how to collaborate on content with an agile team
TRANSCRIPT
How to collaborate on content with an Agile team
UPDATED MARCH 2016
Gather Content Webinar
My name’s Rich, I’m Head of Digital at the University of Bath where I lead a multi-disciplinary team of editors, designers and developers responsible for bath.ac.uk. For the past ten years, I have led on digital content efforts at top-ranking English universities. Most recently I have led an ambitious programme to transform the University’s digital marketing and communications platforms. Co-founder of Bath’s first content meet up. I regularly talk about my experience of adopting an Agile approach to content development, Content Strategy and User Experience design.
Hello
What is Agile?
Bath’s digital delivery principles
Ross Ferguson: Delivering a digital strategy for the University of Bath
• Put users’ needs first • Make decisions based on data • Release iteratively and often • Keep things simple and consistent • Provide ongoing support • Work in the open
Project timeline
DesignDiscover Develop Test
Test
Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3
Deliver
Deliver
Sprint 1 Sprint 2
Deliver
DiscoverTest
DesignDevelop DesignDevelop
Discover
Deliver
DesignDevelop
DiscoverTest
Waterfall
Agile
“Agile is not a thing you buy. Agile is a thing you are.”Mike Bracken.“You can’t be half Agile” Government Digital Service Blog
IMAGE: HTTPS://WWW.FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/GDSTEAM/20072445850 CC BY 2.0
Content strategy
Content strategy is a Roadmap that guides content planning, creation and governance
Example content strategy
University of Bath’s student recruitment digital content strategy
At Bath we apply Agile techniques to the planning, creation, and governance of digital content.
Developing content
User stories
As a prospective student I want to search for engineering courses So that I can find out what I can study at Bath
As a <role> I want to <goal> So that <benefit>
How to write a user story
As a prospective student I want to search for engineering courses So that I can find out what I can study at Bath
How to write a user story
User story workshop
IWMW15 - Working in an Agile way masterclass
User stories in action
User stories help us to put people at the heart of bath.ac.uk and create content which meets their needs
Learning to collaborate
Sprints
How to sprint
• Organise a planning meeting • Create a task board • Hold daily stand-ups • And a retrospective at the end
Head of Digital Developer Editor-In-Chief Editor Content Producer Subject expert
+
Department
Technical Architect
Digital team
Delivery Manager
A typical sprint team
Product owner
Example of a product-led team at Bath
Editor-In-Chief Editor Content Producer Subject expert
+
Department
Technical Architect
Digital team
Delivery Manager
A typical sprint team
Product owner
Example of a content-led team at Bath
Retrospectives
Undergraduate induction retrospective
Pair writing
Example of pair writing
Guidelines, tools and processes
Guidelines
University of Bath Editorial style guide
University of Bath Content design guidance - Creating a Guide
Tools
Editorial calendar for first year undergraduate students in Flow Content transition board in Trello
Processes
University of Bath content maintenance process
Doing ReviewAgreed and queued
Task Task
Task
There are two types of tasks: tasks which require subject expertise and tasks that can be completed by anybody.
Tasks are sorted in order of priority. You should select the card at the top of the queue, even if you’re assigned to other tasks.
When you begin work on the task, assign yourself and move the card to ‘Doing’. You should only work on one task at a time.
When you complete work on a task move the card to ‘Review’. Ask a member of the team to check your work.
If you need more information to complete the work, move the card to ‘Queried’ and contact the content owner.
If the owner does not respond your request for more information in a week, you should send a follow-up email. If you do not receive a response within three weeks, you should move the task to ‘Stopped’.
Done
If you’ve been asked to review a task, assign yourself to the card. It is your responsibility to correct minor errors.
After completing the review checklist publish the page and move the task to ‘Done’.
If you find major issues with the content, notify the member of the team who worked on the task, reassign it to them and move the card to the bottom of the ‘Agreed and Queued’ column.
Major issue identified
Task
1 2 3
Task
Task Task
Measuring performance
One team different disciplines
Agile is hard work. It requires practice and discipline
Q&A
Further reading
Talk
Learn why the University of Bath adopted an Agile approach to content and how it was successful.
How to collaborate on content with an Agile team