Knowing what needs to be done and achieving it are dramatically different things. While there’s general consensus that carefully and deliberately establishing and articulating a content strategy for a product, an organization, or an enterprise is a good thing, execution remains an elusive holy grail. We’ll take a look at real challenges—logistic, political, technical—faced as one organization in a Fortune 300 company undertook to develop what Ann Rockley first described as a “unified content strategy,” across functional groups (documentation, training, knowledge management functional organizations) and divergent content. We’ll discuss techniques and strategies such as: • Emphasizing common goal of client/user satisfaction to unite groups with different historical foci • Employing data-driven decision making–to ensure good decisions but also to relieve organizational bias • Using charters and other PM tools to identify, celebrate, and effectively make use of the unique skills, perspectives, and assets of each participating group This presentation was given at Information Development World on May 16, 2017 Don’t miss our upcoming event, Information Development World: Creating Machine-Ready Content to be held on November 28-30, 2017. http://www.informationdevelopmentworld.com

1. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Making It So:
The Hard Work of Developing a
Unified Content Strategy
Information Development World 2017, Menlo Park, 16 May 2017
Toni Mantych (@tonimantych)

3. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Or:
What They Said, with Examples
Information Development World 2017, Menlo Park, 16 May 2017
Toni Mantych (@tonimantych)

4. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Preamble:
Setting the Scene

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Our company: ADP
• Comprehensive global provider of
cloud-based Human Capital
Management (HCM) solutions that
unite HR, payroll, talent, time, tax,
and benefits administration
• Leader in business outsourcing
services, analytics, and compliance
expertise
• Over 650,000 clients in more than
110 countries

6. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Our enterprise content development landscape
Corporate
Comm

7. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Our group
• Information Development Services
• About 50 geographically dispersed
content developers
• Support numerous ADP products &
services across business units
• Primarily client audiences
• Part of Development organization &
embedded on Agile teams
• Founded Translation Management
Services group

8. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
My role
• Lead IDS IA team
• Facilitate department content
strategy work
• Drive DITA + CCMS
implementation & adoption
• Participate on cross-functional
content strategy initiatives

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(Some of) Our drivers
ü Disorganized content
ü Users not finding answers
ü Increasing globalization
ü Inconsistent standards
ü Room for improvement with
translations
ü Many versions of content
ü Inefficient maintenance
ü Interpretive dancing
ü Copy+paste+tweaking
ü The future & the rapid pace of
change
Ø Uncoordinated content
innovations/initiatives
Ø Inconsistent user experiences

10. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Overview:
What We’ve Done & Where We Are

11. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Increasing strategic maturity
In product
doc teams
Within the
department
Across
departments
Across the
enterprise
• Worked with scrum teams to
decide what’s really necessary
• Developed new types of
content
• Sunset some types of
content

12. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
In product doc
teams
Within the
department
Across
departments
Across the
enterprise
Increasing strategic maturity
• Provided minimalism training
• Developed common architecture &
standardized authoring guidelines*
• Conducted routine deliverable audits
• Developed and maintained
style, tone & voice, and
other guidelines

13. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Increasing strategic maturity
• Led minimalism & information typing training
• Created joint style guides
• Shared tone & voice, globalization guidelines
and best practices
• Shared information architecture/content
model, metadata taxonomy, source content
In product doc
teams
Within the
department
Across
departments
Across the
enterprise

14. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
In product doc
teams
Within the
department
Across
departments
Across the
enterprise
Getting to a unified content strategy
Working to:
• Coordinate efforts into
a holistic strategy
• Get enterprise-level
buy-in and adoption
• Establish governance

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Challenges
(and Some Suggestions)

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Silo breaking is hard
• Organizational & personal egos
& biases can interfere.
• It’s hard to see the big picture
from the ground.
• Strategy setting requires buy-in
or authority.
http://stowaway.humsites.byu.edu/files/2011/10/cornmaze1.jpgm

17. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Tips for silo breaking
• Seek a sponsor who is above the
content development silos.
• Seek a facilitator who is outside
the content development silos.
• Keep client value and business
value front and center.
• Listen attentively, practice humility,
and trust your colleagues—and
yourself.
http://bellaorganic.com/pumpkin-patch/

18. Modern Epiphanies
Ø Colleagues in other departments are also creating content
that users need.
Ø And that’s good.
Ø Users don’t care what department created what content.
Ø Nor should they.
Ø Tech Pubs doesn’t have a monopoly on creating valuable
content for users.
Ø And that’s OK too.
Sarah Leritz-Higgins, Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Company
WritersUA West, March 2017

19. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Alignment is hard
• “Our content is different.”
• “Our audience is unique.”
• “We’ve always done it that way.”
• “We have to do it that way.”

20. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Facilitating alignment
• Focus on user needs & content
purpose, not deliverables, labels.
• Validate your assumptions.
• Use multiple inputs—beyond
content audits—for your analysis.
• Look for patterns in content, but
accept real, valid differences.
• Resist status quo thinking. Be open
to compromise and new ideas.

21. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
It takes too long
• “We don’t have time for
strategy. We have to be
agile or we’ll miss the boat.”
• “It will take too long to define
all the aspects of a unified
content strategy.”
• “There are too many
moving pieces; it’s impossible
to implement.”

22. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Make it manageable

23. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Make it manageable
• Define & prioritize your strategic
objectives & the desired
measurable key results (OKRs).
• Use your prioritized OKRs to
schedule specific initiatives.
• Use phases or reduced scopes.
• When engaging in phased work,
keep holistic perspective, to avoid
getting re-segmented or working at
cross-purposes.

24. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Make/keep it relevant
• Make your content strategy work
transparent, so that it can guide
existing and new work.
• Consult your strategic objectives
when making decisions about new
work and setting priorities.
• Be willing to adjust your content
strategy as situations, priorities,
resources change.

25. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Top Tips & Takeaways

26. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Let go of organizational bias, personal
ego, the status quo, & content ownership.
1

27. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Focus on user experience and
client/business value.
2

28. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Strategy enables agility and adds
meaning and value to innovation.
3

29. Copyright © 2017 ADP, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Let’s connect
• Director, Content Strategy & Architecture, ADP
• Instructor, UCSC Extension Technical
Communication Certificate Program
• Former instructor, Portland State University
Graduate Professional & Technical
Communication Program
@tonimantych
Toni.Mantych@adp.com
www.linkedin.com/in/tonimantych/