The Five Biggest Mistakes in CMS Selection

Describes the big 'gotchas' in choosing a web content management system.

Welchman, Lisa. CMSwatch (2003). Articles>Content Management>Assessment

Forum and CMS Integration

The nucleus of building an online community is a popular an well run forum. When building a community using php CMS software the forum is the first thing that should be configured. Unfortunately most opensource php CMS software is lacking in the area that it should be strongest, the forum. For users a lot of time and effort goes into choosing the right software to accomplish the task of building an online community. Missing is the effort by the CMS developers to ensure that the software is up to the job.

Hiveminds (2006). Articles>Content Management>Community Building

The Four Disciplines of Content Management

A lot of stuff gets lumped under the heading 'content management.' In my experience, however, all the technical activities under the banner of content management can general be broken out into four disciplines.

Gadgetopia (2007). Articles>Content Management

From Enterprise Content Management to Effective Content Management  

The vision of enterprise content management (ECM) as a single system to manage all content became popular in 2000 and 2001. In theory, having a single, centralized system to organize and manage all of an organization’s content into an accessible and navigable electronic library is very attractive. Companies must manage a wide array of assets, including internal how-to documents to support business processes, internal and external correspondence, marketing literature, and product documentation. Organizations are buried in digital content, leaving people scrambling to find the right information when they need it.

Gottlieb, Seth. Optaros (2005). Articles>Content Management

From Web to Print

The Web is WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. What you see on the monitors and via the connections - and what you use for beta testing - is what your work will look like to all those who check out your URL. What's on your screen will be pretty close to what's on their screens. Print is a different matter altogether. Once your files leave your computer, there's a whole wonderful road they have to journey along to make it into print. You do everything you can to make sure they're ready for their adventure, but just as you're likely to forget your toothbrush or your favorite socks when you take a trip, your files often go to print missing a vital item. You can only hope that the thing you forgot about is easy to correct and not a big expensive mistake that blows your deadline and your budget. Getting your files through your service bureau (where your files are turned into negatives so that your negatives ultimately become the finished product) and to the printer is like taking up the gauntlet. Best case scenario, you'll be winded; worst case, you'll be pounded to a bloody pulp. I fear I'm showing my bias toward the Web.

Frew, Jim. Webmonkey (1999). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Fulfilling the Promise of Content Management

The Web explosion brought with it the proliferation of published content and the heightened need for content management (CM). Before that CM lived primarily in the publishing industry, where it never truly fulfilled its promise. Now that the 'dot-com' hysteria has settled CM has become a focal point again as mature, more traditional enterprises from all industries tune their sites – Internet, intranet and extranet.

Kartchner, Chris. ASIST (2001). Articles>Content Management

Fundamental Concepts of Reuse  

Content reuse is fundamental to a successful unified content strategy.This chapter defines content reuse and the benefits ofits use.It explores how other industries have employed reuse for decades to improve their processes and the quality oftheir products. Content can be reused in many ways. The choice ofthe different methods and options for reuse are dependent upon your organization’s needs and technology.This chapter details the pros and cons ofusing each method and the associated options,and it provides the concepts that underlie the remainder ofthe book.

Rockley, Ann. AIfIA (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Fuzzy Matching as a Retrieval-Enabling Technique for Digital Libraries

This paper advocates an often-neglected search-support technique, approximate or 'fuzzy' matching of user search terms. When properly deployed, fuzzy matching can significantly enhance the benefits of other, more common approaches to end-user answer retrieval from online reference collections. We compare crude with more sophisticated approximation techniques to explain how astute fuzzy-match software can convert many different near-miss situations (such as those involving faulty prefixes or suffixes, character misplacement, nonstandard word stems, or unanticipated redescription of concepts) into more adequate results. We also suggest practical ways to overcome fuzzy matching's own major drawbacks (namely, problems with search speed, search imprecision, and misinterpretation of search results). The resulting analysis clarifies how to deploy fuzzy matching for maximum effectiveness. We conclude that appropriate fuzzy matching enables more frequent, more flexible search success than do ordinary retrieval-improvement techniques used without it.

Girill, T.R. and Clement H. Luk. CSU Chico (1996). Articles>Content Management>Web Design>Search

Getting Started with Blogging Software

We reviewed and compared the seven tools most frequently used to create a blog. Which are easiest to get up and running, or to tailor to match your site? Which has the best comment moderation features? Reporting functionality? We'll give you all the details and recommend a tool for you.

IdealWare (2006). Articles>Content Management>Software>Blogging

Goal-Directed Content Management

Anecdotal evidence from within the CM industry indicates that CM implementations fail to meet corporate expectations about half of the time. Part of the reason for missed expectations could be poor usability.

Fore, David. Cooper Interaction Design (2002). Articles>Content Management>Usability

Going On-Line: Bringing Technical Reports To The Desktop  

Information management is moving quickly toward archiving and retrieving documents electronically, so Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is taking steps to help its research staff create electronic documents. Declining budgets frequently dictate that authors handle the technicalities of getting published as well as the scientific and technical information that they publish. To help the Laboratory benefit from being the leader in this area, ORNL’s Information Management Section formed a multidisciplinary team to develop, pilot, and implement a Webbased process to register and clear technical documents and to add the full text of these documents to the Laboratory’s Comprehensive Publications and Presentations Registry (CPPR). Making this happen required implementing policy changes to address the new performance measure, acquiring software needed for file conversion, developing Web guidance, and providing training and consulting for ORNL staff.

Dole, Jeanne, David Hamrin and Rebecca Lawson. OSTI. Articles>Content Management>Reports

Going Online: A Case Study in the Development and Implementation of Netscape NetHelp  

Computerized Medical Systems, Inc. (CMS) - the worldâ*™s leading radiation therapy planning (RTP) company with over 1000 installed RTP systems and over 400 installed dosimetry systems - decided in late 1996 to move existing FOCUS documentation online. Reasons for this included: the existing documentation set perceived as too difficult to use; increasing printing cost; and customer feedback. Using Netscape NetHelp as a basis, the CMS documentation staff reduced printed documentation size by two-thirds while making the information more accessible. Reactions to FOCUSHelp have been highly favorable. Future plans include migrating to the NetHelp2 framework and reducing topic lengths.

Rupel, Roberta A., Ellard Douglas, Bill Bledsoe and Frank Watson. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Content Management>Documentation>Help

Graphic Designer Needs a Web CMS

While you can create very powerful content management solutions with most open-source packages -- they have a much steeper learning curve than you experienced with HTML or Flash.

Byrne, Tony. CMSworks (2004). Articles>Content Management>Graphic Design

Greymatter, RSS, and Syndication

Greymatter is an excellent web content management system. After you install it, you can begin to syndicate your content using XML. This article gives you an explicit step-by-step overview of how I created RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.92 files using Greymatter. It is assumed that you have some knowledge of HTML and XML, and that you have already installed Greymatter. Many examples and references are provided to help you along the way.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Design>Content Management>XML>RSS

“Hand It To Them On A Silver Platter: Meeting Researchers Needs In The Electronic Age”  

This paper describes the Electronic Resource Library (ERL) at http://plutonium-erl.actx.edu. This is a web-based, subject-oriented digital library on the topic of plutonium and its ancillary disciplines. Previous research analyzing differences in the information-seeking behavior of scientists and engineers is reviewed and lessons learned applied to this digital library model. Special consideration has been given to recommendations in the SATCOM report from the National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Engineering Committee on Scientific and Technical Communication. This report strongly advocated the development of “specialized need-groupservices” to support the work of the engineer and practitioner.

Ruddy, Karen. OSTI (1999). Articles>Content Management>Web Design

Hands-on XML and Round Trip HTML for Technical Communicators  

XML can simplify production of documents for print, help and web delivery. It can make document components reusable, portable between platforms and easier to maintain. XML also has a dark side. Parts of the standard are turbulent, vendors are rushing XML products to market that are not fully standard-compliant, implementation requires careful planning, and porting of legacy documents to XML is not trivial. Technical communicators can prosper by identifying the parts of XML that can be implemented immediately, by preparing documents to exploit support for XML available in new versions of Microsoft Word and Adobe FrameMaker, and by using hybrid HTML/XML for document delivery.

Reichman, Katriel. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>XML

Hartman Communicatie - Alles over Web Content Management

Dit portaal is een initiatief van Hartman Communicatie BV. Hartman Communicatie geeft advies over het communicatiebeleid rondom webprojecten, het ontwikkelen van een functioneel ontwerp en het inrichten van het content management. Hartman Communicatie heeft al vele organisatie begeleid in de selectie van een content management systeem.

Hartman Communicatie. (Dutch) Resources>Content Management

History of the Vision

The goal of having a comprehensive collection of science information easily available to researchers and students has been expressed repeatedly for decades. These reports reiterate that our concept of a comprehensive collection of information has been attractive to the physical science community for decades.

OSTI (1999). Articles>Content Management>Scientific Communication

Hit the Bull's Eye with Targeted Information  

Four years ago, the Publications department at J.D. Edwards was challenged with delivering documentation for a global customer base in both print and on-line media. Based on the principle, 'Write it once, use it many times,' they developed a single repository that contained information about 38 multiple-platform software products translated into seven languages. By managing each paragraph of information through a relational data manager, J.D. Edwards has leveraged this database to deliver user guides, training manuals, on-line helps, and CD-ROMs that provide users with targeted software information that is both high yield and just in time.

Uhl, Cyndi. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

How I Survived XML Single Sourcing  

In Ontario Systems’ applications, customers can install various components and can change the user interface and data storage. Further, they can modify the system’s automated work flow and add custom features. To remain accurate, Ontario Systems’ documentation must dynamically change to reflect the changing application configuration. This session discusses how Ontario Systems implemented an XML-based single source system to create dynamic documentation and provides guidelines on this process.

Cantrell, Charles and Ann Rockley. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

How To Evaluate a Content Management System

Selecting and implementing a content management system (CMS) will be one of the largest IT projects tackled by many organisations. With costs running into the millions of dollars, it is vital that the right CMS package be selected. This article outlines some of the lessons that we have learnt when assisting clients to chose a CMS. It offers ideas and tips, and provides an approach for identifying your business' actual requirements for a CMS.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2002). Articles>Content Management>TC

How to Keep the Content Coming: Five Tips

Maintaining a steady flow of high-quality content can be a major challenge for any online venue. Shifting priorities, unexpected crises, ebbing resources, and just plain burnout can (and probably will) take its toll on your content plans. These tips can help you prevent or compensate for problems with your supply of fresh online content.

Gahran, Amy. Contentious (2002). Articles>Content Management>Writing

How to Revive a Zombie Content Management System

Without care and attention, a CMS can slide into a state of living death. Such systems can be revived by implementing a number of practical (and non-technical) activities.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2002). Articles>Content Management>Collaboration

How to Write Information So You Can Use It Again

You have written a user’s manual for Microsoft Word for Windows. Now you have been asked to write a user’s manual for Microsoft Word for the Macintosh. The two word processors are essentially the same; the primary differences emerge from the differences between Windows and Macintosh systems. You feel that you should be able to prepare the second manual in next to no time, because you can essentially use the information you wrote for the Word for Windows manual again, with some technical changes. This is an example of re-using information and it is a common task among technical communicators. As the demand for information grows faster than the availability of people to develop that information, technical communicators are showing increasing interest in reusing information.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Hurdles to Single-Sourcing

LaTeX and DocBook (and for that matter any manner of XML editors), which could be considered excellent single-sourcing tools, are almost never discussed.

Meyerding, Henry. KeyContent.org (2004). Articles>Content Management>XML>DocBook