eye on the customer - sdldownloadcenter.sdl.com/eye_on_the_customer_webinar_oct2010.pdf · eye on...

Eye on the Customer: DITA & User-Centric Publishing

DITA Webinar SeriesSDL Structured Content Technologies

Our Presenters Today

Howard SchwartzPh.D., VP StructuredContent TechnologiesSDL

Chip GettingerVP, XML SolutionsSDL

Joining us from The Aberdeen Group and SDL Structured Content Technologies…

David HoulihanSenior Research AssociateThe Aberdeen Group

AgendaWelcome and IntroductionAberdeen’s Research FindingSDL’s Vision of Intelligent Dynamic Technical DocumentationDemo

© AberdeenGroup 2009

Dynamic and User-CentricPublishing Strategies

David HoulihanSenior Research Associate

Aberdeen Group

~ October 28, 2010 ~


What is User-Centric Publishing?

Working Definition: Any attempt to tailor the publication of content in a way that more precisely meets the needs of individual users or user segments

In contrast to: “All encompassing,” encyclopedic manuals that necessarily provide every user with redundant or irrelevant information


Why User-Centric Publishing?

Potential Benefits Potential Risks

~ Promotes better understanding of use and maintenance of products

~ Drives efficiency in customer support and service

~ Improves customer experience with products and ultimately revenue

~ Increases the complexity of publication and amount of documentation created

~ Adds to workload burden on technical publications departments

~ Potentially increases costs


Research Overview: Dynamic and User-Centric Publishing Strategies Goal:

Identify publishing strategies that result in the optimal balance of efficiency and business value

How:Online Surveys / Interviews

When:July – September 2010

Who:131 end-users in technical communications and key line of business managers


Aberdeen’s MethodologyEnd-User Investigation: PACE Framework

P

A

C

E

Pressures:External and internal forces that impact an organization’s market position, competitiveness, or business operations.

Actions:The strategic approaches that an organization takes in response to industry pressures.

Capabilities:The business competencies (organization, process, etc…) required to execute corporate strategy.

Enablers:The key technology solutions required to support the organization’s business practices.


Aberdeen’s Competitive Framework:Identifying the Best-in-Class

Total Respondents:

Top 20%

Middle 50%

Bottom 30%

Best-in-Class

Industry Average

Laggard

Performance Criteria to Be Used to Identify Best-in-Class

Total Number of Publications…

Percent change in…

Meeting source language quality targets

Completed before or on authoring deadlines

Time required to complete authoring projects

Customer satisfaction scores


14%

21%

28%

43%

43%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

User demand for more conciseor higher quality documentation

Increased volume of productsand associated documentation

Shortened product developmentschedules

Products are launched toincreasing number of markets

Documentation is not used byproduct end-users

Percentage (%) of Respondents, n=131

All Respondents

Top Pressures Driving Publication Improvements

A twin emphasis on user needs and limited time to develop content lead pressures drivingImprovements to publication processes


Strategic Actions:How do organizations respond to their top pressures?

57%

48%

42%

36%

29%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Limit publications to electronic formats

Produce publications that support specfic productconfigurations

Investigate how end users consume and apply content

Release documentation matching specific userknowledge / experience profiles

Tailor publications to individual region / languageneeds

Percentage of Respondents (n=131)


Defining the Best-in-Class:Baseline Performance:

Total Percentage of ProjectsMeeting Targets

Number of projects completed onor before authoring deadlines

Best-in-Class

91%

IndustryAverage

84%

Laggard

52%

Performance Criteria Used to Identify Best-in-Class

Number of projects completed on orunder budget targets 88% 84% 45%

Number of publications meeting authoring deadlines

Number of publications meeting source language quality targets


Defining the Best-in-Class:Performance Improvement:

Over Past 12 Months

Decrease in time to develop source language documentation

Increase in customer satisfaction scores

-5%

7%

20%

23%

6%

10%

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%Percent improvement over past 12 months

Best-in-Class Industry Average Laggards


Additional Benefits Achieved across Enterprise

Through their emphasis on meeting user requirements for documentation, theBest-in-Class realize significant business benefits

18%

20%

9%

2%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Decrease in number ofinquiries made to customer

support / service

Increase in product revenue

Percent improvement over past 12 months

Best-in-Class All Others


Capabilities and Enablers: How do the Best-in-Class Execute their Strategies?

Pressures Actions Capabilities Enablers

User demand for more concise or higher quality documentationIncreased volume of documentation

Limit publications to individual product configurationsRelease documentation matching specific user profilesInvestigate how users consume contentTailor publications to regional / language needs

Component based content developmentCentral management of content Content assembly is automatedUser feedback on content is collectedUser access and use of content is tracked

Structured authoring editorComponent content management systemAutomated document layout toolAutomated publishing engine


Strategic Actions:How do the Best-in-Class Achieve their Results?

Best-in-Class performers lead the way in tailoring documentation to meet user needs

73%

50% 50%

36%

49%

39%42%

27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

Limit publications toindividual product

configurations

Release documentationmatching specific user

profiles

Investigate how end usersconsume and apply content

Tailor publications toindividual region / language

needs

Per

cent

age

(%) o

f Res

pond

ents

(n=1

31)x

xx

Best-in-Class All Others


Process and Knowledge Management Capabilities

86%

75%

41%

70%64%

28%

18%

54%57%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Content is developed usingcomponent-based methodology

Content is centrally managed Assembly of content to meet specificuser needs is automated

Per

cent

age

(%) o

f Res

pond

ents

, n=1

31

Best-in-Class Industry Average Laggard


Performance Measurement Capabilities

43%

18%

36%

82%

28%

64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

User feedback ondocumentation is collected

Users access and use ofdocumentation is tracked

Percentage (%) of respondents, n=131



Technology Enablers Supporting Content Development

33%

26%

43%

73%

40%

65%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Structured authoring editor(XML-based and other)

Component-contentmanagement system (CCM,

CMS)

Percentage (%) of respondents, n=131



Technology Enablers for the Automation of Publication

48% 47%

40%42% 43%

27%

15%

26%

20%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Automated document layout tool Automated publishing engine Automated content assembly

Per

cent

age

(%) o

f Res

pond

ents

, n=1

31



Industry Perspectives

"Customers think of documentation as part of the product. That should also be the way we look at it. Documentation isn’t a necessary evil. It’s a part of the product. You use it to help improve the product for the customer. The more customers know about the product, the more they value it. You lose a lot of opportunity with poor documentation."

~ Technical Publications ManagerIndustrial Equipment Manufacturer

"We have held the line on costs while increasing the scope of documentation and maintaining high satisfaction measurements. Our sales force tells us that the quality of our documentation is a competitive advantage and that reading our doc’s is a tipping point for the purchase decision.”

~ Technical Publications ManagerSoftware Company

“Initially creating targeted documentation slowed down the process. Technology tools that allow single source to be published in multiple uses - HTML product help, online help, product manuals, etc. have sped the process up when compared to original time-frames.”

~ Product Development DirectorSoftware Company


Key Takeaways

User-centric publishing strategies can contribute significant and varied business value…

The Best-In-Class achieve greater results than their competitors…often between two and ten times the impact achieved by the Industry Average

Whatever strategy best fits your users and your organization’s needs, follow these key steps of the Best-in-Class:~Component-based content development ~Pay attention to how content is consumed and used~Automate document assembly and publication processes

91% of authoring projects arecompleted on time

20% decrease in time required tocomplete authoring projects

23% increase in customer satisfaction scores

20% decrease in number of inquiriesmade to customer support / service

18% increase in product revenue

Results Achieved by the Best-in-Class

User-Centric Publishing and the Importance of DITA

Seamless Customer Experience

Today’s Fragmented Customer Experience

Types of Info in Enterprise

Technical Docs

FAQs

Specs

Engineering Info

Training

Technical Support

Sales

Brochures

Product Positioning

Marketing

Operations

Professional Services

RFPPersuasive Content

Competitive

Financial Info

Multiple Touch Points, too Many Sources of Information

Drivers to New Trends

Added Pressures on Information Developers

Move to XML structured content / DITA

Changing Expectations in Content Consumers

Move to dynamic publishing for

technical publications

Drivers To New Trends



Massive paradigm shift to adoption of XML and Dynamic Publishing

Content locked in contextInformation can’t easily appear in multiple context and can’t be tailored readily to audienceHigh costs of formattingContent gets out of synch and is difficult to refreshCustomers can’t find what they need

XML Topic MethodologyContent can be reshuffled for deliverableSame content can live in multiple outputsContent can be delivered easily as web pages to consumeMetadata and conditions can allow content to be tailored on the fly Content can be easily refreshed

Traditional Book Methodology Topic Based / DITA Methodology

VariationsOf Deliverables

Paradigm of topics and dynamic publishing

Market SegmentsVariations in Customer

Profiles

Product Variations

Next Gen Interactive Technical Information

Next Gen Customer Experience Architecture

What are the steps to get there?

Step 1: The Foundation Move from book methodology to “topic-based” structured writing Adapt DITA DITA is expanding from traditional technical publishing

Step 2: Develop intelligent / smart content with DITA Map product taxonomies into DITA content

Step 3: Develop Personas / Market Segments Segment market by types of users

What’s Next: Develop next generation online content architecture Interactive technical publication goes online and becomes personalized

SDL LiveContent Architecture

XML Database / Repository

XQuery

API

XSLT(filtering)

Searching

XPath

Other toolkit / API functionality:

-Audit trail

-Capturing user input

-Incremental updates

-Much more

On many devices

Integrate toolkit with,or provide data to,external serversand services

Access it all through a skinned web interface

Content stays in native XML format until instant delivery—leverages your investment in XML, metadata and structure

API allows other systems to integrate easily

Web interfacecan be configured and skinned to meet your presentation requirements

Thank You for Joining Us

For more information…Visit us on the web: www.sdl.com/xml

Download Aberdeen’s Research Reporthttp://www.sdl.com/en/xml/resources/industry-research

Download our webinar on User Personas http://www.sdl.com/en/xml/resources/recorded-webinars/dita-production-2-customer-driven-content.asp

Join us for our next DITA webinar…Eye on the Customer: Smart Content in the EnterpriseThursday, December 9, 2010To register: http://www.sdl.com/en/xml/event

Questions?

Backup

Use of Internet / Video and Mobile Devices

Some Key FactsIn 2008, 62% of Internet users watched video on a sharing site — more than that used a social networking site (46%) or downloaded a podcast (19%) —according to The Pew Internet and American Life project. Gartner.

Dynamic Publishing-so what’s new?

Dynamic Publishing has been a term in Content Management since the 90’s But the term was focused on Brand content. What’s new is the ability to turn technical documentation into rich interactive, dynamic and personalized parts of the Web ArchitectureHard Copy and Static PDF for docs will be gone in 5 years. Web Architecture will require new components that can handle tech docs / DITA

Traditional Model

Some Key Facts

• Content can’t be updated incrementally

• Search can’t isolate just the right information

• The information can’t change based on the person interacting with it

• Not easily available over Web or on Smartphone

• No one knows how or if customers use it

• No feedback loop

Drivers To New Trends


• Faster Product Lifecycle Changes• Agile - Iterative Development• Solutions Oriented • More Sensitivity to Customer Profiles• Distributed Teams• Outsourcing• Headcount Constraints• “SimShip” (Simultaneous Launch)


• Want Information via the Web, Search• Growing Expectation of Bite-Size Topics • “What I Need When I Need It”• Increased Language Expectations• Community Feedback• Targeted and Tailored Information• Solutions Oriented • Impatient • Consistency Expectation in Support &

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