Integrate Yourself!    

Looking for a way to demonstrate your value to management? Pao’s advice is to become as involved in your organization as possible by volunteering for assignments and being proactive in project planning.

Pao, Cynthia. Intercom (2009). Careers>Collaboration>Workplace>Planning

Why Content Strategy Is the Key to Marketing

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Hoehn from Kodak at Online Marketing Summit - DC last week. Tom has a really cool job at Kodak, where he is director of brand communications and convergence media.

Pulizzi, Joe and Tom Hoehn. Junta42 (2009). Articles>Interviews>Content Management>Planning

Rolling Out a Social Media Strategy

So you have you’re social media strategy, now what? If you’re like most organizations then you can’t roll out a social media campaign in a day, or even in a few weeks. So how do you go about rolling out a social media strategy? My recommendation would be to proceed in phases. What I’m outlining below is a very high level approach to rolling a social media strategy.

Morgan, Jacob. Social Media Today (2009). Articles>Web Design>Social Networking>Planning

Web Anatomy: Introducing Interaction Design Frameworks

If we simply look at what's already working well, and why, we can give ourselves two things we desperately need: a starting point for the design, and insight into to how to create better-stronger-faster interactions that are just as easy to use as the old classics.

Hoekman, Robert, Jr. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>User Experience>Interaction Design>Planning

Starting Points with Quick Reference Guides: Gathering Before Designing

Dan Roam explains that drawing pictures can help you solve problems. He says the first rule is to “collect everything possible up front.” After collecting all your information, you then “lay it all out where you can look at it.” By laying out all the information, you can grasp the whole of it, make connections between various parts, see the important sections, and recognize patterns.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2009). Articles>Documentation>Information Design>Planning

Reusing the User Experience

As a rule of thumb, the earlier in the development process reuse can occur, the more efficient reuse becomes. Like software component reuse, the reuse of UX design elements can be a very efficient form of reuse—particularly because this form of reuse occurs very early in the product development cycle. The ability to reuse prior work effectively is one characteristic of a mature discipline.

Hornsby, Peter. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Project Management>User Interface>Planning

Create Effective Project Milestone Sheets

The project milestone sheet is an incredibly important document for freelancers and their clients. It defines all the most important tasks, who is assigned to them, and when they are due. In other words, it serves as the map for your entire work process.

Roque, Celine. Web Worker Daily (2009). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Methods

Lying in a Hammock, or, Having a Single Goal without a Purpose

When you live in the moment, completing the activity itself is the success. And because writing is so multifaceted in effect — the effect both on me and others — having an open purpose doesn’t limit the results. I’m not narrow-mindedly searching for a specific achievement to happen. Instead, I’m open to unconsidered possibilities, if any of those possibilities decide to unravel.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2009). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Writing

Introduction to the DITA Maturity Model

One of DITA’s most attractive features is its support for incremental adoption: you can adopt DITA quickly and easily using a subset of its capabilities, and then add investment over time as your content strategy evolves and expands. However, this incremental continuum has also resulted in confusion, as communities at different stages of adoption claim radically different numbers for cost of migration and return on investment. The DITA Maturity Model addresses this confusion by dividing DITA adoption into six levels, each with its own required investment and associated return on investment. You can assess your own capabilities and goals relative to the model and choose the appropriate initial adoption level for your needs and schedule.

Doyle, Bob. XML.org (2009). Articles>Information Design>Planning>DITA

How Much Should Vendor Sales and Marketing Skill Really Matter for Customers?

When I parse the comments of technology customers in the midst of long-term vendor relationships, what I hear them asking for is predictability, rather than commercial zest. Sure, they want their suppliers to innovate, but since when is innovation a function of sales and marketing skill?

Byrne, Tony. CMSwatch (2009). Articles>Content Management>Planning

STC: Quo Vadis?

I need to figure out where I am with all the STC stuff going on, and blogging will help my introspection. Also, it will let me share with you some of the background and complexity that surround the current state of affairs with STC. My e-mail tag line reads "Anyone who is sure of the answer doesn't understand the question," and this blog is an invitation to join me in understanding how we got here, where we are, and where I think we need to go.

Hughes, Michael A. User Assistance (2009). Articles>TC>Planning>STC

Why Stylesheet Abstraction Matters

CSS is simple. You assign style primitives to elements and some of those primitives cascade down to the elements contained within. I get it. It’s simple to understand. But CSS is not simple to use or maintain. It’s time for stylesheets to evolve so that we can take web design to the next level.

Eppstein, Chris. Git Hub (2009). Articles>Web Design>CSS>Planning

Developing A Unified Content Model

A unified content strategy is: a repeatable method of identifying all content requirements up front; creating consistently structured content for reuse; managing that content in a definitive source; assembling content on demand to meet your needs. A unified content model is the framework that supports your strategy.

Rockley, Ann. SlideShare (2007). Presentations>Content Management>Content Strategy>Planning