Merck Moving Beyond Passwords: FIDO Paris Seminar.pptx
Collaborative techniques: How to create usable content that meets business goals
1. Collaborative techniques:
How to create usable
content that meets
business goals
Bjørn Bergslien @bbergslien
Audun Rundberg @audunru
Confab Central 2016
3. Bjørn Bergslien
@bbergslien
Content Strategist
Audun Rundberg
@audunru
Content Strategist
#ConfabMN
How come our
annual report isn’t on
the home page?
Why isn’t my
department in the
main menu?
We need a button
on the home page
that takes you to our
Facebook profile.
I need a banner
for our latest
product launch.
Somebody called
me last week and
couldn’t find vacant
positions!
You should
make more
room for news.
I don’t like
purple!!
My son could
have made a
better website.
7. Agenda
09.00 The Core Model
09.45 Get down to business
(and make friends)
12.00 Lunch
01.30 The Core Model (cont.)
02.00 Pair writing
04.00 Content microtest
05.00 Finished
8. Say hello!
• What’s your name?
• Where do you work?
• Pair up!
• (Or ‘three’ up if you can’t make pairs)
19. What you need
• Handouts with the core model (A3)
• Handouts with objectives and user needs
• Markers and post-its
• Room with a projector
• 3-4 hours per workshop
• 1-3 participants from the digital/web team
• 6-14 stakeholders/people from the client
• Snacks and lots of coffee!
20. 6–14 participants
No design or content skills necessary!
• facilitator (you!)
• your team: design, UX, content
• people with expert knowledge
• content owners
• people who should be collaborating, but aren’t
• people with strong opinions about the website
21. Core workshop
People work in pairs,
and present their work
after each step
1. Identify core pages
2. Inward paths
3. Core content
4. Forward paths
5. Prioritize core elements
22. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
25. Step #1
Identify your core pages
This is done by matching business goals
and user needs
26. The Norwegian Cancer
Society’s goals
1. Helping patients and their friends and family
2. Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
3. Increasing online self-service
4. Strengthening our position and increasing donations
27. Top task survey
«If you’re visiting The Cancer Society’s website,
which five tasks are the most important to you?»
28. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Patient rights
Next of kin advice
Waiting times
Dietary prevention
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes
29. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
31. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will the
user find their
way to this core
page?
32. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will the
user find their
way to this core
page?
33. Step #3
Core content
What content elements do we need to
make sure the user completes their task
(while respecting our objectives)
34. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s the
optimal
solution, for the
user and for
us?
35. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s the
optimal
solution, for the
user and for
us?
36. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
38. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where should we
send the user, after
they’ve completed
their primary task?
39. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where should we
send the user, after
they’ve completed
their primary task?
40. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
41.
42. Step #5
Prioritize core elements
How would you place these elements if
you only had a mobile screen
available?
60. Rainforest Foundation
Norway supports
indigenous people and
traditional populations of
the world's rainforests in
their efforts to protect their
environment and secure
their customary land rights.
61. With our goal of preserving
the rainforest, we
advocate for the rights of
its indigenous inhabitants.
62. Our operations are funded
by public authorities, as
well as private donors and
sponsors.
63. Step #1
Identify your core pages
This is done by matching business goals
and user needs
64. Business goals
1. Increase financial support
2. Engage more people in the work to protect the
rainforest
3. Increase the knowledge about the rainforest and
about our work
65. User tasks
1. Find out how I as a consumer can
reduce the pressure on the rainforest
2. Learn more about the work of the
Rainforest Foundation
3. Get information about the results of
the work the Rainforest Foundation
does
4. Learn more about the rainforest
(including animals, plants, climate and
indigenous people)
5. Find out if a product contains palm oil
6. Support the work of the Rainforest
Foundation
7. See what threats the rainforest is facing
8. What is the current state of the
rainforest?
9. Find out what kind of woods that are
categorized as tropical timber
10. Become a sponsor
11. Contact the Rainforest Foundation
12. Read the latest news/current subjects
66. Core pages
1. Support the Rainforest Foundation
2. Threats to the rainforest
3. Palm oil
4. Our work in the Amazon
67. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Write down the
goals and user
tasks for your core
page
Don’t fill out the rest
of the sheet
69. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will
the user find
their way to
this core
page?
Keep the user
tasks in mind
7minutes
70. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!
80. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s
the optimal
solution for
the user and
for us?
Keep in
mind your
goals and the
user tasks
15minutes
81. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!
84. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Patient rights
Next of kin advice
Waiting times
Dietary prevention
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes
85. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Donate
Volunteer
Memory gift
Legacy gift
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
Fundraising
-tasks were on
the bottom of
the list!
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes
86. Goals
1. Help patients and their friends and family ✔
2. Increase knowledge about cancer and prevention ✔
3. Increase online self-service ✔
4. Strengthen our position and increasing donations ✖
91. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Donate
Volunteer
Memory gift
Legacy gift
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
But some
people are
actually
coming to
donate
108. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where should
we send the user,
after they’ve
completed their
primary task?
Keep your
business goals
in mind
10minutes
109. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!
111. Prioritizing
core elements
on a mobile
screen
Inward paths
Core contents &
forward paths
Core page:
Business goals
(achieve at least one) User tasks
112. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!
120. Core model
takeaways
• Objectives and user tasks first
• Start with the core
• Get rid of dead ends
• Be creative about your forward
paths
• Home page last, not first
124. Who’s asking...
• Why are we creating this content?
• What is the purpose of this content?
• How does this content support our business goals?
• Who will be reading this content?
• And why will they read it?
• Could this be a video or an illustration instead of text?
128. We forget to
involve the right
stakeholders early
enough in the
project
Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives / CC BY 2.0
129. We love content
strategy so much
that we forget to
work with the
actual content
Photo: Ranil Amarasuriya / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
130. Challenges
• Writing without getting any input from others
• Working separately on our own - «silo publishing»
• Producing new content instead of improving existing content
• Publishing content no one else has looked at
• Not involving the right stakeholders early in the process
• Only working on the strategy, not the content itself
133. Why pair writing?
• The team thinks before publishing
• It forces authors to stay focused
• It helps colleagues form a mutual understanding of
their content
• It results in a more uniform tone
• It allows authors to share best practices in regards to
writing for the web
137. What you need
• Google Docs (or a similar tool)
• Room with a projector
• 3-4 hours per session
• Snacks and lots of coffee!
138. Who to invite
• facilitator (you!)
• digital team: design, UX, content, …
• subject matter experts
• content owners
• stakeholders
139. Pair writing
workshop
1. Bring people together and
pair them up
2. Choose a page to work on
3. Write!
4. Present a draft
5. Switch roles and continue to
write
145. Before writing, each pair
has to answer these
questions.
• Which business goals
will this page help us
achieve?
• What are the user needs?
Step #2:
Choose a
page
152. In pairs: Draft an
outline about
threats to the
rainforest in
Google Docs
15minutes
153. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they have come up with so far
• Ask for feedback: Is anything missing? Is
it prioritised right?
157. Pair writing at SSF
• 2 pair writing workshops
• 10-12 people in total
• We paired web, UX and communications advisors and product
specialists
• Objectives: Get rid of financial jargon, explain the product in an
understandable manner, support key user tasks, be open about
prices and rates
• We used Google Docs
158. Straight to the point
Clear call to action
Prices and rates
Try it yourself!
Contact the bank for more info
163. So this is what we did...
• 60 people from all over the world in the same
room
• Half day web writing theory course to get a
common understanding of quality content
• Two and a half days pair writing workshops in
smaller groups
164. 2. Consider cultural and organizational differences
Identify facilitators from various business segments,
that speak the language
3. You need the right tools
It’s easier if everyone uses the same tool - such as
Google Docs
Lessons learned
1. Theory is important
HR, IT, Communications, Legal, business segments and more
Get everyone on the same page
166. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Ask for feedback: Is it easy to understand
and readable? Is it concise? Any difficult
words?
167. Pair writing
takeaways
• Focus on the needs first, then the
words
• Avoid a workflow where content
is sent back and forth
• Talk and communicate with key
stakeholders
• Creates a sense of shared
ownership
170. Content microtest
• Test before publishing with one user
• The user gets two questions, takes 10-15 minutes
The technique was developed by Laura Arlov from The Norwegian Tax
Authority to help writers create content that users understand.
171. Step #1:
Read the title and
description. Think of
3-4 questions you
expect will be
answered on this
page.
172. Dementia
Get advice from professionals.
The first signs of dementia are often vague, and it may therefore be difficult
to make a diagnosis. Many people with dementia say that they are
experiencing things that were simple, has become more difficult.
Some of the early signs of dementia are:
What can you do?
Are you worried if you or a loved one has dementia, you should contact a
GP. It can take time to make a diagnosis of dementia. Before contacting a
GP, you may want to think through, and note a few key words about these
points:
reduced attention and concentration: You may think it's been difficult
to follow a conversation.
memory failure: You experience a sudden feeling to have forgotten
what you have done earlier in the day.
language problems: You may have trouble remembering what things
are called.
sudden moments of confusion: You might find that you lose track,
even in simple everyday situations.
Step #2:
Highlight where
your questions are
answered. Does
the content meet
the need?
Feedback
on needs, not
grammar
Cheap,
fast
173. Can be done over
the phone:
Send title/
description and
the rest of the
copy in separate
emails
179. Microtest
takeaways
• Get feedback on your early drafts
• Get ideas on how to improve
existing content
• Teach it to others to help them
write more customer-focused
content