© Copyright 2014 Author-it Software Corporation. All rights reserved.

Lean Content is Smart ContentAndrew Becraft, Sr. Mgr, Product Development

@AndrewBecraft

About Andrew

But I promise this isn’t about Author-it…

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

FrameMaker,RoboHelp,PageMaker,Doc-to-Help

Microsoftstartups Author-itNintendo

TRADOS (SDL)

Lionbridge

XML,FrameMaker

HTML & Word > FrameMakerwith WebWorksPublisher

FrameMakerwith Mif2Go,RoboHelp,XML

Proprietary XML,Author-it (plus Flare & DITA XML evaluations)

Author-it,DITA

And I won’t talk about LEGO too much…

Why streamline your content?The first step is acknowledging you have a problem…

Poor discoverability

Difficulty finding a place for new content

Unnecessary creation of similar topics

High localization costs

Reducing the high cost of contentMultiple approaches to solving the problem…

Single-sourcing:

Publishing one content project to multiple output formats.

PDF

HTML

XML

Reuse:Chunking your source content so you can repurpose pieces within and between multiple projects.

Minimalism:

Omit needless stuff.

Streamlining:

So we’ve got a problem. Now what?How to get started with content streamlining…

Align streamlining to your content strategy

Ensure each piece of content aligns with the

business goals or needs that your organization targets.

Align streamlining to your Information Architecture

Solid Information Architecture as part of your Content Strategy establishes the framework for successful streamlining tactics.

Measure always, cut often!Applying content metrics to ongoing streamlining efforts…

Data, data, data, data!

Key content metrics

Page views

Downloads

Word count

Time on page

Search terms

Feedback

But if you don’t have data, ask questions!

How well does your current content meet your strategic goals?

Is it on target with the messages you want to feature?

Is it organized well for [readers]?

Does it answer [readers’] questions?

‒Source: Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish (p. 43)

More questions…

Who cares?

Is it compelling?

Is it clear?

Is it complete?

Is it concise?

Is it correct?

‒Source: Killer Web Content by Gerry McGovern (p.73)

Streamlining isn’t just about deleting stuff

Delete the topic, paragraph, or sentence

Split up lengthy topics

Reorganize content to align with IA

Merge topics

Create a reusable toolkit

Title File Name Word Count Page Views Time on Page Comments Priority Action

Concept 1 Concept1.htm 1,454 5,350 30 seconds Too long! 1 Split

Concept 2 Concept2.htm 1,282 3,015 2 minutes Too long! 2 Reduce

Concept 3 Concept3.htm 432 0 0 Legacy info 3 Remove

Concept 4 Concept4.htm 300 10,852 3 minutes “What’s New” 1 Retain

Task 1 Task1.htm 850 8,045 90 seconds Mult. sub-tasks 2 Split

Task 2 Task2.htm 250 20,234 2 minutes Personal options 1 Retain

Task 3 Task3.htm 650 6,452 2 minutes Admin settings 2 Reduce

Reference 1 Reference1.htm 1,085 150 10 seconds Legacy info 3 Remove

Reference 2 Reference2.htm 350 0 0 Req’d safety info 1 Retain

Reference 3 Reference3.htm 850 1,054 2 minutes Keyboard short… 2 Split

How not to break everything…

Manage content relationships

Validate links both at source and in output

Edit thoroughly: Dev > Sub > Copy…

Cut surgically!

How not to blow your localization budget

1. Remove whole topics

2. Remove whole paragraphs/blocks

3. Remove whole sentences

Never stop measuring! Streamline regularly!

Measure!

Plan

Create

LocalizeRelease

Streamline

© Copyright 2014 Author-it Software Corporation. All rights reserved.

Thank you!Any questions?