While a Content Management System (CMS) is often an important part of many groups' content strategy, it's not the strategy itself. Not all groups have the resources to implement a CMS. This presentation suggests some ways to help you determine if a CMS is your logical next step and provides some alternative methods you can implement without any special software.

1. Copyright © 2008 AllscriptsMisys Healthcare, Inc.
To CMS or Not to CMS?
Leigh W. White
Expert Technical Writer
November 3, 2008

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What this isn’t…
› Info on specific CMSs
› Your definitive answer

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What this is…
› Ideas and tips for identifying your “pain points”
› Ideas and tips for evaluating your complexity
› Some examples of how to improve production without a
CMS

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Content Management vs. Content
Management System
› Content Management
− Categorizing & characterizing your content
− Reusing content for multiple outputs (including localization,
personalization)
− Managing workflow
− Tracking usage, statistical information
› Content Management System (CMS)
− Set of tools and procedures/processes to help you do the above
OR
− Application specifically designed to help you do the above

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Do you already have a CMS?
› If you track your content & output in any way, you have a
CMS!
› A CMS is not necessarily a commercially-available
system; it's anything that works for you….or not so much.

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Do you need a BETTER CMS?
› Is what you’re doing now working for you?
› Do you anticipate changes that will make it no longer
work?
− New/more writers?
− New/more deliverables?
− Shorter release cycles?
− More personalization/localization?

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“Where does it hurt?”
› If it’s not working, where is it not working?
− Missed deadlines
− Less than optimal quality
− Limited opportunities for reuse
− Redundant/omitted content
− Writers stepping on each others’ toes
− Content not organized/characterized
− No personalization

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“Where does it hurt?” (con’d)
› These pain points not a reason to assume you need a
CMS
› Also not a reason to despair

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Remember:
› A CMS is a collection of processes and procedures that
enable you to implement the principles of content
management.
› You can still develop those processes and procedures
independent of a specific tool.

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Identify pain points and solutions
PROBLEM
› Too general:
− “We can’t keep up with updates.”
› Better:
− “We can’t keep the ABC, XYZ and QRS manuals updated and in sync
because the content changes so often.”
SOLUTION
› “We need to identify any content that is used among all of these
manuals. Then we need to develop a way to indicate that this
content is reused. Next, we need to consider rewriting for reuse.
Finally, we need a system that allows us to actually reuse the
content and track the reusages.”

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Problems>solutions>implementation
Identify the problems
Identify the solutions
Determine how to implement the solutions

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CMS: solution or problem?
› A CMS is not a solution! A CMS is a system or tool for
implementing a solution!
› If not properly implemented, a CMS can be just another
problem.

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Can you handle a CMS?
› Cost
› Ongoing support
› Implementation timeline
› Current personnel structure - everyone will have to wear
even more hats than they do now:
− Manager
− Business analyst
− Design analyst
− Developer
− QA tester
− Writer
− Editor

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Whaddya have? Evaluate your
complexity
--The Content Management Bible, Bob Boiko
Content Contributors
Change Publications

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Evaluate your complexity (con’d)
› Content
− Number of topics? Number of documents? Do you include
images & other content?
− Number of kinds of items (KB articles, FAQs, checkists,
conceptual info, task-based info, etc.)
− How much current/potential reuse?

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Evaluate your complexity (con’d)
› Contributors
− Number of contributors?
− Their relationship to you?
− Complexity of content they provide?
− Conversion from outside sources?
− Need to enforce standards & uniformity

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Evaluate your complexity (con’d)
› Change
− Amount of change, not volume, determines complexity
− [Number of components added/updated] x [unit of time]
− [Number of components deleted/archived] x [unit of time]
− Updates easy; locating components to change more difficult

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Evaluate your complexity (con’d)
› Publications
− Number of publications
− Degree of personalization (none, some, most, all)
− How many redesigns per year? (layout changes, navigation
changes)
− Any current separation of content from presentation?

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Yeah, we need a CMS!

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The suits want numbers
Evaluate your pain points in terms of cost:
5 writers 200 hours @ $30/hr. to update 1000 pages = $6000
x 4 releases/year = $24,000
› How much of this time is rewrites/recompiles due to
poorly-organized content?
50 hours = savings of $1500
x 4 releases/year = $6,000
› For purchase of $50,000 CMS, ROI 8-9 years

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The suits want numbers (con’d)
Evaluate your pain points in terms of cost:
200 clients @ 1 personalized manual/client @ $50 = $10,000
› How much of a selling point would personalized
documentation be?
5 new sales/year? 10 new sales/year?
5 @ $50,000 = $250,000
› For purchase of $50,000 CMS, ROI 5 years (current
clients)
› ROI .2/year [10 wks] (potential sales)

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Alternatives to a CMS
› Optimize folder structure

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› Optimize document organization
− Chunk for reuse (workflow, audience, etc.)
− By menu or window only if product strictly menu- or window-
driven

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› If you’re using unstructured Frame, move to structured!

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› Frame 8’s native filtering function
− Include/exclude information based on attributes
− Can only build filters using attributes in current document
− Each user must build own filters

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› ABCM FrameMaker plug-in
− Include/exclude information based on attributes
− Can build filters using any attributes, for entire document set
− Can build filters in central location so all writers can access
− Free; http://www.weststreetconsulting.com

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› InsetPlus FrameMaker plug-in
− Insert topics from a “topic library”
− Source in only one place, can
propagate changes across all
references
− Based on DITA model
− Free;
http://www.weststreetconsulting.com

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Alternatives to a CMS (con’d)
› Create your own tracking tool
− For example, Oyster CTS—created for internal team use
− Access database for tracking topics, maps, images
− Tracks where used, versions, audit trail
− Includes project scoping

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Other resources
› www.cmsInfo.org
› www.CMSReview.com
› www.Content-Wire.com
› www.Gilbane.com
› www.OSCOM.org
› Content Management Systems - Tools of the Trade by
Dave Addey, James Ellis, Phil Suh, David Thiemecke
› Content Management Bible by Bob Boiko
› Managing Enterprise Content by Ann Rockley

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