{
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    "title" : "The Content Corner: Structured Content Challenges and Lessons Learned |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The Content Corner: Structured Content Challenges and Lessons Learned",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/04/13/the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The Content Corner: Structured Content Challenges and Lessons Learned","summary" : "In May 2014, Sarah Crane discussed the importance of structured content, APIs and the development of a “Create Once, Publish Everywhere” (COPE) strategy at USA.gov via a three part video series. After my recent post about a world without Web pages, Sarah and I connected and we discussed the challenges she has experienced during the","date" : "2015-04-13T10:00:17-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"tyrus-manuel" : "Tyrus Manuel"},"topics" : {
        
            "application-programming-interface" : "Application programming interface",
            "contact-centers" : "Contact centers",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-04-13-the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/04/2015-04-13-the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/04/2015-04-13-the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/04/2015-04-13-the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned.md","slug" : "the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/04/13/the-content-corner-structured-content-challenges-and-lessons-learned/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/03/600-x-400-Electronic-data-storing-and-hosting-concept-hoodesigns-iStock-Thinkstock-97930610.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Electronic data storing and hosting concept\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003ehoodesigns/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn May 2014, Sarah Crane discussed the importance of structured content, APIs and the development of a “Create Once, Publish Everywhere” (\u003ca href=\"http://www.programmableweb.com/news/cope-create-once-publish-everywhere/2009/10/13\"\u003eCOPE\u003c/a\u003e) strategy at \u003ca href=\"http://www.usa.gov/\"\u003eUSA.gov\u003c/a\u003e via a \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/05/12/video-blog-sarah-crane-usa-gov/\"\u003ethree part video series\u003c/a\u003e. After my recent post about a \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/03/16/the-content-corner-a-world-without-web-pages/\"\u003eworld without Web pages\u003c/a\u003e, Sarah and I connected and we discussed the challenges she has experienced during the COPE project at USA.gov and some lessons to consider whether you’re at the beginning or early stages of a similar project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"a-smarter-solution-needed\"\u003eA Smarter Solution Needed\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decision to begin down the COPE path grew out of a fairly unique situation that exists at USA.gov: they have both a website and a fully-staffed call center to provide citizen services. Sarah found that instead of one content management system that fed content to both the Web and the call center staff, they had two separate systems:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo separate content management systems\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo separate editorial departments\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo separate sets of content\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis created not only an inefficient situation, but also raised questions about the integrity of the data a citizen would receive from the Web versus the call center. To Sarah, it was clear they needed a smarter solution that would allow them to better integrate their processes and develop content that was easily sharable not only across the agency but also across multiple platforms and multiple sites. COPE would make this possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"structure-first-content-close-behind\"\u003eStructure First, Content Close Behind\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right image-right-legacy\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/04/250-x-188-Flow-chart-programm-broeb-iStock-Thinkstock-ThinkstockPhotos-153542618.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Flow chart\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003ebroeb/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the start, Sarah and her team realized they were stepping into a different world. Instead of developing business requirements for a new CMS from the previous perspective of focusing on content creators or front-end design, they needed to look for something with a strong foundation in structure and metadata. This is a common consideration for anyone moving towards a more structured approach to content development, as \u003ca href=\"http://alistapart.com/article/future-ready-content\"\u003emany current content management systems are not well-suited\u003c/a\u003e to the COPE approach.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAside from any of the technical considerations, one of the most important factors in a successful move to COPE is the work on developing your \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/05/05/government-open-and-structured-content-models-are-here/\"\u003econtent models\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http://blog.braintraffic.com/2012/03/an-intro-to-metadata-and-taxonomies/\"\u003etaxonomies\u003c/a\u003e. USA.gov spent a year researching and developing their structure and then had to create or reconfigure over 200 pieces of content to align with that new structure. They also had to help their subject-matter experts and content creators begin thinking of content as individual pieces that needed to survive on their own and to always think \u003ca href=\"http://adactio.com/journal/4523/\"\u003econtent first\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"the-challenges-of-independent-content\"\u003eThe Challenges of Independent Content\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce the extensive process of producing structured and “free” content had reached critical mass and the time came to start reassembling this content on individual Web pages, a new challenge arose. Unrelated content was placed on the same page, some of the content was duplicative, and the pages were a bit of a mess. It seems it is possible to make your content so future-ready that when forced together on a Web page, it no longer works. A lesson that Sarah learned from this challenge is that at least at this stage, where Web pages still have to exist, having a final review of the whole is critical. You can’t always count on the concept of self-assembling content, at least not yet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"finding-effective-metrics\"\u003eFinding Effective Metrics\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right image-right-legacy\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/04/250-x-135-Silhouettes-of-Business-People-Working-and-Data-Concepts-Rawpixel-Ltd-iStock-Thinkstock-ThinkstockPhotos-532319147.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Data Concepts\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eRawpixel, Ltd/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnother challenge that Sarah and USA.gov are still wrestling with are establishing effective metrics for the independent pieces of content versus the final Web page. There is currently no effective method for measuring views of individual content assets, only the entire page (if you know of one, please share in the comments). Sarah has been using \u003ca href=\"http://www.crazyegg.com/\"\u003eCrazy Egg\u003c/a\u003e as a cost-effective method of generating heatmaps to better gauge what content pieces are attracting the user’s attention the most, but that still feels incomplete, as Crazy Egg only measures Web views on the USA.gov domain and doesn’t capture traffic to content pieces that are syndicated to other domains.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has also remained a challenge to measure content efficacy between their primary channels (Web and call center). For example, does information about UV protection seem to have more impact online or over the phone? Does prominent content on a certain topic online help reduce call volume on the same topic? A practical solution for measuring the relationships between these two significantly different content delivery systems is still in the future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"api-support\"\u003eAPI Support\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA final challenge Sarah discovered was not directly content-related but more about staffing and the API. When creating an API, you are essentially creating a service for the community to leverage and share. As with any service, consumers are going to have questions or need some form of support. APIs help automate and ease a great number of content related tasks and are the core of COPE, but they will still require some form of customer service and developer support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor Sarah and USA.gov, the work goes on as they continue to make amazing progress on what was a significant undertaking. As with all projects, you learn and adjust as you go, and Sarah is already working towards solutions to the challenges she shared, including staffing and realizing the importance of final review in the content creation process. I hope the lessons she is learning are instructive for any of you heading down this road, and if you have additional experiences to share, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I might ask you for an interview next!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou’ve just finished reading the latest article from our Monday column, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/content-strategy/\"\u003eThe Content Corner\u003c/a\u003e. This column focuses on helping solve the main content issues facing digital professionals, including producing enough content and making that content engaging.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}