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CMS
Starter Kit
How
to Prepare Your Content for a
Content Management System
Organizations that implement content management systems before
their content is ready often end up using the systems as expensive
file servers with version control – making it difficult
to successfully implement the systems. Preparing your content
properly beforehand can ensure that the content management system
is used to its best capacity and enable your organization to
achieve an ROI in a year or less.
Some organizations
tackle this process themselves, while others leverage
an industry consultant to help them. Several steps can
be performed simultaneously to speed the implementation
process.
Step
1: Analyze Content
Examine the documents (internal or external) that your
department works on. For each document, ask yourself questions
such as:
•
What is this
document? What do I call it?
•
Does it have pieces? How are
the pieces used?
•
Are some pieces used in several
documents? Could they be?
Step 2: Model Content
Most documents have an inherent structure?i.e., a book
must contain multiple chapters, or a glossary is always
composed of at least a term and a definition. This structure,
or content model, must be spelled out explicitly in a
DTD (Document Type Definition) or XML schema.
•
Does your
content fit into an existing model, such as DocBook or
DITA? Some organizations find it easier to use an existing
model if the structure truly fits their content.
•
If your content
does not fit an existing model, consider creating your
own customized DTD. Be sure to do research and use best
practices or engage a consultant for help.
Step
3: Choose a Pilot Project
Many CMS experts agree that it is imperative that organizations
initially work with a single project as a pilot to trouble-shoot
start-up issues before implementing a content management
system across an entire department or enterprise. When
choosing a pilot project, ask yourself:
•
Which documents are most representative
of the content we someday want to manage in the system?
•
Which projects can move forward
in the content management system without impacting the
schedule for ongoing deliveries?
•
Which documents can realize
the most immediate benefits from content reuse?
Step
4: Choose Editorial Software
Before you can work with structured content, you need
to choose an editorial software program.
•
Choose a tool that is easy
to use. Make sure it contains the functionality you need
in your editorial process and tools to help you convert
legacy content.
•
Make sure the editor you choose
integrates with your content management system.
Step
5: Convert Content to a Structured Environment
Typically, converting your content to a structured environment
requires two steps:
•
Map existing styles and formats
to structured elements using a conversion table (conversion
tables are offered with many editorial software programs).
•
Clean up inconsistencies and
verify that the content model you have chosen works well
with your content.
You’ll also
need to consider the following:
•
Does all of your current
and legacy content need to be converted?
•
If not, how far back should
you go?
•
What will your timeframe be
to complete the conversion process?
Now you are ready to go live with your pilot project!
