Managing content can yield enormous rewards, but it requires a continuous improvement model.
Recent websites’ testing with customers can expose simple errors and make them evident. Some website managers will wait and fix the errors in the next release, or fixed on the fly. That is the difference between a website being managed as a series of mini-projects and another that is treated as a on-going daily project.
The first website may take several weeks, let alone months to fix errors, others may take only hours to fix.
It’s the big shift, the big challenge, and it’s particularly an issue for large organizations. In 2018, it is surprising how rigid and inflexible many content management systems are. But the biggest problem is the rigidity of management thinking when it comes to content.
Most content management models terminate at publication. Once the webpage or website is actually published, the project is complete. Huge quantities of print content are still being taken and being reproduced on the Web because that’s the quickest and cheapest option. Localization is in essence a sweatshop activity for content. The whole drive is to reduce costs rather than increase value.
Properly managed, content has fabulous potential to deliver value. But too many organizations treat their website like a coalmine when they should be managing it like a goldmine. As web professionals we must continue to build the business case for the investment in a continuous improvement model. The value is unquestionably there.
This is the age of the new web professional, one who is analytical and service oriented. They test relentlessly and are constantly observing their customers. They are constantly refining their webpages and manage based on facts, not opinions.
It is very hard to do most of these things if you are burdened with a rigid content management system. But the rigid content management system is often a symptom of a rigid project management culture. It is equally surprising how many marketers still see their websites as brochures dominated by big, valueless stock images.
But the world of web management is shifting. More and more web teams are realizing that web management is about continuously improving a relatively small number of pages, not administering large quantities of content.
Of course, the ultimate goal is not managing the content itself, but rather managing your customers’ top tasks. Content will support top task completion. The strategic management focus should be to continuously improve top task success rates.