architecting your content for the unknown consumer (presented by richard jones at ez conference...
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Architecting your Content for the Unknown Consumer
05.10.16
Richard Jones, Technical DirectoreZ Conference, Paris 2016
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Richard JonesTechnical Director Inviqa Content Practice Content, Commerce, Innovation
Your customer’s behaviour is changing faster than you are
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You need to keep pace with requirements you may not
even be aware of
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Being PreparedWhy today’s web is unpredictable What’s likely to change How you can be ready now
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Desktop Tablet Mobile Native application
The Known Consumer
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By definition: Anything you are testing for Assume everything else is unknown
The Known Consumer
“Internet of Things”
Defining the IoTHeadline devices Smart Refrigerators Household domestic appliances
Outside the headlinesMedia Advertising Billboards
Outside the headlinesEnvironmental monitoring Infrastructure management Manufacturing Energy Management Medical and Healthcare
Outside the headlinesConsumer Wearable Quantified Self Smart Retail
5.5 million new things get connected to the internet
each day (Gartner)
How many of these are content consumers?
Vodafone: Store kiosks driven
from central content repository
Realtime Data
Using realtime data to power applications
Amazon Echo: A revolutionary
content consumer
Some future gazing…
Some content dates quickly
What if you could correct at source?
Could content save a life?
A Smart device could check for itself if it had been recalled
Always up to date
A self driving car could consume many types of content to improve its abilities
How we present this data is the key
Software is not good at interpreting meaning
Unstructured vs Structured Data
Use of structured data for other purposes
How do we support these unknown consumers?
Much people still thinks in the “page” model Pages may have semantic elements At best these are signals for interpretation
The Web as Pages
We need a Content Management System to allow us to move beyond “page” thinking
Beyond the Page
Content model and structure Delivery / Access mechanism
Beyond the page
Content creators need to think beyond pages Relinquish control of layout
Challenges
A debate well covered elsewhere aka Battle for the Body Field A conversation that is still ongoing
Blocks vs Chunks
Also a well covered topic Very relevant to our scenarios The use case for context specific content is valid here
Adaptive vs Responsive
Do we want to?
Open Data Paid API access Metered API access
Business Models
Value added service Offer content in a usable format
Business Models
How do we get there?
Structure the content model Expose content using a documented API
Steps to Prepare
Conceptually can start quite simple Complexity tends to escalate as you work through the relationships
The Content Model
Example
Article
•Headline •Body •Image
Content Model theory
Object Oriented Programing Well understood in the computer science world Some principles could be applied to content modelling
Comparing to OOP
Objects which may contain data in the form of fields Code in the form of methods Single responsibility principle Interface segregation principle
Definition
A content type should be as simple as possible It should be for one purpose only Do not assume dependencies that may not be present A field should have one clear purpose
Loose interpretation
How do we get to the content model?
Different roles have different relationships with the content Engaging with all the voices helps us build a complete content model
Content Workshops
The importance of invisible data
Metadata Taxonomy Relationships
Types of Invisible Data
Organisation specific taxonomy with an unknown audience - open standards are better
Examples of Metadata
Organisation specific taxonomy with an unknown audience - open
standards are better
GS1 Smart Search
Data always beats judgement No matter how long you’ve been in the industry No matter how well you know your products Intuition is not a science
Examining Relationships
Camera publication
Taxonomy Example
Niche Camera publication
Taxonomy Example
Content Modelling Antipatterns
Content types that provide nothing in isolation “Signposts”, “Jumps”, “Shortcuts”
Non-Content Content
Instead use alternative views of the referenced content: e.g. Teasers, List view
Non-Content Content
A content type that covers multiple use cases Violates the single responsibility principle Reluctance to have multiple content types leads to a monster content type
Godzilla Content Type
Instead: Don’t be afraid to have more smaller content types Consider relationships Think carefully about single responsibility
Godzilla Content Type
Using a field name that doesn’t make immediate sense to the editor Fields that are used for different things in difference scenarios Lead to loss of structure
Field Ambiguity
Instead: Agree clear naming with all content stakeholders Create clear guidelines / help text.
Field Ambiguity
Fields that are not really content Designed to affect the layout of the “page” via template logic
Logic Fields
Don’t mix layout with content The application theme layer can handle this for you.
Logic Fields
What Next?
Use a CMS with a good Content Model Toolset
Educate Stakeholders regarding the benefits of structured content
Split content from design
Handle creative objections early
Spend time on the content model
Allow more time that you think you need Focus on the future - and abstract Simplify the design - leave no room for interpretation Consistency of fields - eg date formats
Content Model
Think through all possible relationships Break content into the smallest possible pieces Hold the smallest amount of formatting possible
Content Model
Future proof your content
Ensure portability
Embrace the unknown and create a legacy
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Questions?