Rockley Ch. 10 - Erik Sorensen/Emma Baumann
Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy
Ch. 10: Designing Dynamic Content
This chapter deals with the different ways in which content can be assembled to accommodate different situations.
*Personalization- Content is assembled to meet users’ specific needs.
*Systematic reuse- Content is assembled based on author requirements and business rules.
*Collaborative learning - Content is assembled to customize the learning experience of the intended user.
Basically dynamic content deals with the concept that content is created in excess each year and with so much information out there, there needs to be a way to deliver it so customers and users can pick out what they need. Dynamic content is not a substitute for well organized web sites and so forth but rather another way in which to make content accessible to a user.
Creating dynamic content is a very time consuming process in which sometimes the cons can outweigh the pros. Creating a specific user profile for each individual can also slow down the system because a lot of processing will slow down performance. There is an option to pre-build content based on a known configuration but there will always be instances when dynamic content needs to be created on the fly.
In order to support dynamic content you need to identify content user requirements:
- Identify your user needs
- Design metadata and user profiles
- Identify dynamic elements in models
- Define business rules for the assembly of dynamic content
Because the focus of dynamic content is to deliver the right content to the right user at the right time and in the right format you need to clearly understand your users’ needs. You may even create a persona which is the typical profile for the typical user.
Also, be sure to use metadata correctly in order to identify the correct content for the user. Examining the metadata will allow you to develop profiles which allow the users to differentiate and streamline the appropriate content for the appropriate group. Remember, user profiles are tied to logins and therefore when the user logs in they can see information that is only relevant to their needs.
User profiles that are effective are dynamic and change with the users’ actions. Just like the user learns from the software, the software can learn from the user by using personalization. The information that the software learns about the user can then be incorporated in to the profile and be accessible for the next time the user logs in.
It is also important to identify dynamic elements in models. The models ensure that the correct content is being dynamically assembled to ensure the correct content is assembled in the correct order and content. Models can identify which content is to placed in which section based on what role it plays.
Developing dynamic content also has retrieval rules. These rules help tell which content is displayed under what circumstances and to whom. There are three rules on which to base your business rules according to Rockley:
- Specific knowledge requirements
- Related knowledge requirements
- Permissions to view certain content
These business rules often rely on a “if this then that” rule. If something is true then specific content is displayed.
Systematic reuse uses a combination of business rules and user selection to determine which information is automatically reused. However systematic reuse aims more at making the authors’ jobs easier rather than allowing the user to find content more effectively and efficiently.
This chapter deals with the different ways in which content can be assembled to accommodate different situations.
*Personalization- Content is assembled to meet users’ specific needs.
*Systematic reuse- Content is assembled based on author requirements and business rules.
*Collaborative learning - Content is assembled to customize the learning experience of the intended user.
Basically dynamic content deals with the concept that content is created in excess each year and with so much information out there, there needs to be a way to deliver it so customers and users can pick out what they need. Dynamic content is not a substitute for well organized web sites and so forth but rather another way in which to make content accessible to a user.
Creating dynamic content is a very time consuming process in which sometimes the cons can outweigh the pros. Creating a specific user profile for each individual can also slow down the system because a lot of processing will slow down performance. There is an option to pre-build content based on a known configuration but there will always be instances when dynamic content needs to be created on the fly.
In order to support dynamic content you need to identify content user requirements:
- Identify your user needs
- Design metadata and user profiles
- Identify dynamic elements in models
- Define business rules for the assembly of dynamic content
Because the focus of dynamic content is to deliver the right content to the right user at the right time and in the right format you need to clearly understand your users’ needs. You may even create a persona which is the typical profile for the typical user.
Also, be sure to use metadata correctly in order to identify the correct content for the user. Examining the metadata will allow you to develop profiles which allow the users to differentiate and streamline the appropriate content for the appropriate group. Remember, user profiles are tied to logins and therefore when the user logs in they can see information that is only relevant to their needs.
User profiles that are effective are dynamic and change with the users’ actions. Just like the user learns from the software, the software can learn from the user by using personalization. The information that the software learns about the user can then be incorporated in to the profile and be accessible for the next time the user logs in.
It is also important to identify dynamic elements in models. The models ensure that the correct content is being dynamically assembled to ensure the correct content is assembled in the correct order and content. Models can identify which content is to placed in which section based on what role it plays.
Developing dynamic content also has retrieval rules. These rules help tell which content is displayed under what circumstances and to whom. There are three rules on which to base your business rules according to Rockley:
- Specific knowledge requirements
- Related knowledge requirements
- Permissions to view certain content
These business rules often rely on a “if this then that” rule. If something is true then specific content is displayed.
Systematic reuse uses a combination of business rules and user selection to determine which information is automatically reused. However systematic reuse aims more at making the authors’ jobs easier rather than allowing the user to find content more effectively and efficiently.
posted by Emma Baumann | 8:55 PM
10 Comments:
I can really appreciate Rockley's perfect world. But then I have to face my real world. The textbook seems to address how things should/could be done if a content strategy was just being put in place. In my case, the train has already left the station. My company purchased a content management system nearly two years(IS bought it; Publishing was not consulted). It's fine for creating new intranet sites, but it's quite the puzzle to go back try and make current intranet documentation conform.
Anne, you rock! This is what I've been railing against all semester. Rockley describes the process of creating and managing documentation in a mythical, idealistic world - it just doesn't represent reality. Reality is budget constraints, time constraints, uncooperative co-workers, managers that don't give a flip about documentation theory (just be a good little robot and churn out the work), and customers who expect us to create a silk purse from their pig's ear.
Reality is that I fly through a job so that I can get to the next one. I'm not writing the great American novel - I'm creating technical specifications. I can't spend two years in an upper room of an old mansion writing Gone With The Wind. "Frankly my dear Rockley..." Well, you get the picture.
I have to agree and disagree with Anne and Carl here. Although I agree that Rockley’s strategy seems unattainable in the real world. You’re right, there’s not enough time, too much work, short-sighted managers, petty co-workers, the dog next door won’t stop barking, and so on and so forth. Is it probable? Not really.
Is it possible? Well, that’s another matter.
This isn’t going to happen overnight. It won’t. What we have to do is try to introduce these ideas piece by piece, try to change the system that we’re working in. In theory, this is a great idea. We have to take this theory and apply it to our world. We may not use everything, but we can use parts to improve our jobs. This happens with every new idea that comes along: “It won’t work, it’s not cost effective, it takes up too much time.” Well, let’s figure out a way to make it work.
Wes, I seriously hope you're correct...that things will improve. It's just frustrating now to understand what should/could be done and have to wait for the powers-that-be to support that.
Having never actually worked with a content managing system, I'm not sure I can supply valid comments about the inner workings of such a system . . . but I'm not sure you guys/gals are getting the point Rockley is trying to make.
Yes, the world isn't perfect and everything doesn't just fall into place. No, you can't take "forever" to get a job done unless you tried that at work and are now unemployed because you didn't produce.
All Rockley is trying to say is that the technology exists to place selected content at a given location at a given time based on what a user requires at that place and time.
Does it work for every single user? Absolutely not! What we are trying to do is to generalize our users into fairly discrete groups and make our information available to users based on our perceptions of who they are.
I also see the point that Rockley is making but knowing from reading Anne and Carl's previous summaries, I can see you have much experience in the workplace with things some of us have never used or even have seen. I can see where it would be nice but reality, which humans are a part of, often get in the way. I am looking forward to see where this goes in the future.
As I said in a previous comment, I've only worked in restaurants before, so from your comments I have a world of fun to look forward to.
Matt, I feel your pain. I've only worked in restaurants as well. But, for the past 4 years, I've been working for a major restaurant chain that has hundreds of locations in the US alone. Needless to say, there is a lot of standardization to be done! We get a lot of paperwork including recipe books, checklists, health code updates, and a whole lot of HR paperwork that has to be completed. Unfortunately, a lot of this paperwork says the same thing to us, even though they come from several different sources. Even restaurant management could benefit from content management, although the greatest benefit would be seen in the administration, and not in the restaurant itself.
I see many companies as very new to the idea of tech writer and their importance. So I understand where Carl and Ann are coming from but also it mostly depends where you work. If you work for Micro Soft then applying this exercising this is done all the time, well I could only imagine at least.
THis whole thing seems very complex and not necessarily greatly beneficial so I can see where many of my classmates complaints are coming from. I for one have no experience in the 'real world' so I don't have much to add. It does sound like the 'dream world' of Rockely's is more of an aspiration than impossible and being hindered by those who surround it.
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