Cross platform workflows

“Write once, read many”

Planning for, producing anddelivering content across multiple

platforms

December 6, 2012@brianoleary

An overview of today’s discussion

“Why” tackle agile content?• What is agile content?

• Why do I need to know about it?

• Will it go away?

• Why is it relevant to my association?

“How” to make content agile?• What are the benefits and

costs?

• Where is the ROI?

• How do I get started?

• What are the best ways to save on implementation?

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So what is agile content?

• Content owners identify elements (the building blocks of content) and define document structure

• Owners can customize elements to capture specific industry structures or taxonomies

• Can vary the presentation of elements across multiple uses

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A host of acronyms and related terms are explained in two glossaries online at http://bit.ly/ahxDGi.

The promise of agile workflows

• Far lower conversion costs for varied outputs

• Web-ready content to drive broader and more targeted marketing efforts

• Tagged content that can be combined or chunked to create new content offerings

• The opportunity to link rights and IP, lowering costs and unlocking new revenue

Traditional Print-Centric Approach Content Structure Design

Three linkedelements;

one output opportunity

Content Structure DesignContent-Centric Approach

Content and structure are

linked; design is separate

Multiple output opportunities

Tagging (mark-up) defines structure and separates content from design

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Migrating to agile content

Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books

Content Structure Design Multiple formats can be generated

from a single source (file)

Structural components of the work are identified

and connected to the content

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Print (multiple formats)

Aggregation (e.g., annual “best of” publication…)

Mobile

Web page

Syndication, more

Disengaging design increases agility

Digital book

PDF

Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books

If you’ve tagged for structure, you can also tag for context (meaning)

• Formats are supported by consistent tagging for structure

• All cross-platform content benefits from structural tagging

• Recombinant, aggregated, syndicated and searchable uses rely on contextual tagging

• “Chunkable” or repurposed content benefits most from contextual tagging

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Starting point – agile content transition

“Write once, read once” (single-

format delivery)

“Write once, read many”(supporting multiple

formats and uses)

Publishers must balance process complexity with content agility

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Is agile content a passing fad?

• Mark-up (tagging) is a core component of publishing

• XML and its predecessor, SGML, are three-plus decades old

• STM and journal publishers (some under association control) were early adopters of SGML

• Recent growth in use of agile content among professional, business and some consumer publishers

• To understand the need for agile content, we surveyed the toughest audience we could find …

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Editors’ views on the need for agile content

• 100% noted some or a lot of problems with content storage and retrieval

• 89% noted that additional formats take more work

• 71% plan for more than one use of content

• 62% get files back from printers to edit or update

• 53% think about chunking or recombining content

• No editor felt “everything was fine; no need to change”

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Core take-aways from our survey

• Almost everyone sees a value in cost-effectively supporting more formats

• The ability to manage multiple formats is far from “under control”

• Content storage and retrieval is art, not science

• Increasingly, publishers and editors are looking for the flexibility and control that agile content can provide

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In a nutshell, if you need to…

• Reduce direct or indirect content costs …

• Improve content storage and retrieval …

• Support digital, POD or alternative print formats, or …

• Offer members more control over their content choices …

• Then agile content is relevant to your association

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Implementing agile: benefits vs. costs

• An investment in content agility requires advance planning

• It often leads to changes in processes, technologies and organizational structures and roles

• Publishers must learn and apply new tools in new ways

• Different types of content forms benefit to greater or lesser degrees from an investment in agile content

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Balance: the key to workflow changes

Many

Few or none

Frequency of or potential for reuse

Travel and tourism

CookbooksSTM

Travelogues

TestsFictional series

Historical fiction (opportunity to capture people, places, events)

Novels

“Chunks”

Low High

Religion (esp Bibles)

Business Education

Reference

Scholarly monographs

Estimating agile’s potential benefits

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Association

Many

Few or none

Frequency of or potential for reuse

Travel and tourism

CookbooksSTM

Travelogues

Tests

Historical fiction (opportunity to capture people, places, events)

Novels

“Chunks”

Low High

Religion (esp Bibles)

Business Education

Reference

Scholarly monographs

Estimating agile’s potential benefits

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Fictional series

Association

Agile solutions fall into three “buckets”

• Variety of editorial tools

• MS Word (2011)• InDesign/InCopy• Sharepoint• Workflow solutions

(e.g., K4)

• Variety of editorial tools

• MS Word (2011)• InDesign/InCopy• Sharepoint• Workflow solutions

(e.g., K4)

• Wordpress• PressBooks• Drupal• Outsourced DADs

(codeMantra, Ingram, etc.)

• In-house (e.g. MarkLogic)

• Wordpress• PressBooks• Drupal• Outsourced DADs

(codeMantra, Ingram, etc.)

• In-house (e.g. MarkLogic)

• Standard transforms (“collect for print”)

• Custom transforms• Proprietary

databases with real-time calls or periodic feeds

• Standard transforms (“collect for print”)

• Custom transforms• Proprietary

databases with real-time calls or periodic feeds

Increasing cost or com

plexity

Increasing cost or com

plexity

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Cross-platform usually requires some new tools

Content editors Post production tools Relevant technologies

XMLSpy XML Validators XML

StylusStudio DTD Validators XSLT

Dreamweaver Converters - XML to DTD XPath

EditiX Converters - DTD to XML XSL-FO

oXygen ESB DTD

XMLWriter eBook Readers XML Schemas

Liquid Etc… XML Namespaces

Adobe InDesign XQuery

Wordpress EPub

PressBooks PDF

RSS

Adapted from work by Steve Waldron, Klopotek NA

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XSLT

CSS

XSLT

XSLT

XSLT

XSLT

Large printLarge print

Managing and applying transforms

PDF, printPDF, print

PODPOD

Mobi etc.

Mobi etc.

Other*

Other*

XSL-FO

XSL-FO

XSL-FO

XSLTXSL-FO

Why style sheets? They are the tool that makes “write once, read many” possible …

*Chunked, recombinant or annotated content

Stylesheets

Simple = $550

Moderate = $1500

Complex = $2500

Highly complex = $5K - $10K

Composition

$.50 - $4.25

Style sheets lower per-page prep costs

20Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning

The payoff is volume-related

21Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning

How do I obtain a return on my investment?

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Digital marketing

Digital marketing

Custom publishing

Custom publishing

Content aggregation

Content aggregation

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How do I get started?

AcquisitionContracts & agreements Editorial

Production editorial

Production or operations

Marketing & sales

Develop author guidelines

Implement Word templates using XML functionality

Keywords

Integrate rights information with content

Confirm additional downstream uses

With authors, tag for meaning

Work with editors to tag and “chunk”

Apply style sheets

Implement and maintain version control

Manage and apply transforms

Work with solutions providers

Use tags to help target audiences

Content-specific SEO/SEM

Monitor search and keyword use to inform upstream tagging

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Best ways to save on implementation

• Begin with the end in mind (plan first)

• Commit to sustained change over a period of time

• Remember that it’s not (just) about technology

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Successful implementation starts with effective planning. Here are five planning and seven implementation “best practices” to

keep in mind as you develop more agile content workflows.

Begin with the end in mind …

Planning Implementation Establish and evaluate member

requirements

Assess your processes across functions and handoffs

Model both current (operational) and future (strategic) benefits

Solicit senior-level support for sustained change

Determine the point at which you want to “start” being agile

Obtain and maintain operating buy-in, support and dialogue

Rank association benefits and measure progress openly

Plan for early wins, ideally spread across multiple functions

Exploit the value of prototyping

Capture and share deep content knowledge

Foster and communicate objective measurements

Capitalize on the value of new, downstream uses

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Commit to sustained change …


requirements












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Remember that it’s not (just) about tech …


requirements












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Planning and implementation, by function

Bring the planning and implementation checklists to life: “What do I need to know to do this right?”

Provide examples of what agile can do and

how to get started

Describe best and emerging practices in agile; provide skills and arguments to help convince others to participate 33

So if you are looking to …

Goal Keep in mind

Repurpose content

• Tie plans back to pain points, where applicable

• Buy/develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared, adapted

• Simplify: make content files that support multiple uses

Create related “chunks”

• Capture and share deep subject knowledge

• Prototype and test (make many small mistakes, not one big one)

• Test pricing where you can (not an agile suggestion, but …)

Create expanded editions

• Survey (be mindful that the expressed need may not be there)

• Engage both editors and membership staff (break down silos)

Develop or use mobile apps

• To take advantage of app readers, ask for standards (typically HMTL5) and structure content so that it can be ported easily.

• For smaller associations, app development may not be a priority34

Other operational improvements

Goal Keep in mind

Improve internal processes

• Catalog pain points (file maintenance, retrieval, versioning, etc.)

• Be clear where tools help (versus workflow improvement alone)

• Focused projects: short or prototyped; senior and operating support; look for early wins

Produce more formats

• Figure out the formats first (POD, large print, etc.)

• Buy, borrow or develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared or easily adapted

• Simplify: make XML files that support seamless downstream use

Streamline digital book production

• Standard formats, particularly EPUB, exist

• If you need to support more than EPUB, buy, borrow or create transforms that can be reused across titles

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Useful links

• http://bit.ly/ahxDGi (link to XML and related glossaries)

• http://www.idpf.org (standards, EPUB)

• [email protected]

• @brianoleary (Twitter)

• www.linkedin.com/in/brianfoleary (LinkedIn)

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http://toc.oreilly.com/startwithxml

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfoleary

Cross platform workflows

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