webinar4: planning for a successful implementation
TRANSCRIPT
Planning for Successful Implementation of Content Optimization Software
Fourth & last of our series: “Your Content, Only Better”
October 25, 2012
PG Bartlett, Acrolinx
“Language is by its very nature a communal thing; that is, it expresses never the exact thing but a compromise – that which is common to you, me and everybody.”
– Thomas Ernest Hulme
http://www.thinkexist.com
Agenda
Project Result Roles & Responsibilities Project Phases & Milestones Potential Pitfalls About Acrolinx
Project Result
Acrolinx software installed on:– Your server(s)– Your users’ desktops
Spelling, grammar & style configured to your requirements Terminology database with your key words & phrases Training for all roles Quality reports (baseline & incremental)
How About DIY?
No; you need specialized skills to:– Modify style rules -> customize style and grammar– Set up terminology in Acrolinx– Train users
Acrolinx offers “10-10-10” services package– 10 days of services– 10 customized rules– 10 weeks to completion– Suitable for most implementations
So why bother with this webinar?
This webinar explains:
What to expect
How to optimize your results
What to avoid
Keep in mind: key issues are organizational, not technical
Roles & Responsibilities
Roles
Project Sponsor Project Manager Terminologist Linguistic Administrator (“ling admin”) Server Administrator Writers & editors
Project Sponsor
Role– Approves commitment to project – typically director or VP– Understands business reasons for project
Activities– Participates in kickoff meeting– Participates in acceptance meeting
Project Manager
Skills– Ideally has formal PM background (e.g., PMI)– Knows importance of schedule, scope & costs– Knows importance of avoiding “scope creep”
Activities– Monitors project schedule– Monitors & controls risks– Coordinates your resources– Communicates, communicates, communicates– Participates in every milestone meeting– Available for daily involvement in project
Tip: this role can be outsourced – which may work better for
you.
Terminologist
Skills– Typically editor or writer
Activities– “Validates” terminology – enters terms, creates links from
“preferred” terms to “deprecated” terms– Needed for 10-20 hours per week during project– Must be available to manage ongoing terminology changes– Can serve as Linguistic Administrator too
Tip: without links, Acrolinx won’t flag deprecated terms.
Tip: identify controversial terms
early & use separate process to resolve.
Tip: give authority to at most 3 people to avoid deadlock &
delays.
Tip: can outsource initial terminology
validation.
Linguistic Administrator
Skills– Typically an editor– Knows corporate style guide(s)– Should understand grammatical syntax
Activities– Works with writers to test rules– Organizes feedback on rules (working with project manager)– Makes requests for customizing rules– Can serve as Terminologist too
Tip: role of linguistic administrator can be
outsourced.
Server Administrator
Skills– Typically IT person familiar with servers– Could be database administrator, but not required to be
Activities– Installs software on server and desktops– Handles updates to software & configuration files during
implementation– Performs software upgrades– Should be different than Linguistic Administrator or Terminologist
Project Phases & Milestones
Project Phases & Milestones
Identify requirements & business objectives Assess feasibility Develop SOW (Statement Of Work) Prepare data for Acrolinx analysis Kickoff meeting Initial development Training Testing iteration 1 Testing iterations 2 & 3 Acceptance
Before contract
After contract
Identify Requirements & Business Objectives
Roles– Key stakeholders within your organization– Acrolinx sales team – initially– Acrolinx Professional Services (PS) – later on
Activities– Discussions with your team
Results– Implementation team understands your requirements, which is
needed so they can provide guidance and assess feasibility & scope
Tip: this step is key – make sure
discussions are sufficiently detailed.
Assess Feasibility
Roles– Acrolinx PS
Activities– Compare requirements to product capabilities
Results– Acrolinx PS agrees that product can meet requirements
Develop SOW
Roles– Acrolinx PS
Activities– Develop scope, schedule & resource requirements
Results– SOW including acceptance criteria Tip: “acceptance
criteria” determine when project is
finished.
Prepare Test Data
Roles– Project Manager– Others as needed
Activities– Gather broad range of documents to support later testing
Results– At least 1 GB of content Tip: Acrolinx can
protect your content under NDA.
Kickoff Meeting
Roles– Everyone
Activities– Review roles & responsibilities– Review phases & milestones– Review business objectives– Review project objectives– Discuss potential risks
Results– Everyone understands how the project supports the business objectives– Everyone understands level of effort required for success– Everyone understands what Acrolinx does (and doesn’t do)
Tip: if people are missing, risk increases.
Tip: must understand differences between
terminology and linguistic rules.
Tip: key roles can learn more about their
activities at the Acrolinx InfoCenter.
http://infocenter.acrolinx.com
Tip: Change Management
Identify communication required for each stakeholder In particular, focus on negative stakeholders; consider:
– 1-on-1 communication– Additional training– Separating from rest of group
Make sure you communicate stakeholder experiences to Acrolinx PS– We often see easy-to-fix problems– You may think those problems are unavoidable
Tip: Governance
Governance = structure for agreeing on style, tone of voice, terminology, processes– “Content Quality Review Board”– “Center of Excellence”– “Community of Practice”
Link governance to business objectives– Find executive sponsorship for governance structure
Establish governance structure at start of project
Initial Development
Roles– Acrolinx PS
Activities (5 days)– Perform content analysis– Produce initial quality reports– Produce initial software delivery
Results– Initial version of Acrolinx ready to test– Baseline quality reports for future comparisons
Tip: while development is under
way, set up your server hardware.
Training
Roles– Acrolinx PS– Authors & editors– Linguistic Administrator, Terminologist– On-site support (to install software on desktop & connect to server)
Activities (1-3 days)– Acrolinx PS trains all types of users– Requires access to live software– For XML content, Linguistic Administrator needs extra training
Results– Your team using Acrolinx
Tip: you should have a detailed test plan
prepared in advance.
Tip: you need ALL of the right people
available for training.
How do you measure Acrolinx performance?
“Precision” problems = false alarms
“Recall” problems = missed alarms
100% Precision = no false alarms
100% Recall = no missed alarms
Tip: 100% is impossible to achieve for almost any rule.
Testing Iteration 1
Roles– Linguistic Administrator– Authors & editors
Activities (2 weeks)– Authors & editors provide feedback on precision & recall– Linguistic Administrator reviews feedback, develops requests for rule
changes, prioritizes those requests, enters requests into Acrolinx project management system
Results– Requests for creating or customizing rules– Acrolinx PS processes requests, delivers updated software
Tip: make sure rule changes are critical to
support business objectives.
Tip: make sure you agree on how to submit feedback.
Tip: make sure you process the feedback.
Meanwhile: What Your Terminologist Does
Responsible for “Terminology Validation” process Process steps:
– Identify terminology that needs to be managed• Existing term list• “Harvesting”: extraction from existing documents or translation
memory
– Categorize terminology based on “domain” (typically needed when multiple groups with different needs use Acrolinx)
– Assign status to terminology: “preferred” or “deprecated”– Link each deprecated term to its preferred replacement
Process begins during implementation, continues indefinitely
Meanwhile: What Your Project Manager Does
Tracking progress against schedule and objectives Comparing Acrolinx checking results to success criteria Comparing system performance to project objectives Ensuring new requirements support business objectives Running user surveys (supported by Acrolinx PS)
Testing Iterations 2 & 3
Roles– Linguistic Administrator– Authors & editors
Activities– Ongoing usage of Acrolinx, reporting of problems, prioritizing
requests for customizing rules
Results– Acrolinx PS delivers another software update at end of each
iteration
Tip: Acrolinx PS knows which rules
bring the key benefits.
Acceptance
Roles– Everyone
Activities– Final testing– Final user survey
Results– Signoff on project Tip: acceptance
criteria cannot require 100% precision &
recall.
Potential Pitfalls
#1 Problem: Communication Failures
Either:– People who want information aren’t getting it– People are giving information that’s not received
Establish how EVERYTHING will be communicated To avoid confusion, avoid depending solely on email
– Some people cc: everybody, which reduces clarity of who’s responsible
– That’s why Acrolinx runs project management software and gives you access
Scope Creep
Adds risk to any project Judge critically whether scope changes:
– Support business objectives– Can be postponed to later phase
Priority rankings– Business priorities– User priorities– System priorities
Implementing Low-Priority Rules
Most benefits come from top 10 rules
Each additional rule delivers diminishing returns
We’ve seen rules that are never triggered
Terminology Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t use Acrolinx term extraction unless you must– Start with term lists you’ve already built
Don’t make initial terminology list too big– Don’t try to put ALL of it in up front– Don’t over-commit your resources
Do include stakeholders early & throughout Do agree on a clearly defined workflow
– Who can contribute terminology?– Who reviews terminology?– Who gives final approval?
Do set up workflow early
Not Monitoring Progress Against Schedule
Project Manager must remain vigilant
Must remain aware of project status against milestones
Must make sure resources are available when needed
Not Considering Risks
Complex technical environments Project roles that are unclear or unfilled Project objectives that don’t align with business objectives Geographically distributed teams Political misalignment
Summary
Good project management practices apply– Especially change management
Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment– Seek out help with relevant experience
Roll out when you’re ready– Too early, too many false alarms, too much user resistance– Too late, overly perfected, other priorities may intrude & derail
Acrolinx Overview
Acrolinx Overview
Technology developed by Acrolinx team at German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence
Spun off in 2002 to develop software that helps write better content
Privately owned Berlin headquarters, offices in U.S. &
Japan Linguistic competence in English,
Chinese, German, Japanese, French, Swedish
How Does it Work?
Set up rules & terms
Set up users & systems
Acrolinx works within editing
tools
Everyone can access terms
Managers can view status &
results
Acrolinx checks content against rules & terms
“Language is the light of the mind.”
– John Stuart Mill
http://www.thinkexist.com
© 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Professional Services
Help companies plan and execute their global content strategy Create and modify all types of content
Writing, instructional design, editing, illustration, production, codingproject management
Assist with Acrolinx deployments and configuration Customer-side project management Terminology validation Rule validation Custom training Change management
© 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contact Information
Write. [email protected]
Talk. +1 408-395-8178
Search. www.contentrules.com
Read. www.contentrules.com/blog
Tweet. @contentrulesinc
Follow-Up
Contact info: [email protected]
Future webinars– Philips Healthcare, Tuesday, November 6; sign up now at
http://www.acrolinx.com (look for link under “Join us”)– My next webinar: December 5 – subject TBA
Recording & slides will be posted soon at http://www.acrolinx.com/webinars_en.html
