cross platform workflows
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“Write once, read many”
Planning for, producing anddelivering content across multiple
platforms
December 6, 2012@brianoleary
An overview of today’s discussion
“Why” tackle agile content?• What is agile content?
• Why do I need to know about it?
• Will it go away?
• Why is it relevant to my association?
“How” to make content agile?• What are the benefits and
costs?
• Where is the ROI?
• How do I get started?
• What are the best ways to save on implementation?
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So what is agile content?
• Content owners identify elements (the building blocks of content) and define document structure
• Owners can customize elements to capture specific industry structures or taxonomies
• Can vary the presentation of elements across multiple uses
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A host of acronyms and related terms are explained in two glossaries online at http://bit.ly/ahxDGi.
The promise of agile workflows
• Far lower conversion costs for varied outputs
• Web-ready content to drive broader and more targeted marketing efforts
• Tagged content that can be combined or chunked to create new content offerings
• The opportunity to link rights and IP, lowering costs and unlocking new revenue
Traditional Print-Centric Approach Content Structure Design
Three linkedelements;
one output opportunity
Content Structure DesignContent-Centric Approach
Content and structure are
linked; design is separate
Multiple output opportunities
Tagging (mark-up) defines structure and separates content from design
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Migrating to agile content
Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books
Content Structure Design Multiple formats can be generated
from a single source (file)
Structural components of the work are identified
and connected to the content
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Print (multiple formats)
Aggregation (e.g., annual “best of” publication…)
Mobile
Web page
Syndication, more
Disengaging design increases agility
Digital book
Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books
If you’ve tagged for structure, you can also tag for context (meaning)
• Formats are supported by consistent tagging for structure
• All cross-platform content benefits from structural tagging
• Recombinant, aggregated, syndicated and searchable uses rely on contextual tagging
• “Chunkable” or repurposed content benefits most from contextual tagging
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Starting point – agile content transition
“Write once, read once” (single-
format delivery)
“Write once, read many”(supporting multiple
formats and uses)
Publishers must balance process complexity with content agility
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Is agile content a passing fad?
• Mark-up (tagging) is a core component of publishing
• XML and its predecessor, SGML, are three-plus decades old
• STM and journal publishers (some under association control) were early adopters of SGML
• Recent growth in use of agile content among professional, business and some consumer publishers
• To understand the need for agile content, we surveyed the toughest audience we could find …
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Editors’ views on the need for agile content
• 100% noted some or a lot of problems with content storage and retrieval
• 89% noted that additional formats take more work
• 71% plan for more than one use of content
• 62% get files back from printers to edit or update
• 53% think about chunking or recombining content
• No editor felt “everything was fine; no need to change”
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Core take-aways from our survey
• Almost everyone sees a value in cost-effectively supporting more formats
• The ability to manage multiple formats is far from “under control”
• Content storage and retrieval is art, not science
• Increasingly, publishers and editors are looking for the flexibility and control that agile content can provide
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In a nutshell, if you need to…
• Reduce direct or indirect content costs …
• Improve content storage and retrieval …
• Support digital, POD or alternative print formats, or …
• Offer members more control over their content choices …
• Then agile content is relevant to your association
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Implementing agile: benefits vs. costs
• An investment in content agility requires advance planning
• It often leads to changes in processes, technologies and organizational structures and roles
• Publishers must learn and apply new tools in new ways
• Different types of content forms benefit to greater or lesser degrees from an investment in agile content
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Balance: the key to workflow changes
Many
Few or none
Frequency of or potential for reuse
Travel and tourism
CookbooksSTM
Travelogues
TestsFictional series
Historical fiction (opportunity to capture people, places, events)
Novels
“Chunks”
Low High
Religion (esp Bibles)
Business Education
Reference
Scholarly monographs
Estimating agile’s potential benefits
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Association
Many
Few or none
Frequency of or potential for reuse
Travel and tourism
CookbooksSTM
Travelogues
Tests
Historical fiction (opportunity to capture people, places, events)
Novels
“Chunks”
Low High
Religion (esp Bibles)
Business Education
Reference
Scholarly monographs
Estimating agile’s potential benefits
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Fictional series
Association
Agile solutions fall into three “buckets”
• Variety of editorial tools
• MS Word (2011)• InDesign/InCopy• Sharepoint• Workflow solutions
(e.g., K4)
• Variety of editorial tools
• MS Word (2011)• InDesign/InCopy• Sharepoint• Workflow solutions
(e.g., K4)
• Wordpress• PressBooks• Drupal• Outsourced DADs
(codeMantra, Ingram, etc.)
• In-house (e.g. MarkLogic)
• Wordpress• PressBooks• Drupal• Outsourced DADs
(codeMantra, Ingram, etc.)
• In-house (e.g. MarkLogic)
• Standard transforms (“collect for print”)
• Custom transforms• Proprietary
databases with real-time calls or periodic feeds
• Standard transforms (“collect for print”)
• Custom transforms• Proprietary
databases with real-time calls or periodic feeds
Increasing cost or com
plexity
Increasing cost or com
plexity
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Cross-platform usually requires some new tools
Content editors Post production tools Relevant technologies
XMLSpy XML Validators XML
StylusStudio DTD Validators XSLT
Dreamweaver Converters - XML to DTD XPath
EditiX Converters - DTD to XML XSL-FO
oXygen ESB DTD
XMLWriter eBook Readers XML Schemas
Liquid Etc… XML Namespaces
Adobe InDesign XQuery
Wordpress EPub
PressBooks PDF
RSS
Adapted from work by Steve Waldron, Klopotek NA
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XSLT
CSS
XSLT
XSLT
XSLT
XSLT
Large printLarge print
Managing and applying transforms
PDF, printPDF, print
PODPOD
Mobi etc.
Mobi etc.
Other*
Other*
XSL-FO
XSL-FO
XSL-FO
XSLTXSL-FO
Why style sheets? They are the tool that makes “write once, read many” possible …
*Chunked, recombinant or annotated content
Stylesheets
Simple = $550
Moderate = $1500
Complex = $2500
Highly complex = $5K - $10K
Composition
$.50 - $4.25
Style sheets lower per-page prep costs
20Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning
The payoff is volume-related
21Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning
How do I obtain a return on my investment?
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Digital marketing
Digital marketing
Custom publishing
Custom publishing
Content aggregation
Content aggregation
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How do I get started?
AcquisitionContracts & agreements Editorial
Production editorial
Production or operations
Marketing & sales
Develop author guidelines
Implement Word templates using XML functionality
Keywords
Integrate rights information with content
Confirm additional downstream uses
With authors, tag for meaning
Work with editors to tag and “chunk”
Apply style sheets
Implement and maintain version control
Manage and apply transforms
Work with solutions providers
Use tags to help target audiences
Content-specific SEO/SEM
Monitor search and keyword use to inform upstream tagging
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Best ways to save on implementation
• Begin with the end in mind (plan first)
• Commit to sustained change over a period of time
• Remember that it’s not (just) about technology
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Successful implementation starts with effective planning. Here are five planning and seven implementation “best practices” to
keep in mind as you develop more agile content workflows.
Begin with the end in mind …
Planning Implementation Establish and evaluate member
requirements
Assess your processes across functions and handoffs
Model both current (operational) and future (strategic) benefits
Solicit senior-level support for sustained change
Determine the point at which you want to “start” being agile
Obtain and maintain operating buy-in, support and dialogue
Rank association benefits and measure progress openly
Plan for early wins, ideally spread across multiple functions
Exploit the value of prototyping
Capture and share deep content knowledge
Foster and communicate objective measurements
Capitalize on the value of new, downstream uses
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Commit to sustained change …
Planning Implementation Establish and evaluate member
requirements
Assess your processes across functions and handoffs
Model both current (operational) and future (strategic) benefits
Solicit senior-level support for sustained change
Determine the point at which you want to “start” being agile
Obtain and maintain operating buy-in, support and dialogue
Rank association benefits and measure progress openly
Plan for early wins, ideally spread across multiple functions
Exploit the value of prototyping
Capture and share deep content knowledge
Foster and communicate objective measurements
Capitalize on the value of new, downstream uses
31
Remember that it’s not (just) about tech …
Planning Implementation Establish and evaluate member
requirements
Assess your processes across functions and handoffs
Model both current (operational) and future (strategic) benefits
Solicit senior-level support for sustained change
Determine the point at which you want to “start” being agile
Obtain and maintain operating buy-in, support and dialogue
Rank association benefits and measure progress openly
Plan for early wins, ideally spread across multiple functions
Exploit the value of prototyping
Capture and share deep content knowledge
Foster and communicate objective measurements
Capitalize on the value of new, downstream uses
32
Planning and implementation, by function
Bring the planning and implementation checklists to life: “What do I need to know to do this right?”
Provide examples of what agile can do and
how to get started
Describe best and emerging practices in agile; provide skills and arguments to help convince others to participate 33
So if you are looking to …
Goal Keep in mind
Repurpose content
• Tie plans back to pain points, where applicable
• Buy/develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared, adapted
• Simplify: make content files that support multiple uses
Create related “chunks”
• Capture and share deep subject knowledge
• Prototype and test (make many small mistakes, not one big one)
• Test pricing where you can (not an agile suggestion, but …)
Create expanded editions
• Survey (be mindful that the expressed need may not be there)
• Engage both editors and membership staff (break down silos)
Develop or use mobile apps
• To take advantage of app readers, ask for standards (typically HMTL5) and structure content so that it can be ported easily.
• For smaller associations, app development may not be a priority34
Other operational improvements
Goal Keep in mind
Improve internal processes
• Catalog pain points (file maintenance, retrieval, versioning, etc.)
• Be clear where tools help (versus workflow improvement alone)
• Focused projects: short or prototyped; senior and operating support; look for early wins
Produce more formats
• Figure out the formats first (POD, large print, etc.)
• Buy, borrow or develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared or easily adapted
• Simplify: make XML files that support seamless downstream use
Streamline digital book production
• Standard formats, particularly EPUB, exist
• If you need to support more than EPUB, buy, borrow or create transforms that can be reused across titles
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Useful links
• http://bit.ly/ahxDGi (link to XML and related glossaries)
• http://www.idpf.org (standards, EPUB)
• brian.oleary@magellanmediapartners.com
• @brianoleary (Twitter)
• www.linkedin.com/in/brianfoleary (LinkedIn)
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