Content Migration vs Management

Back in 2000 I knocked up the following notes on a possible Content Migration mechanism and have since built something that reports in a very similar fashion

Many content management systems (CMS) are deployed in homogeneous corporate type environments where the same system is used by most or all of the publishing groups within the organisation.

In a heterogeneous environment however it may not be possible for political/cultural or other reasons to dictate tool use. Content might be sourced and published by various entities (both within and outside of the organisation) on various platforms using tools of different levels of sophistication from the 'lowly' text-editor to richer clients like WYSIWYG document editors.

In this environment it might be possible to provide multiple publishing points and mechanisms to a test environment and leave a content author to manage their test site using what ever means they deem appropriate. Then provide a single (web based) migration tool that all authors use to migrate their content to the live environment.

Along the way this content might optionally be checked for such attributes as file size/type, validation status, link-rot, meta-data use (author name, expiry date etc) and if any mandatory requirements are not met then the publisher could be notified and the migration optionally halted.

"Most Web content management experts - analysts, CM software vendors and IT managers - agree that the era of the Webmaster as Lone Ranger is over." (2)

A manual role such as the classic Webmaster can't deliver on the publishing volume and needs on anything other than a small website and quickly becomes a bottle-neck. You could...

Allow free publishing/access to live site - Chaos
Build a team of "webmaster's"
Build a manual workflow and content management mechanism
Procure or Build an electronic WCM system

Content is an important resource and is often 'managed' by the CMS at all stages of its life-cycle, and there are many CMS's on the market.

Research groups are predicting convergence is likely to result in fewer management products as consolidation and integration of document and web asset management tools and portal delivery platforms continues, which sounds a mouthful, but reasonable. however...

"This will make it difficult to select a WCM vendor with confidence that the vendor has a winning strategy for addressing market and technology convergence" (1)

Big ticket systems provide for most desirable CMS features but some don't provide web serving platform (Interwoven), may be document management only, some provide personalisation features, and need to consider how the publishing mechanism integrates with existing search-engine infrastructure.

So how do you pick the right package?

"By choosing the technology that meets the requirements. Pick the system that your editors like. Ignore the rhetoric about market leadership. And make sure you see it function on your hardware with your software. (4)"

There's a need for something now, not after the dust has settled, at which point analysts predict the silver-bullet of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) will appear...

"ECM, which will consist of technologies that manage office documents, still images, video, web content and print streams. (4)"

Objectives/Features of a WCMigration system for our environment...

eliminate time consuming processes through automation
network authentication (LDAP)
user/group digital rights management
group level security
hundreds? of authors
multiple platforms
Quality control
custom workflow and approval
expiry scheduling
META data management
revision history
navigation and link maintenance
possible real-time publishing?
web based mngt interface, easy to use
software config management (source-code control)
management of DBase/Scripted/Interactive content

requirements for a best-fit within our organisation...

short implementation time
run on existing infrastructure

Traditional Content management features that may not be required in a migrate-only tool...

digital asset management (DAM - video/courseware)
knowledge managment/EIP (IGate/Oracle)
content creating/editing tools
integration w XML editors
templating/theme/skinning (although still likely to be used)
syndication
personalisation, CRM
forum/discussion/chat/blog features

Screen Mockup

REFERENCES:

1. Web Content Management
"In our latest Crossroads Poll, we asked if Web Content Management is an important part of your SCM project."
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/newsletter/febnews.htm

2. Some Best Practices Emerge in Web Content Management
http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=3714

3. Effective Web Content Management
a White Paper by Ektron, Inc. Amherst, NH
http://www.ektron.com/whitepaper/whitepaper1.pdf

4. Hide Your Boss’s Golf Clubs….and Other Techniques for Evaluating WCM Packages
http://www.cmswatch.com/Features/OpinionWatch/FeaturedOpinion/?feature_id=62

Why Getting Laid Off Is Better Than Building a Proprietary CMS
http://www.cmswatch.com/Features/OpinionWatch/FeaturedOpinion/?feature_id=41

Ten Things to Know About Selecting a Content Management System
http://dcb.sun.com/practices/howtos/selecting_cms.jsp

camworld - Content Management Systems
http://www.camworld.com/cms/

cmsWatch
http://www.cmswatch.com/

Content Management Newsgroups

comp.doc.management
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.tools
biz.marketplace.web-design

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Wiki Menu: FrontPage Edit References Delete Changes Formatting Index Tags: CMS authoring content ideas management projects tools	Content Migration vs Management Back in 2000 I knocked up the following notes on a possible Content Migration mechanism and have since built something that reports in a very similar fashion Many content management systems (CMS) are deployed in homogeneous corporate type environments where the same system is used by most or all of the publishing groups within the organisation. In a heterogeneous environment however it may not be possible for political/cultural or other reasons to dictate tool use. Content might be sourced and published by various entities (both within and outside of the organisation) on various platforms using tools of different levels of sophistication from the 'lowly' text-editor to richer clients like WYSIWYG document editors. In this environment it might be possible to provide multiple publishing points and mechanisms to a test environment and leave a content author to manage their test site using what ever means they deem appropriate. Then provide a single (web based) migration tool that all authors use to migrate their content to the live environment. Along the way this content might optionally be checked for such attributes as file size/type, validation status, link-rot, meta-data use (author name, expiry date etc) and if any mandatory requirements are not met then the publisher could be notified and the migration optionally halted. "Most Web content management experts - analysts, CM software vendors and IT managers - agree that the era of the Webmaster as Lone Ranger is over." (2) A manual role such as the classic Webmaster can't deliver on the publishing volume and needs on anything other than a small website and quickly becomes a bottle-neck. You could... Allow free publishing/access to live site - Chaos Build a team of "webmaster's" Build a manual workflow and content management mechanism Procure or Build an electronic WCM system Content is an important resource and is often 'managed' by the CMS at all stages of its life-cycle, and there are many CMS's on the market. Research groups are predicting convergence is likely to result in fewer management products as consolidation and integration of document and web asset management tools and portal delivery platforms continues, which sounds a mouthful, but reasonable. however... "This will make it difficult to select a WCM vendor with confidence that the vendor has a winning strategy for addressing market and technology convergence" (1) Big ticket systems provide for most desirable CMS features but some don't provide web serving platform (Interwoven), may be document management only, some provide personalisation features, and need to consider how the publishing mechanism integrates with existing search-engine infrastructure. So how do you pick the right package? "By choosing the technology that meets the requirements. Pick the system that your editors like. Ignore the rhetoric about market leadership. And make sure you see it function on your hardware with your software. (4)" There's a need for something now, not after the dust has settled, at which point analysts predict the silver-bullet of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) will appear... "ECM, which will consist of technologies that manage office documents, still images, video, web content and print streams. (4)" Objectives/Features of a WCMigration system for our environment... eliminate time consuming processes through automation network authentication (LDAP) user/group digital rights management group level security hundreds? of authors multiple platforms Quality control custom workflow and approval expiry scheduling META data management revision history navigation and link maintenance possible real-time publishing? web based mngt interface, easy to use software config management (source-code control) management of DBase/Scripted/Interactive content requirements for a best-fit within our organisation... short implementation time run on existing infrastructure Traditional Content management features that may not be required in a migrate-only tool... digital asset management (DAM - video/courseware) knowledge managment/EIP (IGate/Oracle) content creating/editing tools integration w XML editors templating/theme/skinning (although still likely to be used) syndication personalisation, CRM forum/discussion/chat/blog features Screen Mockup REFERENCES: 1. Web Content Management "In our latest Crossroads Poll, we asked if Web Content Management is an important part of your SCM project." http://www.cmcrossroads.com/newsletter/febnews.htm 2. Some Best Practices Emerge in Web Content Management http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=3714 3. Effective Web Content Management a White Paper by Ektron, Inc. Amherst, NH http://www.ektron.com/whitepaper/whitepaper1.pdf 4. Hide Your Boss’s Golf Clubs….and Other Techniques for Evaluating WCM Packages http://www.cmswatch.com/Features/OpinionWatch/FeaturedOpinion/?feature_id=62 Why Getting Laid Off Is Better Than Building a Proprietary CMS http://www.cmswatch.com/Features/OpinionWatch/FeaturedOpinion/?feature_id=41 Ten Things to Know About Selecting a Content Management System http://dcb.sun.com/practices/howtos/selecting_cms.jsp camworld - Content Management Systems http://www.camworld.com/cms/ cmsWatch http://www.cmswatch.com/ Content Management Newsgroups comp.doc.management comp.infosystems.www.authoring.tools biz.marketplace.web-design See Also: Content Management \| Automatic Template Migration \| Notes Index
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