functions = more communication channels

Siloed work flows; Whose job is it?; What’s true?

Customer increase:

More customers = more unique content requirements

People/tool/strategy scaling; content management

Technology:

Simple and availabletools and apps enable more communication

Varying levels of skill;Varying levels of knowledge;Difficult to manage

Why

?R

isks

?

Content Ecosystem growth factors (cont’d)

Competition:

Establishes bar for content quality, quantity, types, and delivery

Development under pressure; distraction; difficult to sustain w/oa formal strategy

Product / Service Complexity:

More complexity = more to explain = more to support

Mismanagement and/or potential misuse of content

Compliance:

Specialized and regulated information required to do business

Strict need for content accuracy and process consistency

Why

?R

isks

?

Content Ecosystem growth factors (cont’d)

Urgency:

“I need, therefore I write.” – more people developing more

Duplication of effort; Lack of consistency; Unavailable; Unmanaged; Accuracy

Why

?R

isks

?

Identifying your Content Ecosystem

Who is developing content?

Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support

Bids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

Sales & Sales Engineering

Service Partners

Customers

Marketing & MarComm

R&D / Engineering

Training

What are they developing?

• Project Plans• Schedules• Dashboards

• Install Guides• User Guides• Admin Guides• API Guides• Regulatory Compliance• Online Help• In-product info• Solution• Release Notes • White papers• Datasheets• Social Media

• Test Plans• Test Scripts• Validated Configurations

• Field notices• Support docs (e.g. FAQs)• Social Media

• I-L Product training

• Web-based Product training

• Requirements• Systems Integration

Docs• Test plans• Customer-specific docs• Project plans• Product Training• Social Media

• Requirements• Feedback• Social Media

• Product presentations• Deployment scenarios• Offers• Social Media

• White papers• Data sheets• Web content• Social media• Competitive intelligence• Market analysis/strategy

• RFIs• RFPs• RFQs

• Legal boilerplate (copy right, disclaimers, safe harbor, etc.)

• Licenses

• Specifications • User stories• Compliance documentation • New Product Introduction• Release Notes• In-product info (e.g. CLI help)• Training

• Product Requirement Definitions (PRDs) • Feature Description Documents (FDDs)• Product Roadmaps• Product Presentations• Social Media

Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support Training

Service Partners

Customers

Sales & Sales Engineering

Marketing & MarCommBids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

R&D / Engineering

Internal vs. external facing?

• Project Plans• Schedules• Dashboards

• Install Guides• User Guides• Admin Guides• API Guides• Regulatory Compliance• Online Help• In-product info• Solution• Release Notes • White papers• Datasheets• Social Media

• Test Plans• Test Scripts• Validated Configurations

• Field notices• Support docs (e.g. FAQs)• Social Media

• I-L Product training

• Web-based Product training

• Requirements• Systems Integration

Docs• Test plans• Customer-specific docs• Project plans• Product Training• Social Media

• Requirements• Feedback• Social Media

• Product presentations• Deployment scenarios• Offers• Social Media

• White papers• Data sheets• Web content• Social media• Competitive intelligence• Market analysis/strategy

• RFIs• RFPs• RFQs

• Legal boilerplate (copy right, disclaimers, safe harbor, etc.)

• Licenses

• Specifications • User stories• Compliance documentation • New Product Introduction• Release Notes• In-product info (e.g. CLI help)• Training

• Product Requirement Definitions (PRDs) • Feature Description Documents (FDDs)• Product Roadmaps• Product Presentations• Social Media

Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support Training

Service Partners

Customers

Sales & Sales Engineering

Marketing & MarCommBids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

R&D / Engineering

What are the relationships / dependencies between the functions and their content?

Perspective point

Where content is coming from

Where content is going to

Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support Training

Bids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

Sales & Sales Engineering

Service Partners

Customers

Marketing & MarComm

R&D / Engineering

Where does the output fit into the development cycle?

During Development Phase

At product/service release

Post release

Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support Training

Bids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

R&D / Engineering

Sales & Sales Engineering

Service Partners

Customers

Marketing & MarComm

What is the proximity to revenue?

$ $$$$$

$$$$

$$$$

$$$

$$$ $$$

$$$

$$$

$

$$

$

$Project Manager

Documentation

Quality Assurance Customer Support Training

Bids & Proposals

Product Management

Legal

Sales & Sales Engineering

Service Partners

Customers

Marketing & MarComm

R&D / Engineering

Direct proximity to Revenue

Far Close

Other criteria for analysis• The nature of the content types (reference, workflow/task-

based, specs, regulatory, theoretical/conceptual)

• Content that can increase efficiency (i.e. sustain the business)

• Content that is most likely to be accurate

• Analytics – data that show things like development time, usage, re-use etc.

• Other metrics…

Maximizing your role

Accept reality• Many companies do not properly

value content.

• We may do it better, but we’re not the only ones doing it.

• Constraints are ever present.

• No one enjoys doing more with less.

Do more with more –use the resources of your Content Ecosystem!

Understand the big picture• Know your company’s goals and

challenges.

• Align what you do to the goals – your content strategy will fail otherwise.

• Get to know your customers.

• Understand the goals, workflows, and pain points of your peers.

Minimize the impact of organizational silos –think horizontally.

Be a leader• Build trust

• Do your job well and with passion.

• Communicate!!!

• Share knowledge and collaborate.

• Don’t avoid difficult situations.

• Come with solutions but be receptive to alternativesConnect the dots for those can’t –

don’t explain, inspire.

Be versatile• Think beyond the immediate

requirements.

• Actively develop yourself and your skills.

• Learn new things and challenge yourself and others to take risks.

Be willing and able to work at both the core and the edge.

http://www.themarkofaleader.com/diamond-shreddies-a-new-angle-on-a-familiar-product/

Promote simplicity• Collaboration and cooperation

require less resources – look at bees.

• Expensive tools with complicated work flows are not always the best solution.

• Complexity reduces value and aggravates people.

Base what you do on what is needed – the minimum viable product concept applies to content too.

“The value of any resource depends heavily on the political, legal and economic ecosystem around it.”

Alla Morrisonhttp://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/attention-governments-big-data-game-changer-businesses

Thank you!Charles L. Rygula IIwww.linkedin.com/in/CharlesRygula