TURN YOUR STORY INTO A BUSINESS CASESuzanne Mescan

President, Vasont SystemsJoan TaggartSr. Analyst, cCMS, Welch Allyn

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Introduction - Vasont Systems at a glance

• Founded: 1992• Business: Component content management solutions and

data services• Part of the TransPerfect family of companies • Corporate Headquarters: New York, NY, USA• Employees: 3,500+ Worldwide

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Introduction – Welch Allyn at a glance

• Founded: 1915, by Dr. Francis Welch and William Noah Allyn

• Business: Medical Device Technology• Part of the Hill-Rom family of companies • Corporate Headquarters: Skaneateles Falls, NY, USA• Employees: 2,500 Worldwide• President: Alton Shader

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Tell your story

Here’s how our story went…

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cCMS journey

2005-2007• cCMS

vision• Feasibility• Framework

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Challenge: Customer-facing product information was being developed in silos

Group Material Produced

Technical Communication Directions for use, ref cards, labels, install guides, package artwork

Marketing/Marcom Spec sheets, brochures, catalog, web descriptions, training CDs

Clinical Consultants Customer product training materials (outlines, cards, tests)

Service Eng/Tech Support Service bulletins, service manuals, tech training materials, fact sheets

R&D UI/Display text messages

Sales Sales support information

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Old Process: Unstructured authoring using a variety of tools

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Risks with “silo” approach to product information development

• Potential customer confusion and regulatory risk of mislabeling: • Lack of consistency• Conflicts in product information

• Inefficient, costly development cycles • Same reviewers reviewing similar content multiple times: Eng,

Mktg, QA, RA, Tech Support, others• Little reuse • Increasing time and costs of translations• Longer time to market• Decreased customer satisfaction and reduced revenues

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Initial Investigation

• Research solutions to support company roadmap

• Learn best practices for developing and localizing product information in order to• Support globalization• Meet regulatory requirements

• Technical Communication staff requirements

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cCMS journey

2005-2007• cCMS

vision• Feasibility• Framework

2008• High Level

Training

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High level training for Tech Comm staff

• Structured authoring

• Minimalism

• Writing for translation

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New Process: Improve Tech Comm’s tools/processes to enable content reuse and improve localization

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System Framework

Tech Comm would need:

• XML-authoring tool

• Component Content Management System (cCMS) to manage content and translations, and output content into multiple formats.

• XSL-FO formatting tool (Extensible Stylesheet Language – Formatting Objects) to transform the content at the time of output into the desired format (PDF, HTML, etc.).

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Benefits we gain

• Reuse localized manual content for multiple outputs

• Reduce translation costs

• Eliminate Desktop Publishing costs

• Reduce development time

• Increase consistency in output, reduce risk of mislabeling

• More efficient use of organizational resources

• Increase customer satisfaction, increase revenues

@VasontSystems

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cCMS journey

2005-2007•cCMS vision•Feasibility•Framework

2008•High Level Training

2009•Process documentation

•Requirements•RFP

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Document processes

• Documented the workflows as they were

• Documented the workflows as we envisioned for the

future

• Researched vendors

• Saw many product demos

• Narrowed selection to a handful of vendors

• Published our RFP

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What will it cost?

@VasontSystems

2008 2009 2010

XML/CMS

Project phases

Tech Comm project labor, Consultants, & cCMS vendor

2.5 FTE 2.5 FTE 1.5 FTE

Add resources to Tech Comm:

Define reqmnts & workflow, do pilot

Define reqmnts & workflow, do pilot

ImplementSteady-state

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Tangible Savings Estimates

@VasontSystems

Total Investment Cost $270,000

2010 2011 2012Savings

Labor DTP 8,325 8,325 8,325

Writers 30,000 30,000 30,000

Reviewers 30,000 30,000 30,000

Expense Translation 45,200 45,200 45,200

Other Reuse TBD TBD TBD

Sub Total $113,525 $113,525 $113,525

Additional Costs Service/Maintenance 20,000 20,000 20,000

Savings/Year $93,525 $93,525 $93,525

Average tangible savings $93,525.00

Financial Payback (years) 2.89

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Intangible Savings • Improved process management • Increase in collaboration across groups and processes• Improved content quality and effectiveness• Consistency• Speed to market• Improved project management• Eliminate need to hire additional personnel beyond

current levels• Improved control of file processing, control, versioning,

and tracking• Competitive advantage

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Transforming the Story into a Case

Estimate a return on investment

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Transforming the Story into a Case

Write a business plan that resonates with management

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So, how did the story end?

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cCMS journey

2005-2007•cCMS vision•Feasibility•Framework

2008•High Level Training

2009•Process documentation

•Requirements•RFP

2010-2011•Selection•Implementation•Team training•Pilot project

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New Process: Improve Tech Comm’s tools/processes to enable content reuse and improve localization

@VasontSystems

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cCMS journey

@VasontSystems

2005-2007•cCMS vision•Feasibility•Framework

2008•High Level Training

2009•Process documentation

•Requirements•RFP

2010-2011•Selection• Implementation•Team training•Pilot project

2011•In production

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Software Strings

• We wanted to leverage our cCMS to incorporate the string management to:

• Manage translations

• Output to required formats for product integration

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cCMS journey

@VasontSystems

2005-2007•cCMS vision•Feasibility•Framework

2008•High Level Training

2009•Process documentation

•Requirements•RFP

2010-2011•Selection•Implementation•Team training•Pilot project

2011•In production

2014 • Incorporated software string management into the cCMS

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Translation Cost Savings

@VasontSystems

2010-2012 2013 2014 2015

Total Spend 363,500 203,328 245,880 201,456

Vendor TM savings unknown 55,344 78,356 75,579

cCMS TM savings 250,000 79,973 125,826 294,817

Total TM savings 250,000 135,317 204,182 370,396

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Cost Savings

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<2012 2013 2014 20150

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

Total SpendcCMS TM savings

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Content Reuse

• Using DITA XML standard and the cCMS, we are currently reusing 50% of our content.

• Translation Memory (TM) has built up to the point where 69% of content is in our TM.

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What we did right

• Had executive support• Had clearly defined requirements• Started change management early on 

• Conducted high level conceptual training first• Held product specific training later • Held authoring tool training and let writers adjust to structured

authoring first• Conducted cCMS training after writers were comfortable with

authoring tool• Kept staff engaged throughout the process• Partnered with the right vendor for our requirements

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Contact Information:

Turn Your Story into a Business Case

Suzanne Mescan President, Vasont Systems

smescan@vasont.com

Joan TaggartSr. Analyst, cCMS, Welch Allynjoan.taggart@welchallyn.com