Three projects reinforced the key lesson that focusing on precision rather than power or speed leads to better outcomes. The first project documented software and found that adopting DITA and improving existing processes was more effective than a content management system (CMS). The second project created construction education content and similarly found bypassing the CMS in favor of DITA and new processes improved productivity. The third digital humanities project initially struggled using a database but succeeded by focusing on XML delivery. Recent research supports engaging stakeholders and emphasizing customer benefits over technical priorities. The overall lesson is that content modernization projects should focus on collaboration, adapting to challenges, and delivering new value rather than technical investments alone.

1. Joe Gollner | @joegollner
Managing Director
Gnostyx Research Inc.
info@gnostyx.com
Three Projects –
One Important
Lesson

2. Three Projects - One Important Lesson
Two Case Studies
Software Documentation under pressure
Breaking the mold for construction learning content
Key Lesson Learned
Third Case Study
Digital Humanities project reinforces key lesson
Review Key Lesson
Compare with Recent Research Findings
Conclusion: A lesson too important to forget
@joegollner 2

3. CMS or Die
Software Documentation under Pressure
@joegollner 3

4. Software Docs under Pressure
Global Leader in specialized, integrated real-time
environments
Enjoying escalating success as the field becomes HOT
Moving quickly into new markets
Expanding rapidly to address new integration opportunities
Software Documentation
Needed to be localized into many languages (20+)
Needed to keep up with rapid changes in the software
@joegollner 4

5. CMS or Die
Starting Assumption was that a CMS was needed
DITA was also needed
Accelerated project
DITA design
DITA authoring
DITA processing
DITA CMS Pilot
Quick & Dirty Strategy
Dynamic delivery portal
@joegollner 5

6. Trouble comes knocking
Trouble in paradise
Complexity of the
integration environments
catches up with engineering
Competitors up their game
Sales take a hit
Everything is scrutinized
CMS does not fit in
Authors find it an obstacle
@joegollner 6

7. A Ray of Hope
Two things go very well
Team dives into DITA
• Established good practices
• New DITA processes
improve productivity
• Localization costs controlled
• Leveraged a source control
system & Kanban methods
just like the Engineering teams
Dynamic Delivery Portal
• Deemed vital to improving
service to partner integrators
• Docs receive more resources
@joegollner 7

8. Breaking the Publishing Mold
Breaking the mold for construction learning content
@joegollner 8

9. Construction Education & Certification
Global Leader in Construction
Education curricula & resources
Assessment & certification
Delivers content through a
long-standing partnership
Major publisher
Publisher-specified processes
• One size fits all approach
@joegollner 9

10. Charting their own Path
Partner-focus was getting in the way
Distracted from customers & sponsors
Introduced cost & complexity
Restricted what they could do
- with their own content!
New Plan
DITA embraced as basis of their own
content specification
CMS piloted as basis of new processes
@joegollner 10

11. Trouble on the Construction Site
Parallel Project runs into trouble
Becomes a money sinkhole
Places pressure on content project
Demands on team skyrocket
Publishing partner changes the
standard used for submissions
CMS does not fit in
Authors find it an obstacle
as they adapt to new demands
@joegollner 11
Ottawa Downtown Sinkhole 2016

12. Teamwork Prevails in the End
A Focus on Quality Outcomes
Team dives into DITA
Sidelines the CMS
• Deploys content management practices
Realizes significant productivity gains
• Automating as many tasks as possible
• Production team reported that they were
producing three times the number of
publications and doing it on a
significantly reduced budget
[Note: this drives revenues]
@joegollner 12

13. Important Lesson Learned
Precision beats Power & Timing Beats Speed
Investing in what gets noticed is key
@joegollner 13

14. The Wisdom of the Ring
Precision beats power
and Timing beats speed
- Conor McGregor
UFC Lightweight Champion
Finding exactly the right way to
be noticed & dedicating
yourself to doing it
Delivering something of value
to customers / stakeholders
@joegollner 14

15. The Important Takeaway
Nothing beats jumping in with both feet
Focus on the team
Focus on the content
Focus on doing something new & valuable
The price is high – asks a lot of the team
But the benefits are great
the knowledge gained is invaluable
• The team becomes a very savvy buyer of tools & services
the points gained with powerful stakeholders is gold
@joegollner 15
Athena holding Nike

16. Bringing Research Data Online
Digital Humanities project showcases an important lesson
@joegollner 16

17. Digital Miscellanies Index
@joegollner 17
Project to capture the publishing history of 18th Century English Poetry
Miscellanies (anthologies) & to make the data openly accessible

18. A Familiar Pattern
Project started with an
energetic investment in a
database system
Consumed the technology budget
Struggled to handle the real data
Quickly became unusable
Student Researchers
Found ways to keep working
Captured mountains of data
@joegollner 18

19. A Bridge was Needed
The project still had to make
the data accessible
A central commitment to the
funding sponsors
XML to the rescue
A short-term expedient solution
Data would be migrated to XML
then cleaned & organized
A dynamic delivery portal would
make the data accessible
@joegollner 19

20. Smooth Punting Thereafter
On the strength of hitting
its release deadlines
DMI received a second
round of funding
Were able to design a new
database & delivery
interface based on the
experience with, and
feedback on, the initial
solution
@joegollner 20

21. Recent Research Inquiries
How does this lesson line up with recent research findings?
@joegollner 21

22. @joegollnerA Study of the Usefulness of Deploying a Questionnaire to Identify Cultural Dynamics Potentially Affecting a Content-
Management Project - IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7393886/
CMS Project Cultural Dynamics
Survey of CMS Project Team Members
From the First Two Project Case Studies
• Generally positive outlook & openness to change
• Willingness to learn & expectations of positive outcomes
• Concerns about transition burden given workload
• Impacts on delivery schedules
• Possible constraints being introduced by new system
• See center square where negative codes spike
• Prescient given the challenges that arose
• Prescient given the teamwork that prevailed
The results align with key lesson
• Transition concerns plus strong focus on positive impacts
22
Work Group Worth Transition Challenges Expected Outcomes
Reactionsto
OrganizationalChange
Reactionsto
TechnologyandProcesses
Anticipated
OrganizationalChange
+5 +10
4 2
-2
-2 -2
+10 +3
6 5
-5
5
+4 +4
16 6 1
-9 -3
+1
10 8
-3
+10 +1
7 11
-4
TechnoCorp EduOrgPositive, Neutral, Negative codes applied to:
-12-11
+16 +12

23. @joegollner
Playing your way to better content management and collaboration – Nolwenn Kerzreho & Joe Gollner, TCWorld Magazine
http://www.tcworld.info/e-magazine/content-strategies/article/playing-your-way-to-better-content-management-and-collaboration/
CMS Project Risks & Responses
Standard Set of Snakes Selected Emphasized Standard Set of Ladders Selected Emphasized
Collaborators too busy 14 3 Engage IT early 3
Collaborators competing 1 Align with policies 1
Collaborators too possessive 3 Emphasize customer benefits 6 2
Collaborators weak communicators 7 Conduct stakeholder briefings 5
Collaborators question value 4 Prototype collaboration tools 1
Collaborators reject tool 10 1 Pilot collaboration tools 5
Collaborators resist change 4 2 Demonstrate customer benefits 8 1
Management questions ROI 1 Engage collaborators early 9 1
Inadequate budget set 1 1 Engage executive champion 14 5
Unrealistic schedule set 3 Publicize project successes 3
Crisis changes priorities 10 5 Engage Management on issues 8 1
Weak PM Overwhelmed 2 Ensure Win-Win for Collaborators 11 1
Legacy practices overemphasized 6 Involve users in tool selection 8
IT blocks project 2 Train power users 9 1
Incomplete tool requirements 5 Provide user support 6
Deliver ongoing training 4
New Snakes Added & Emphasized New Ladders Added & Emphasized
No Executive Sponsorship 1 1 Incentivized participation 1 1
Loss of stakeholder engagement 1 1 Use Standards 1 1
Acquired by Different Company 1 1 Define clear stakeholder roles 1 1
Tool problems 1 1 Treat SMEs as Customers 2 1
SME Training Inadequate 1 1 Formalize new skills 1 1
Fail operational testing 1 1 Assign SME responsibilities 1 1
Losing Executive Champion 1 1 Build relationships 1 1
Expectations change 1 1
23
Snakes & Ladders Workshop
by Nolwenn Kerzreho
(@NolwennIXIASOFT)
Workshop run at several
conferences in 2015 including
• CIDM Best Practices St Petersburg
Participants identified
• risks to their content collaboration
projects (snakes)
• Possible responses (ladders)
Results aggregated
• They align with key lesson
Workload / Tool Mismatch / Big Changes Engage & Energize Stakeholders

X
X
X




24. A lesson too important to forget
It’s the impact of investments that matters
Content Modernization projects need to be tactical about this
Emphasis falls onto
Working as a team with the content in a new way
• Being ready to adapt to whatever challenges emerge (and they will)
Prioritizing the delivery of new value
• Something that customers & executive stakeholders will notice
N.B. This is not an anti-CMS position
• It’s about choosing the right CMS at the right time & then using it well
@joegollner 24
Joe Gollner | @joegollner | www.gollner.ca
Managing Director | Gnostyx Research Inc.
@gnostyx | www.gnostyx.com | info@gnostyx.com