Navigating the Vendor Maze: Understanding XML Authoring Tools and Content Management Systems
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Transcript of Navigating the Vendor Maze: Understanding XML Authoring Tools and Content Management Systems
Navigating the Vendor Maze: Understanding XML Authoring Tools and Content Management
Systems
Steve ManningPrincipal Consultant, The Rockley Group Inc.
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Our task
Provide comprehensive reviews for the CMS Watch Report on XML and Component Content Management Systems
13 CMS5 Authoring tools
Report V1 was delivered in May 08V2 is under way (to be delivered by end of year)
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Our approach
Developed scenarios against which we could rank toolsHad CCMS vendors provide a demo based on a script For Authoring tools we executed the same authoring test script on toolsAlso reviewed all marketing materials and websites for additional informationEach vendor had the opportunity to fact check their section
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Scenarios
Tools were ultimately ranked against scenarios
Excellent fitAverage fitLess than average fitNot applicable
We needed to be certain that we were measuring all tools against the same “yardstick”
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Demo scripts
Task-based exercises that would fit some aspect of scenariosTried to be specificE.g.,
Show how you could import a collection of files into the systemShow how to add object properties (metadata) to the system
Each vendor got the same script (same yardstick)
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Vendors speak different languages
They frequently use different terminologyMetadata vs Properties vs AttributesProjects vs Publications…
Therefore some translation was requiredThis was very frustrating in some instances
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Focus on the good stuff
Vendors will focus on their strengths and minimize their weaknessesNot a surprise, but is was occasionally a lot of work to get vendors to show weaker functionality
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Seeking other opinions (references)
Vendors prefer to give good references. Bad ones are important too!If you ask generically what someone thinks of a tool, they will probably focus on the negative. Make sure you ask vendor references about themselves and their environment, not just the tool
They might find a system easy to use, but you need context to understand if you will find it easy to use.Is a bad reference a result of poor tool selection?
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
The cool factor
Vendors all liked to go “off script” at some point to show you something cool that their system did that no one else’s did.Frequently, the cool stuff wasn’t broadly practical or useful. But it was cool!!!
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Success is in analysis
Know what your needs areUnderstand your content lifecycleKnow you content and content needs
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Learn the key features of CM
DITA, XML or Other?Granularity of access (files, elements) Module management (relationships, links)Metadata (customization, manipulation, application, inheritance)Access control (check-in/check-out)Version controlVersion linking (specific versions/current versions)Repository (data format, scalability)
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
CM Key features, cont'd
Search and retrievalArchivalTranslation managementStaging and deploymentBLOB managementWorkflowAudit trailCertification (by regulatory bodies)
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
CM Key features, cont'd
Integration with authoring tools and publishing tools (and a clear statement on what “integration” means)
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Create your own scenarios and scripts
Have a clear idea of what you need a system to accomplishBuilt your own scenarios or use cases and scripts Get vendors to run custom demos based on your scripts
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Get a customized demo
Describe your business processProvide samples of your contentAsk for a custom demo that will demonstrate the specific support you need.
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
The answer will follow the question
Ask your teenage son or daughter this question:How was school today?
Ask a vendor:Do you support DITA?
So ask specific questions:How does your system support DITA conrefs?And get a demo
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Use generic demo to learn about CM
Generic demos are good when you want to learn about content management Get lots of them as you develop your own scenarios and scripts then move to custom demos
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Understand what “we support”
Does it mean “we can handle it”Or does it mean “we’ve created specific functionality for it”
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Ask for bad references
When you ask vendors for references, they give you the good ones.Go ahead, put them on the spot and ask about the failures or the projects they’ve struggled with
©2008, The Rockley Group Inc.
Consider the intangibles
Support and maintenancePartnersVisionStability
Questions?
www.rockley.com
The Rockley Group Inc.
Steve Manning
http://www.intelligentcontent2009.com