Web content lifecycle

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The web content lifecycle is the multi-disciplinary and often complex process that web content undergoes as it is managed through various publishing stages. [1]

Contents

Authors describe multiple "stages" (or "phases") in the web content lifecycle, along with a set of capabilities such as records management, digital asset management, collaboration, and version control that may be supported by various technologies and processes. One recognized technology for managing the web content lifecycle is a web content management system. [2]

Concepts often considered in the web content lifecycle include project management, information management, information architecture, and, more recently, content strategy, website governance, and semantic publishing. [3]

Stages

Various authors have proposed different "stages" or "phases" in the content lifecycle. Broadly speaking, the stages include content creation/development, revision, distribution, and archiving. [4] The lifecycle processes, actions, content status, and content management roles may differ from model to model based on organizational strategies, needs, requirements, and capabilities.

Two stages

In 2003, McKeever [5] described "two iterative phases": "the collection of content, and the delivery or publishing of that content on the Web." She also explains a Web Content Management (WCM) "four layer hierarchy" (content, activity, outlet, and audience) intended to illustrate the breadth of WCM.

Three stages

Bob Boiko's Content Management Bible [6] emphasizes three major parts: collect (creation and editing is much more than simply collecting), manage (workflows, approvals, versioning, repository, etc.), and publish. These concepts are graphically displayed in a Content Management Possibilities poster [7] developed by Boiko. The poster details such content management concepts as metadata, syndication, workflows, repositories, and databases.

Gerry McGovern also sees three "processes," designating them creation, editing, and publishing. [8]

Four stages

JoAnn Hackos' Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery [9] argues for four "components": authoring, repository, assembly/linking, and publishing.

In Managing Enterprise Content, [10] Ann Rockley argues for the planning of content reuse through four stages: create, review, manage, deliver. A stage can have sub-stages; for example, the "create" stage has three sub-stages: planning, design, and authoring and revision. She notes that content is often created by individuals working in isolation inside an enterprise (the coined term is the Content Silo Trap). To counter this content silo effect, she recommends using a "unified content strategy," "a repeatable method of identifying all content requirements up front, creating consistently structured content for reuse, managing that content in a definitive source, and assembling content on demand to meet your customersí needs." [11]

Five stages

Nakano described five "collaboration operations": Submit, Compare, Update, Merge, and Publish. [12]

The State government of Victoria (Australia) produced a flowchart with a diagrammatic view of the web content lifecycle with five stages: Develop, Quality Approval, Publish, Unpublish, and Archive. Some of the stages include sub-stages (for example, Archive consists of Storage, Archived, and Disposed) intended to further delineate content status. In addition, this model depicts three aspectsóStatus, Process, and Rolesóas part of the flow for web content. The four roles in this model are content author, content quality manager, business quality manager, and records manager. [13]

The AIIM speaks of managing content to achieve business goals. [14] AIIM ECM 101 Poster from 2003, and the AIIM Solving the ECM Puzzle Poster from 2005, present the same five stages: Capture, Manage, Store, Deliver, Preserve. [15]

Six stages

The Content Management Lifecycle Poster [15] devised by CM Pros suggests six "steps":

  1. Plan
  2. Develop
  3. Manage
  4. Deploy
  5. Preserve
  6. Evaluate

Each step contains sub-steps. For example, step 1, Plan, consists of Align, Analyze, Model, and Design; and step 2, Develop, consists of Create, Capture, Collect, Categorize, and Edit.

There is also another six stage model based on the concept of product lifecycle:

  1. Goal setting
  2. Creation
  3. Publishing
  4. Promoting
  5. Maintaining
  6. Retirement

Seven stages

Bob Doyle [16] suggests seven stages of the Web content lifecycle:

  1. Organization
  2. Creation
  3. Storage
  4. Workflow
  5. Versioning
  6. Publishing
  7. Archives

Doyle argues for seven stages based on the psychologist George A. Miller's famed magical number "seven plus or minus two" limit on human information processing. He notes this is merely a suggestion and that one should "add or subtract a couple of your own favorites."

Governance rather than workflow

In a 2005 article, Woods [17] addressed governance of the content lifecycle. In his model, there are categories of issues to address, rather than a simple, cradle-to-grave pathway. He writes that most content governance questions fall into one of the following categories:

More recently, Kristina Halvorson has humorously suggested 15 discrete steps in the web content lifecycle: Audit, Analyze, Strategize, Categorize, Structure, Create, Revise, Revise, Revise, Approve, Tag, Format, Publish, Update, Archive. [18]

Role of technologies

Enterprise content management as a business strategy might incorporate web content management:

When integrated with an ECM system, WCM enables organizations to automate the complete Web content lifecycle. As soon as new content is developed, the system ensures that it goes live the moment it is intended toónot a minute earlier. By specifying timed releases and expiration dates, content is published to and removed from the Web according to recommendations, requirements and even regulations.

— Jenkins (2004) [2]

A web content management system can support and enhance certain processes because of automation, including document management, templates, and workflow management. However, the absence of well defined roles and process governance will greatly dilute the effectiveness of any technology intended to augment/enhance the publishing process overall.

Role of information management

Information management describes the "organization of and control over the structure, processing, and delivery of information." [19] The goal of information lifecycle management is to use policies, operations, and infrastructure to manage information throughout its useful life. However, businesses struggle to manage their data and information. [20] [21] [22]

The missing stage in all the major sources is the organization of information, structuring it where possible, for example using XML or RDF, which allows arbitrary metadata to be added to all information elements. This is the secret that the knowledge managers describe as turning mere data or information into knowledge. It allows information to be retrieved in a number of ways and reused or repurposed in many more.

— Doyle (2005) [16]

Using semantic markup in the publishing process is part of semantic publishing. Tim-Berners Lee's original vision for the Semantic Web has yet to be realized, but many projects in various research areas are underway.

See also

Related Research Articles

A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is recorded. The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management systems. It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knowledge management</span> Process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization

Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

A content management system (CMS) is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content . A CMS is typically used for enterprise content management (ECM) and web content management (WCM).

Content management (CM) are a set of processes and technologies that support the collection, managing, and publishing of information in any form or medium. When stored and accessed via computers, this information may be more specifically referred to as digital content, or simply as content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Product lifecycle</span> Duration of processing of products from inception, to engineering, design & manufacture

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes, and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprises.

Single-source publishing, also known as single-sourcing publishing, is a content management method which allows the same source content to be used across different forms of media and more than one time. The labor-intensive and expensive work of editing need only be carried out once, on only one document; that source document can then be stored in one place and reused. This reduces the potential for error, as corrections are only made one time in the source document.

Enterprise content management (ECM) extends the concept of content management by adding a timeline for each content item and, possibly, enforcing processes for its creation, approval, and distribution. Systems using ECM generally provide a secure repository for managed items, analog or digital. They also include one methods for importing content to bring manage new items, and several presentation methods to make items available for use. Although ECM content may be protected by digital rights management (DRM), it is not required. ECM is distinguished from general content management by its cognizance of the processes and procedures of the enterprise for which it is created.

DocuShare is a content management system developed by Xerox Corporation. DocuShare makes use of open standards and allows for managing content, integrating it with other business systems, and developing customized and packaged software applications.

A web content management system is a software content management system (CMS) specifically for web content. It provides website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools that help users with little knowledge of web programming languages or markup languages create and manage website content. A WCMS provides the foundation for collaboration, providing users the ability to manage documents and output for multiple author editing and participation. Most systems use a content repository or a database to store page content, metadata, and other information assets the system needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfresco Software</span> Information management software

Alfresco Software is a collection of information management software products for Microsoft Windows and Unix-like operating systems developed by Alfresco Software Inc. using Java technology. The software, branded as a Digital Business Platform is principally a proprietary & a commercially licensed open source platform, supports open standards, and provides enterprise scale. There are also open source Community Editions available licensed under LGPLv3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Content format</span> Data encoding to store and transmit media

A content format is an encoded format for converting a specific type of data to displayable information. Content formats are used in recording and transmission to prepare data for observation or interpretation. This includes both analog and digitized content. Content formats may be recorded and read by either natural or manufactured tools and mechanisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe LiveCycle</span> Java EE server software

Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite (ES4) is a service-oriented architecture Java EE server software product from Adobe Systems used to build applications that automate a broad range of business processes for enterprises and government agencies. LiveCycle ES4 is an enterprise document and form platform that helps you capture and process information, deliver personalized communications, and protect and track sensitive information. It is used for purposes such as account opening, services, and benefits enrollment, correspondence management, requests for proposal processes, and other manual-based workflows. LiveCycle ES4 incorporates new features with a particular focus on mobile devices. LiveCycle applications also function in both online and offline environments. These capabilities are enabled through the use of Adobe Reader, HTML/PhoneGap, and Flash Player clients to reach desktop computers and mobile devices.

Ann Rockley is a content manager. She is the founder and President of The Rockley Group, based in the greater Toronto Area. She regularly presents papers and workshops on subjects involving the efficient creation, management and delivery of content for organizations in North America and Europe. She was the lead analyst for The XML & Component Content Management Report on Content Management Systems Watch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FileNet</span> American software company

FileNet, a company acquired by IBM, developed software to help enterprises manage their content and business processes. FileNet P8, their flagship offering, is a framework for developing custom enterprise systems, but it can be used as-is.

A component content management system (CCMS) is a content management system that manages content at a granular level (component) rather than at the document level. Each component represents a single topic, concept or asset.

Content strategy guides the planning, development, and management of content. It is a recognized field in user experience design, and it also draws from adjacent disciplines such as information architecture, content management, business analysis, digital marketing, and technical communication.

Information governance, or IG, is the overall strategy for information at an organization. Information governance balances the risk that information presents with the value that information provides. Information governance helps with legal compliance, operational transparency, and reducing expenditures associated with legal discovery. An organization can establish a consistent and logical framework for employees to handle data through their information governance policies and procedures. These policies guide proper behavior regarding how organizations and their employees handle information whether it is physically or electronically created (ESI).

Website governance is an organization's structure of staff and the technical systems, policies and procedures to maintain and manage a website. Website governance applies to both Internet and Intranet sites.

The goal of content-oriented workflow models is to articulate workflow progression by the presence of content units . Most content-oriented workflow approaches provide a life-cycle model for content units, such that workflow progression can be qualified by conditions on the state of the units. Most approaches are research and work in progress and the content models and life-cycle models are more or less formalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ModelOps</span>

ModelOps, as defined by Gartner, "is focused primarily on the governance and lifecycle management of a wide range of operationalized artificial intelligence (AI) and decision models, including machine learning, knowledge graphs, rules, optimization, linguistic and agent-based models". "ModelOps lies at the heart of any enterprise AI strategy". It orchestrates the model lifecycles of all models in production across the entire enterprise, from putting a model into production, then evaluating and updating the resulting application according to a set of governance rules, including both technical and business KPI's. It grants business domain experts the capability to evaluate AI models in production, independent of data scientists.

References

  1. ↑ Berners-Lee, T.; Hendler, J. (2001). "Publishing on the semantic web". Nature. 410 (6832): 1023–4. doi:10.1038/35074206. PMID   11323639. S2CID   32243333.
  2. 1 2 Jenkins, Tom; Glazer, David; Schaper, Hartmut (2004). Enterprise Content Management Technology: What You Need to Know. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Open Text Corporation. p. 300. ISBN   0-9730662-5-3.
  3. ↑ Berners-Lee, T.; Hendler, J. (2001). "Publishing on the semantic web". Nature. 410 (6832): 1023–4. doi:10.1038/35074206. PMID   11323639. S2CID   32243333.
  4. ↑ Phillips, Lindsey (2018). The Life-cycle of a digital asset. Brandfolder.
  5. ↑ McKeever, Susan (2003). "Understanding Web content management systems: evolution, lifecycle and market". Industrial Management & Data Systems. 103 (9). MCB UP Ltd: 686–692. doi:10.1108/02635570310506106. ISSN   0263-5577.
  6. ↑ Boiko, Bob (2004). Content Management Bible (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 1176. ISBN   0-7645-7371-3.
  7. ↑ "The Content Management Possibilities Poster". Metatorial Services, Inc. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  8. ↑ McGovern, Gerry; Norton, Rob (2001). Content Critical. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press. p. 256. ISBN   0-273-65604-X.
  9. ↑ Hackos, JoAnn (2002). Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 432. ISBN   0-471-08586-3.
  10. ↑ Rockley, Ann (2002). Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy. Reading, Mass: New Riders Press. p. 592. ISBN   0-7357-1306-5.
  11. ↑ "What is a Unified Content Strategy?". The Rockley Group. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Nakano, Russell (2002). Web content management: a collaborative approach . Boston: Addison Wesley Professional. pp.  222. ISBN   0-201-65782-1.
  13. ↑ "Web Content Lifecycle". State Government, Victoria, Australia. November 2005. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "What is ECM?". AIIM. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  15. 1 2 "CM Lifecycle Poster". Content Management Professionals. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  16. 1 2 Bob Doyle (September 2005). "Seven Stages of the CM Lifecycle". EcontentMag.com. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  17. ↑ Randy Woods (September 2005). "Defining a Model for Content Governance" . Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  18. ↑ Halvorson, Kristina (2009). Content Strategy for the Web. Reading, Mass: New Riders Press. p. 192. ISBN   978-0-321-62006-4.
  19. ↑ "What is Information Management?". AIIM. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  20. ↑ Aaron Zornes (May–June 2010). "10 Key Trends in MDM". Information Management. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  21. ↑ Helen D'Antoni (August 1, 2001). "Companies Struggle With Data Classification". Information Week. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  22. ↑ Ladley, John (2010). Making Enterprise Information Management (EIM) Work for Business: A Guide to Understanding Information as an Asset. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann. p. 552. ISBN   978-0-12-375695-4.

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