Three Ways to Save Your Job with a CMS

Debbie Polishook, Accenture (System integrator)

Understand Content Strategy

• Know your content.
• Know your business model.
• Strategy drives project decisions.
• Think holistic, manage delivery.

Secure Project Sponsorship

• Find a sponsor at the business executive level (influential person across the organization).
• Sponsor keeps focus on business results.
• Helps secure scarce resources.
• Project advocate.

Involve All Stakeholders

• Many stakeholders – executives, users, technology, customers, authors, vendors.
• Organizational change management requires more effort than expected.
• Front office vs. back office solution.
• “Build it, they will come” will not work.

Scope, Solution Selections, Support, Scalability, Skills

• Begin with an articulated strategy.
• Identify and engage a project sponsor early.
• Identify and manage key stakeholders.
• Deliver something of value as soon as possible.
• Consider scalability requirements.

Chan Preston KPMG (System Integrator)

Understand the Big Picture First (Clear Plan, With Buy-in)

• Understand your workflow.
• Understand your users.
• Understand your content.

Don’t Trust Solutions Vendors

• Do a financial analysis.
• Coordinate with a business plan.
• Focus on differentiations.
• Evaluate with local data.
• Check references (Ask for similar content and environment situations, then visit. Did they use an integrator?).

Collaborate

• Seek experienced advice.
• Include everyone (don’t let communications fall apart).
• Develop measurements for improvement.
• Recognize that DCM is difficult.

Nicole Gnutzman, Thomson Learning (Multimedia Education)

Benefits

• Reduce operating costs.
• Revenue opportunities; new products.
• Decrease cycle time.
• Track rights.

Based on XML

• Tag data once.
• Update in real time.
• Multiple products easily.

Success Factors

Business Case Development

• Determine revenue opportunities and cost savings; multiple options:
• • Work with integrator (executives often trust integrators or consultants more).
  • Work with cross-functional team (including finance).
• Still may not be enough because you are changing deep processes – change management.
• Deep Bridge’s white paper “The Financial Case for Content Management” www.deepbridge.com.
• Propose a pilot project; phase in the implementation.
• Track details.

Communication Strategy Plan and Execution

• Develop a strategic communication plan.
• Involve potential users in development.
• Ensure plan targets users, management, executive.
• Create a formal “on-the-road” presentation: Video of industry expert, strategy, super-user demonstration.
• Listen to feedback.

Standards Development

• Set up a standards committee.
• Develop standards and documentation for:
• • File naming.
  • Metadata.
  • Vocabulary management, keywording, and indexing.
  • Versioning.
  • Archiving and content accessibility.
  • Rights management.
  • Digital Object Identifier – unique identifying number for smallest elements.
• Establish workflow standards and training based on those standards.
• Change management (organizational development).

Actual Process for Thomson Learning

Six months for pilot project or phased implementation. Initial pilot not for production “aim small, miss small.”

• Requirements gathering.
• RFP.
• Cost and Revenue analysis.
• Business Case Development at the same time as DTD development.
• Pilot requirements and workflow study (important).
• Pilot (training and communication plan).
• Communications plan execution.
• Standards Development.
• Workflow Analysis.
• Phased implementation.

Document history: 2/21/02