When looking for a place to live, there are a lot of things you take into consideration to find the home that is just right for you. Let’s face it…choosing a home is a big commitment, and one that you may be living with for a long time.
Choosing a component content management system (CCMS) model requires the same thoughtful consideration as choosing a residence. This is also a decision that you will have to live with for a long time. Here are a few things to think about if CMS implementation is a possibility for your company.

Scenario: After getting several reports of customers complaining about the user guides for their products, the technical communications managers spend weeks developing new guidelines to make their content more consistent and clean up the vocabulary used by the writers. They create a list of acceptable and unacceptable terminology. Then, they hand over the packet of new guidelines to their team of writers. The writers get to work.

After a few weeks, the managers realize that the writers aren’t consistently instituting these new rules, causing the content they collectively produce to be discordant. So how can the managers get the writers to comply with the new guidelines? Here are some tips to consider:

Tips for Content Conversion

CMS content conversion can involve the transformation from a print to digital content format, or from one digital format to another. Whether you are considering content conversion to digital formats for the first time or assessing your process for ongoing needs, a clear strategy will give you the greatest chance of a smooth experience and a successful end result. Here are some key points to keep in mind when readying your content for conversion:

You may have a long-term goal to implement a component content management system (CCMS) and structured authoring, but you may only have the staff and budget to dip your toe in and wade slowly through the shallow end rather than to plunge into the deep end all at once. Is it possible to break the implementation down into manageable steps?

How do you know if a CMS is right for your organization? Many people struggle to find the answer to this question. Often, these are the questions we hear: Is my content base too small to make it worthwhile? Is the cost of a CMS too expensive for my organization? Is my staff too small to benefit from a CMS? What is the breakeven point for adopting a CMS?

You may be looking in all the wrong places for justification for a CMS. The size of your team, the size of your content base, and the cost of the system may only play a small role in the decision to implement a CMS. The more important factor is: how much will you save in time and costs if you implement a CMS? Here are some criteria to consider:

One of the hardest things to do is to get people to move from their comfort zones. When you begin to implement your content management strategy and move to structured authoring, you will likely see some resistance from a few writers who will say, “That’s not the way we’ve always done it!“ Ah, change! It can bring out the stubbornness in some people and make their boss’ hair turn gray as he drags them, kicking and screaming, into the new work environment.

New Year's Resolutions: Get Your Corporate Assets in Shape

A new year is upon us once again, and everyone is making their New Year’s resolutions. Topping the list is usually to get fit by eating better and exercising more. From a business perspective, the start of the new year is also the perfect time to think about ways to improve the fitness of your corporate assets. This year, resolve to get your organization’s content assets in shape, too.