Transcript David Perkins - Georgia State University

Content Management Systems:
Examining the Changing Role of
Technical Communicators
Cathy C. Rumfelt
ENGL 8121
July 18, 2007
Common Threads
Question: What recurring
themes/ideas appeared in all
three articles?
 Importance of user-centered design
 Changing role of technical
communicators
 Need for critical analysis of XML,
CM, and ECM
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
William Hart-Davidson, Grace Bernhardt, Michael McLeod, Martine Rife, and
Jeffrey Grabill
Introduction:
 Researchers align content management (CM) with
phronesis
 Phronesis: the ability to think about how and why we
should act in order to change things, and especially to
change our lives for the better. “Aristotle says that
phronesis isn't simply a skill, however, as it involves not
only the ability to decide how to achieve a certain end, but
also the ability to reflect upon and determine that end…”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phronesis)


Focuses CM “not on the making of texts, but rather on the
good of the community for which text making is a central,
sustaining activity” (Introduction)
Question: How does the idea of phronesis affect the
role of the technical communicator?
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
Introduction, continued:
 When organizations come to content
management, they don’t always understand
what it is
 Look at bulleted lists under WHEN
ORGANIZATIONS COME TO CM (2nd page)
 Question: What is the difference in
these two lists? What is revealed about
what these authors value?
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
Case Studies:
 National professional organization (NPO) and MSU
Library websites
 Case Study #1: NPO
 What can we do to improve our website?
 They had ideas about specifics, but couldn’t
discuss big picture issues/ideas
 Vision: provide an area where members could
respond to key issues
 Wanted to streamline, but at low cost
 Advise the NPO’s web team
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
NPO, continued:
 Question: What did the authors discover as
they researched the site?
 Conventions provided same info, but in a
different format
 Members were not using the site
 Needed to research users and content
 Found more than 20 different types of menus
 Audience groups shifted roles as they went on
the website – one user may have many different
roles
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
NPO, continued:
 Recommendation from authors:
 NPO should revise website to reflect the goals
and task of users vs. the structure of the
organization
 Content should be uniform but customized for the
needs of each role
 Authors had to see beyond client’s initial problem to
the bigger picture
 Question: What are the implications for
technical communicators?
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
Case Study #2: MSU Libraries
 MSU already had a user centered view (users
contributed to online resources)
 MSU wanted a new content strategy to align with
redesign of website
 Authors: surveys for users, analysis of existing
pages – lots of research
 Results:



Users view the site differently than the library
Technologies varied from page to page
2 distinct types of pages
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
MSU Libraries, con’t:
Recommendations for MSU Libraries:
 Create user role-based views – “landing
pages”
 Identified many areas where users could be
contributors and indexers and organizers
 Allow users to create customized views
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
Their Conclusions:
1. Workplace writing research may be a
valuable aid to transforming
organizational structures.
2. As the web itself is transforming into
enterprise software for small business and
non-profit organizations, technical
communicators are well-positioned to
provide the critical services that usually
accompany shifts in new infrastructure.
“Coming to Content Management: Inventing
Infrastructure for Organizational Knowledge Work”
Questions:
 Based on this article, what is “content
management as inquiry-driven
practice”?
 What do these researchers value in
content management?
 What are the implications of the two
case studies presented in the article?
 How has the role of the technical
communicator shifted, in their view?
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single Sourcing
with XML”
Filipp Sapienza
XML Overview
 History of XML:



Developed and endorsed by W3C in Feb. 1998
Descended from SGML (Standard Generalized
Markup Language)
What is XML?


Markup language – allows one to organize and
compartmentalize “mixed data types” (surgery
example)
Writing documents in XML is called “structured
content development” – differs from traditional
writing methods that are hierarchical and
sequential
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
Question: Why use XML?
 Structure “unifies content” – ensures
quality control b/c it prescribes a specific
model that everyone follows
 Content displays more easily on multiple
platforms (wireless devices, Web
browsers) with different stylesheets
 Modularization – allows granules to be
queried and reused (pool example,
syllabus example)
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
4 Usability Issues that arise from XML in Content
Development
Issue 1: Structured Language vs. Traditional
Writing

Traditional writing: sequentiality, hierarchy,
constraints of a format or genre

XML: ability to generate content for different
audience, etc.

Need new evaluative techniques to evaluate usability
of structured writing in a modular state

Developer issues

Writer cannot connect to ideas of existing
situations b/c she may not know where the
module will be used

Research is needed to determine what constitutes
a usable module or granule of content
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
Issue 2: “New Culture of Usability”

XML: allows for smaller user tests during development
rather than one big test at the end; may cultivate “new
culture of usability”

Universal Usability



Easy for all users to use
Aurora – for disabled users; uses XML to vary for different
types of users (visually vs. hearing impaired)
ISTE Example




ISTE method assesses usability of manuals
Users reading technical documents usually skip over
conceptual and go to constructive procedures
XML templates could give users choices about which view
they want
Advantages and Disadvantages
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
Issue #3: User as Developer

Structured documentation blurs the role of developer and
user

Traditional model: developer acquires info., and puts
forth content

New model: user may be able to customize systems –
instead of being a recipient, she can be a co-creator

Will user feel comfortable with this role?

User as Developer Issues

XML – used for adaptable and adaptive systems

Some users like the “malleable tools”, but consistency
is still important

Additional research says level of user expertise is
linked to how much customization is desirable

More research is needed – could frustrate users
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
Issue #4: “Usability of Interoperability”

Traditional method: develop content for one
primary audience, meet needs of other
audiences through visual markers

New method: XML allows for different views of
the same content from a single source

Yahoo example: DTD for information sharing
(news sources)

Similar content can be changed according to
preferences (ex. horizontal vs. vertical views,
different languages, etc.)

Research is needed to look at how these
changes affect reception of content; also
research for different technologies, etc.
“Usability, Structured Content, and Single
Sourcing with XML”
Questions to Consider
 How does XML affect the role of the
technical communicator?
 How does XML affect the role of the
user?
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management (ECM):
Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM Adoption and
Transforming Technical Communications”
Rebekka Andersen
Article Summary:
Andersen examines the Enterprise
Content Management (ECM) solutions
that are becoming increasingly
popular in business and technology
industries. She critically examines
five assumptions about ECM
technologies, and then calls for
technical communicators to take
action.
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Enterprise Content Management
(ECM) – “the technologies, tools,
and methods used to capture,
manage, store, preserve and deliver
content across an enterprise”
Questions:
 How is ECM different from CM?
 Why does Andersen find ECM
problematic?

“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Five Assumptions about ECM technologies:
1. they empower and enable workers and
end product users;
2. they increase social interactions and
knowledge sharing;
3. they improve content quality, accuracy,
and consistency;
4. they eliminate need for technical
knowledge;
5. they require worker adoption for success.
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Assumption 1: ECM technologies
empower and enable workers and
product end users
Questions:
 What is Andersen’s analysis of
this assumption?
 Does ECM empower the worker
and users? (page 8)
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Assumption 2: ECM technologies
increase social interactions and
knowledge sharing
Questions:
 What is Andersen’s analysis of
this assumption?
 Is there increased online social
interaction? (pages 9-10)
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Assumption 3: ECM technologies
improve content quality, accuracy,
and consistency
Questions:
 What is Andersen’s analysis of
this assumption?
 Do these technologies improve
content? (pages 10-11)
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Assumption 4: ECM technologies
eliminate need for technical
knowledge
Questions:
 What is Andersen’s analysis of
this assumption?
 Is there still a need for technical
knowledge? (pages 12-14)
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Assumption 5: ECM technologies
require worker adoption for success
Questions:
 What is Andersen’s analysis of
this assumption?
 How does “user adoption” affect
these technologies? (pages 1415)
“The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM): Confronting the Assumptions Driving ECM
Adoption and Transforming Technical
Communications”
Question: What do you think of
Andersen’s conclusions?

Technical communicators must get
involved in the business and technology
discussions

They cannot remain mere recipients of
ECM technologies; they must help shape
them

Businesses need the alternative
viewpoints

Research must be conducted; ECM
technologies must be critically examined