Tell the story around content as a business asset. We agree there is value in documentation but have been challenged at times to “prove it”. Present to groups including sales, support, service, IT, engineering, QA/testing, manufacturing, HR, training, finance, marketing, and every other business unit in your organization. Demonstrate how documentation drives sales and generates corporate revenue to managers and executives helping them see how important documentation is to them

1. Christopher Ward
Bernard Aschwanden
www.webworks.com
www.publishingsmarter.com
christopher@webworks.com
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
Metrics That Matter:
Making the Business Case that
Documentation Has Value
15:30
1
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

2. Slides?
15:30@aschwanden4stc
2
http://www.slideshare.n
et/PublishingSmarter/
metrics-that-matter-
making-the-business-
case-that-
documentation-has-
value-67733639

3. Overall Objectives
15:30
3
 Tell the story around content as a business asset.
We agree there is value in documentation but have
been challenged at times to “prove it”
 Present to groups including sales, support, service,
IT, engineering, QA/testing, manufacturing, HR,
training, finance, marketing, and every other
business unit in your organization
 Demonstrate how documentation drives sales and
generates corporate revenue to managers and
executives helping them see how important
documentation is to them
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

4. We will not…
15:30
4
 Discuss HOW to collect the numbers
 Detail complex spreadsheets, charts, graphs
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

5. Let’s ensure that when we talk metrics we…
15:30@aschwanden4stc
5
 Remember they are used to influence a discussion
 It’s about an audience and a purpose
 Know who you are talking to
 Know why you are having the discussion
 Know what the outcomes you both want are

6. Defining “business case”
15:30
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 Formal, written content created to convince decision
makers to approve a specific action
 Ideally it explores all feasible approaches to a given
problem and enables you to provide the business
owners the right solution
 In the context of documentation, let us justify why a
documentation team best serves a business by
adding value to every part of the organization
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

7. The story
15:30
7
 WebWorks was launching a new product
(CloudDrafts) and had a development plan
 Needed docs, and looked at that early on
 Sales (Chris) was onboard early to have professional
writers for many reasons
 Frees up developers to develop
 Provide higher quality content
 Leads to more revenue
 Had to pitch this to others in the organization
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

8. What we knew going into the
discussions around this project
15:30
8
The business value of content
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

9. Content effects the whole business
 Content is not a problem to be addressed by:
 Sales
 IT
 Marketing
 Development
 Any single business unit
 It is a business problem
 Wrong or right, it affects the whole business
15:30
9
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

10. How we wanted to position the
conversation with key players
15:30
10
Promoting the value
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

11. Talk to Sales
15:30
11
 Metrics they care about: Qualified leads who read
online docs, ask better questions, informed
consumer
 People review docs as part of the purchasing cycle
 Sales people need to know that docs help make
sales easier, and that numbers go up
 More time with qualified buyers, less time wasted
with uninformed consumers
 More sales helps the business
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

12. Talk to Support/Service
15:30
12
 Metrics they care about: Testing the products, and
that is what writers do in creating content
 Reduce bugs, increase time answering “real”
questions
 Support continues to support clients, not act as
software testers (in beta… not even a final product)
 Service continues to develop solutions with clients
(billable time to a client)
 Happy clients helps the business
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

13. Talk to QA/Testing
15:30
13
 Metrics they care about: Usability tested during
content creation (if it doesn’t work as planned,
documentation will prove it)
 Let QA/testing focus on complex use cases, not the
day-to-day ones
 Stable, reliable products helps the business
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

14. Manufacturing? HR/Training/Finance/Marketing?
15:30
14
 Every business unit in your organization is similar
 They are often overworked, underappreciated,
understaffed, or they feel they are
 More often than not this is because they aren’t doing
their core jobs, and not through fault of their own
 Dedicated doc teams helps the business
 With the right support you increase productivity in other
departments
 People do the jobs they were hired to do, and are supported in
content creation for the customer, with a focus on user need
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

15. Some of the names should be on the
list, and some are not what you
expect
Backup the idea that content matters
@aschwanden4stc 15:30
Top 500 corporations love
content

16. Content is a business asset
15:30
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 Apple: Empowers people with breakthrough
services including the App Store, Apple
Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Depends on
content, provides tools to consume it.
 Netflix: The world’s leading Internet
television network with millions of members
in over 190 countries enjoying 100+ million
hours of TV shows and movies per day,
including original series, documentaries and
feature films.
 Google: Everything they do is about content.
Finding content, delivering content, creating
content. They make money when you look
for content.
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

17. More companies, more content
15:30
17
 Adobe: Help you create content
 Microsoft: Create and manage content
 IBM: Manage, deliver, analyze content
 Samsung: Consume content
 Verizon: Deliver content
 Walt Disney: Create content
 See a pattern? Content is king
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

18. January, 1996 essay: Content is king
15:30
 “Content is where I expect
much of the real money
will be made on the
Internet, just as it was in
broadcasting.”
 Remains true today: Content
is a business asset
 Content is not just what is
seen by the public
 Copyright, trademarks,
software code, legal,
medical patents, help docs,
sales reports, marketing
materials and so much more
18
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

19. Without them you have no baseline
and no hope to have a business
discussion
15:30
19
Get your metrics started
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

20. General ideas
15:30
 Metrics are calculated
 You can’t make this up
 Track what matters, start
now
 ID what you want to
change, then plan,
implement, see if it
changes
 Metrics must have value
as they pertain to a
project
 Used for decision making
20
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

21. Measure and have metrics about
15:30
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 Things your business values
 Customer satisfaction
 Efficiency
 Resources
 Quality
 Time
 Costs
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

22. Benefits and uses
15:30
22
 Create accurate project estimates
 Talk clearly/numerically about scope (why more/less)
 Speak with authority
 Justify expenditures (e.g. new hires, contractors),
tools (licenses, upgrades), or services (trainers)
 Have numerically sound reasons for updates to
procedures & processes, changes in software tools,
attendance at training or seminars, etc.
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

23. Benefits and uses (continued)
15:30
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 Justify saying “no” to increased project scope or to
insist on “yes” to your needs
 Measure time, money, resources, etc; use this for
making strategic decisions
 Present information in a way that is easily consumed
by management
 Determine your documentation improvement
strategy with customer satisfaction metrics
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

24. Discovery of a need for content, and
how metrics helped form the
discussion
15:30
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The WebWorks story
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

25. WebWorks: Key Players / Celebrities
15:30
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@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris
Tony McDow, CEO/Founder
(may double as “The Hoff” in Baywatch)
Ben Allums, Director of Engineering
(may double as “Locutus” from Star Trek)
Chris Ward, Director of Sales
(may double as “The Dude” Jeff Bridges)

26. The Vision: CloudDrafts
15:30
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@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

27. Development
15:30
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 No documentation existed for CloudDrafts
 Knowing content is a key business asset, helps drive
sales Chris pitched the importance of content to
Tony
 Easy pitch as Tony is already in the world of tech comm
 Tony grasped the importance of docs for both internal and
public use
 First thought was “let’s get the developers to write it”
 Then laughter, lots of laughter
 Not because the developer isn’t a good writer, but…
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

28. Writing expertise
15:30
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 Chris to Tony: “Ben can’t do all the writing…”
 Common reasons include:
 He’s an engineer, we don’t pay them to talk to customers
 He’s paid to manage development, not write manuals
 Developers are paid to create code, support product growth,
enhance functions and features
 This is new, advanced tech, putting demand on Ben’s team
 There is an education period for customers, we need tutorials
 We need to explain the concept of our repository
 Knew we needed good docs to ensure people can relate to it
and to generate revenue. Good docs equals success.
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

29. Initial steps
15:30
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 Discussed budget numbers (metrics)
 Asked vendors for a few quotes/bids,
reviewed them
 Didn’t make the call JUST on the
dollars
 Also looked at experience in writing tech
content
 Vetted writers based on knowledge of similar
tools
 Had discussions with stakeholders, got to
know the personalities and found a good fit
 Looked for ROI (metrics)
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

30. Initial onboarding of writers
15:30
30
 Demo to show functions and ask
questions
 Writers and developers asked questions
 The product evolved with writers questions
 Expectation of lower service and support
needs due to questions (anticipated issues
before product release based on input,
changes made before RTM)
 During testing and docs writing, WebWorks
reorganized the product, value added to the
engineering team
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

31. Once content was published…
15:30
31
 Finished product seen by CEO/sponsor
 Positive impression, understood the benefits of what was done
by the content team,
 Delivered content and attached metrics
 Tracking who looks at what, how often
 Content achieves the goals it was designed for
 Easy to use
 Educates and encourages people to use the product
 Helps drive sales
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

32. Moving forward
15:30
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 Metrics help with future product development
 Pinpoints where people have trouble
 Identify the most common topics searched for, time on page,
search results, other valuable information
 Specific implementation:
 Through discovery realized more features were needed
 Docs helped provide a clear roadmap to CloudDrafts v2.0
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

33. Net results of metric driven decisions
15:30
33
 Metrics via Google Analytics
 24/7 responses to customer inquiries
 Feedback expresses true needs of
consumers
 Better than a focus group, live results
evolved as content was updated
 Allowed WebWorks to realize
revenue quicker with solid
documentation
 The case was made with metrics
delivered in the format best suited
to the audience
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

34. Proof that this where you
make the business profitable
15:30
34
Which metrics show
the value of docs?
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

35. Top 10 lists are awesome
15:30
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 Ask support for the top 10 questions
 Document how often they are asked, and how long to answer
 If 2 times/day/rep, for 5 minutes
 Rep spends 10min/day. If 6 reps, 1 hour… Each day
 365 hours per year (about 9 weeks if people work 40hrs/week)
 ID how long a team needs to document answers
 Or how long to code/rebuild UI/fix the damned thing at the
source
 Assume it takes 2 weeks with 3 people = 6 weeks effort
 Compare the savings
 2 weeks pass, you “spend” 6 resource weeks, to save 9
weeks/year
 Resource cost = 6 units. Return is 9 units (50%) within 2 weeks…
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

36. Top 10 your sales reps
15:30
36
 What do they demo the most
 Create videos so that the world can see it
 Add tutorials to the demo version (if you have one)
 What do they find most complex to explain
 Write clear information to summarize it
 Free up reps to say “sure, let me send you a copy of the specs
for IT” and then move on
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

37. Top 10 your content
15:30
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 Not only the 10 things MOST read/reviewed
 Also the 10 things LEAST read/reviewed
 Is it because the content is not ‘findable’
 Or no longer relevant
 Has the issue been fixed
 In any case, if no one reads it, why do you create/edit/manage
it
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

38. Tools, tips, processes
15:30
38
What you can do to improve
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

39. Stop doing “the same thing”
15:30
39
 Just rewriting content doesn’t help
 If you repackage bad content into good content, but
do not solve a problem, no one wins
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

40. 15:30
40

41. Comparing two sets of text
15:30
 Your browser is not one of our
officially supported varieties and
therefore the flow through certain
areas of our site may not be as
robust as otherwise. To fully utilize
all of our great features, we
recommend switching to one of the
following:
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or
higher (download now)
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now)
 If you prefer not switching to one of
our recommended browsers at this
time, you are still more than
welcome to visit our website,
although you may not get to utilize
all of our features to their fullest
extent,
 If you have any questions, please
call our Sales Super Centre at 1-
800-538-5696.
 Our site does not officially support
your browser. Feel free to explore
with it, but you may not be able to
use all our features.
 You may want to update your
browser. Consider using one of the
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 From 114 words to 67 ~40%
reduction!
 Message is clean, easy to
understand
 Translation costs decrease
 Message removes the feeling of
blame
41
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

44. Add metrics
15:30
44
 You can start to see how to build a story
 Make it something they relate to
 Talk about what others have done
 Talk about successes and about failures
 Explore your metrics
 Then get to know what people are looking for
 Take the story and make it personal
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

45. Summing up the discussion,
and options to continue it.
15:30
45
Conclusion and contact
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

46. Your next challenge
15:30
46
 Go tell the story around content as a business asset.
Use information in this session to “prove it”
 Present to groups including sales, support, service,
IT, engineering, QA/testing, manufacturing, HR,
training, finance, marketing, and every other
business unit in your organization, using their terms,
and show value to their teams
 Demonstrate how documentation drives sales and
generates corporate revenue and help managers
and executives understand how important
documentation is
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

47. How to do it
15:30
47
 Stats and case studies are ways to prove value
 Engage and educate your audience, reduce support,
complaints, costs; improves sales cycle, increases
profits
 Show that good docs (written by good people)
reduce overhead and turnover of staff in other
departments, improving the entire organization
 Walk into any discussion and present the value of
documentation
 Explain why technical communicators should always
be in charge of that documentation.
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

48. Follow up contact information
15:30
48
 bernard@publishingsmarter.com
 Call 905 833 8448
 Twitter: publishsmarter OR aschwanden4stc
 LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden
 christopher@webworks.com
 Twitter: @WebWorksChris
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebWorksChris
 Company Facebook:
www.facebook.com/WebWorksePublisher
 Blog: http://blogs.webworks.com/christopher
@aschwanden4stc @webworkschris

49. Slides?
15:30@aschwanden4stc
49
http://www.slideshare.n
et/PublishingSmarter/
metrics-that-matter-
making-the-business-
case-that-
documentation-has-
value-67733639