The term ‘double-edged sword’ may have been created with content management systems (CMS) in mind. On one edge, they hold great promise for organizations in terms of their ability to create and manage content that is more accurate, less costly to produce, and more consistent in appearance. On the other, they can present a myriad of challenges in their implementation and acceptance by the people using them – and purchasing them. Let’s examine the challenges that a CMS presents, along with ways those challenges can be overcome…

Challenge #4: The People Factor
In our experience, the main competitor for a CMS is not really another vendor, it’s apathy.   Often, people who use MS Word to create their documents are comfortable using it and don’t care enough to try anything else – even if another program is more suitable for managing content.

The only areas of the company for which change is desirable are those where the pain of creating and managing content is particularly strong, such as product documentation – driven by deadlines, quality and other factors which typically don’t affect many other departments. Sometimes the opposite is true.

Executives frequently ask how the CMS can help on a more companywide basis, while writers wonder how it can help them specifically.  Often the true benefits of a CMS are realised downstream from the actual writing (workers from different departments drawing on each other’s work, greater consistency and efficiency).  Getting writers to alter the way they work purely for the sake of others can be a hard road to hoe.  In the end, the CMS is a two-part sell: the CMS vendor must demonstrate value to the organisation at large and to the individual as well.  It’s critical that every person in the process sees some improvement in the way they work.

Posted by Paul Trotter, CEO, Author-it Software Corporation

If so, there are a few presenters at the Peer Showcase who will cover Author-it topics that you should check out. Char James-Tanny, who has over 25 years experience as a technical writer and is an Author-it Certified Consultant, will be presenting  “Using Author-it Xtend to analyse content reuse across product families“.

Rhonda Bracey is also an Author-it Certified Consultant, and Rhonda will be presenting on Monday at the General Sesssions. Rhonda’s topic will be Techniques For Reviewing a User Interface.

Sue Heim, a technical writer for over 20 years and a long time Author-it user, is presenting “Using Author-it Xtend and Localization Manager to reduce costs“.

And also Mary Connor, will be presenting “Integrating Flash-based Simulations/Tutorials into Web-based Help Using Single-sourced Content from an Author-it Library”

In the Emerging Skills section, Charlene Kingston Crow, a long time Author-it client will be presenting “Using Microsharing Tools Like Twitter to Build Better UA” which is topical for a lot of people right now. The Author-it team will of course be there so make sure  you stop by to say hello at Booth 10 and see demonstrations of the latest Author-it release 5.2 and products. BTW, if you haven’t yet registered for WritersUA you can still do so via their website and you can browse the full agenda online.

Posted by Kathy Howes,Author-it Marketing Manager, Author-it Software Corporation

The term ‘double-edged sword’ may have been created with content management systems (CMS) in mind. On one edge, they hold great promise for organisations in terms of their ability to create and manage content that is more accurate, less costly to produce, and more consistent in appearance. On the other, they can present a myriad of challenges in their implementation and acceptance by the people using them – and purchasing them. Let’s examine the challenges that a CMS presents, along with ways those challenges can be overcome…

Challenge #3: Gaining Approval
The approval process for a CMS is an all-too-familiar barrier. While budget concerns might be raised the real obstacle is convincing people that there’s a good business case for a CMS.

Often it’s a generational issue: many older executives simply don’t see the value of managing information and the only types of arguments that are considered involve hard ROI.

Sometimes this is readily evident (where there is a high volume of customer-facing content), but if the issue is just making life easier, gaining internal approval can be difficult.

The answer?  Obviously, where there is a good deal of customer facing content or translation, the case can be made easily. But where neither item is a factor, the case should be made through the value of producing content that is consistent, graphically uniform, and ultimately quicker to create.

Posted by Paul Trotter, CEO, Author-it Software Corporation