so you want to be a content engineer (icc 2014)

Copyright © Joe Gollner 2014

So You Want to be a Content Engineer

@joegollner

A Definition of Content Engineering

Content Engineering:

The application of engineering discipline to the

design, acquisition, delivery, management, and use

of content and to the technologies

deployed to support the full content lifecycle

The Language of Content Strategy

A Definition of Engineering

Engineering:

Engineering is the application of scientific principles to the

design, development, support and use of systems which are

themselves made up of structures and processes.

Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

Philosopher, Statesman, Scientist

Identified the Idols of the Mind that typically mislead understanding • Idols of the Tribe [ingrained beliefs]

• Idols of the Cave [personal prejudice]

• Idols of the Marketplace [the fog of words]

• Idols of the Theatre [disciplinary dogmas]

The Way to Combat these Idols: The Scientific Method • Observation

• Hypothesis

• Experiment

• Rejection, Refinement or Validation….Repeat & Publish

Francis Bacon & the Scientific Method

So You Want to be a Content Engineer

Definition of Core Concepts

The Practice of Content Engineering

Case Study: Integrated Health Information

Conclusion: Do you still want to be a Content Engineer?

Content & Information

Content Is what we plan, design, create, reuse & manage so that we can deliver effective information products

Content is potential information (an asset)

Information Is the meaningful organization of data communicated in a specific context with the purpose of influencing others

Information is a transaction (an action) that contains Content

Publishing

The process of transforming content assets into information products that can be effectively transacted

Documents

Documents are the persistent form of information transactions that have been exchanged as part of a business process. Documents are a fact of life & can take many forms.

Publishing & Documents

Intelligent Content

Technology

Knowledge

Bus

ines

s

Intelligent ContentCo

nten

t

Man

agem

ent Know

ledge

Managem

ent

BusinessSystems

Documented & Integrated

Glo

bal &

Dyn

amic

Open &

Extensible

Portable & Processable

Intelligent Content

is content that

has been prepared

using open standards

so as to be both

portable and processable

Intelligence

is the ability to

acquire & apply

knowledge

Intelligence

is also information

of immediate

& practical use

Content Strategy

A strategy is a plan of action directed towards achieving a long-term goal through the coordination, integration and application of the resources & capabilities available to an enterprise

A Content Strategy seeks to make content a strategic asset that can be leveraged by state-of-the-art technology to achieve concrete business goals

Content Strategy & the Content Lifecycle

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentDelivery

ContentEngagement

ContentStrategy

The Content Lifecycle is a continuous process of

creation, publication, use and control

all guided by a continuously evolving Content Strategy

Content Metrics

“As Is” Current Score: 45 “To Be” Target Score: 281

Co

nten

tD

eliveryCo

nte

nt

Acq

uis

itio

nC

on

ten

tM

anag

emen

tC

on

tent

Engagem

ent

2.4

4.2

As Is

2.8

4.0

8.3

8.77.8To Be

1

10

1

1 1

10

1010

8.8

Content Metrics reflect the measurements that an organization

deems relevant. The first step is determining what needs to be measured.

Content Engineering, Technology & Solutions

Content Engineering

ContentAcquisition

ContentManagement

ContentDelivery

ContentEngagement

ContentStrategy

Content Technology

Content Solutions

Content Technology

Technology that has been specifically designed to create, store, manage & process content with all its complexity including intelligent content that has been optimized for portability & processability

Content Solutions

Leverage content technology to deliver business benefits from content assets

Seek to automate, streamline & enrich the content lifecycle

Content Technology & Content Solutions

The Practice of Engineering

Balances multiple objectives

Approaches objectives with a methodical use of:

• precedents

• standards

• experiments

• measurements

• tests

• best practices

• past experience

• state-of-the-art technology

All decisions

• Documented & verifiable

Back to Engineering

The Scientific Method

in practice

Balances the objectives in the Content Strategy with the realities of available & affordable Content Technology

Designs & validates content structures and the Content Lifecycle processes that operate on those content structures to realize a sustainable Content Solution

Guides the solution through ongoing evolution

Back to Content Engineering

Context

Multiple stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem

Huge volumes of published information

Requirement

Scalable solution for discovering, accessing & reusing medical content in multiple situations • Healthcare Professionals

• Patients

• Other stakeholders (Insurance companies, Government…)



Solution Objective: Connect primary medical references to clinical guidance so as

to establish a continuous Precedence Network that provides the grounded authority

for clinical decisions. Traceability was central to this engineered solution.

Aggregation of content about a

Medical Resource

Representation of reference content

suitable forefficient delivery

Clinical guidance based on evidence ( )

Client adapted clinical guidance retaining

evidentiary precedence ( )

End-to-End Precedence Network will permit bidirectional flow of notifications & analytics

Identification

Analysis

Sources

Evidence

Medical Reference

Evidence

References

Related Links

Guidance

Reference Summary

Published MasterTreatment Protocol

Client AdaptedTreatment Protocol

New

Rationale

Reference

TailoredRendition

Reference Lookup

Moved


Business Needs

Document

IdentifyNeeds

Clients

DocumentRequirements

ProjectTeam

DraftRequirementsSpecification

Use Case Test CaseSystem

Constraint

RequirementsValidation

TestingTeam

PrototypingTechnicalProof of Concept

UsabilityTesting

BaselineRequirementsSpecification

Establish Project Requirements

Task Setup Task Steps Task Result

Test Setup Test Steps Test Result

IdentifyUncertainties

PlanExperiments

ConductExperiments

DocumentResults

Applying formalized methods to all stages of the project & to the content lifecycle

Case Study: Integrated Health Information Content Modelling Technique (CMT)

Inheritance CompositionFlow

One or more Zero or more

One Zero or one

Start End

Order

Object Process Actor

Choice

Objects are “things” that can be used, consumed, produced or called upon to provide a service.

Relationship Cardinality

ChoiceDetails

Annotation

Processes act upon “objects” in order to change their state. Processes may use, consume, produce objects or depend upon the services from objects.

Actors assume responsibility for outcomes. Actors can call upon processes, objects & other actors.

A modeling technique that provides a systematic and disciplined way to represent content objects and processesin the context of business goals and responsibilities assumed by organizations or individuals (actors).

Analyst

Business Analyst

Technical Analyst

Document

FrontMatter

BodyRear

Matter

Review Testing Sign-off

Primary Modelling Activities

Composition Inheritance Process

Content Modelling Technique was developed with reference to:

· Object Modeling Technique (OMT)· IDEF0 Function Modeling· Unified Modeling Language (UML)· Object Process Methodology


AggregateContent from

Sources

Identification

Analysis

Sources

Evidence

Medical Reference

Evidence

References

Related Links

Guidance

Reference Summary

Published MasterTreatment Protocol

Client AdaptedTreatment Protocol

New

Rationale

Reference

TailoredRendition

Reference Lookup

Generate Summary

Representation

Add Plain-LanguageContent

Publish Master

Treatment Protocol

Define Client Treatment Protocol as

modifications to be applied to the Master

Extract sources into XML,

reconcile & validate details

Transform XML into specialized DITA & Refactor

Conduct an editorial process for adding client-focused content

Transform DITA into an XML

representation that is widely processable

Stage resources for client customization, to be done by defining a final set of transformations that will generate the client view

Moved

So Do You Still Want to be a Content Engineer?

Content Engineering

Is obligated to take a full system-view

Considers content from all angles to realize a balanced solution

Cannot afford to cling to any one disciplinary perspective

Approaches objectives using a documented, formal methodology

Relentlessly deploys testing, measurement & automation to find improvements

Making Connections

Joe Gollner Gnostyx Research Inc. www.gnostyx.com [email protected]

Twitter: @joegollner

Blog: The Content Philosopher

www.gollner.ca