A presentation that sought to introduce the fundamental concepts and principles behind the emergent idea of Content Engineering. Served as the kick-off presentation in the Content Engineering track at Intelligent Content 2014 in San Jose (February 2014).

1. So You Want to be a
Content Engineer
Copyright © Joe Gollner 2014
@joegollner

2. A Definition of Content Engineering
Content Engineering:
The application of engineering discipline to the
design, acquisition, delivery, management, and use
of content and to the technologies
deployed to support the full content lifecycle
The Language of Content Strategy

3. A Definition of Engineering
Engineering:
Engineering is the application of scientific principles to the
design, development, support and use of systems which are
themselves made up of structures and processes.

4. Francis Bacon & the Scientific Method
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)
Philosopher, Statesman, Scientist
Identified the Idols of the Mind
that typically mislead understanding
•
•
•
•
Idols
Idols
Idols
Idols
of
of
of
of
the
the
the
the
Tribe [ingrained beliefs]
Cave [personal prejudice]
Marketplace [the fog of words]
Theatre [disciplinary dogmas]
The Way to Combat these Idols:
The Scientific Method
•
•
•
•
Observation
Hypothesis
Experiment
Rejection, Refinement or Validation….Repeat & Publish

5. So You Want to be a Content Engineer
Definition of Core Concepts
The Practice of
Content Engineering
Case Study:
Integrated Health
Information
Conclusion:
Do you still want
to be a
Content Engineer?

6. Content & Information
Content
Is what we plan, design, create,
reuse & manage so that we can
deliver effective information products
Content is potential information
(an asset)
Information
Is the meaningful
organization of data
communicated in a
specific context with the
purpose of influencing others
Information is a transaction (an action)
that contains Content

7. Publishing & Documents
Publishing
The process of transforming
content assets
into information products
that can be effectively transacted
Documents
Documents are the persistent form of
information transactions that have been
exchanged as part of a business process.
Documents are a fact of life
& can take many forms.

8. Intelligent Content
Knowledge
Intelligence
is the ability to
acquire & apply
knowledge
Documented & Integrated
Ma Con
na ten
ge t
me
nt
ge
led ent
ow
Kn agem
n
Ma
Intelligence
is also information
of immediate
& practical use
Business
Systems
B
gy
Intelligent Content
is content that
has been prepared
using open standards
so as to be both
portable and processable
olo ble
hn ensi
E xt
&
en
Te c
Op
Portable & Processable
Glo usin
b al
e
& D ss
yna
mic
Intelligent Content

9. Content Strategy
A strategy is a plan of action
directed towards achieving
a long-term goal through the
coordination, integration
and application of the
resources & capabilities
available to an enterprise
A Content Strategy seeks to make content a
strategic asset that can be leveraged by
state-of-the-art technology to achieve
concrete business goals

10. Content Strategy & the Content Lifecycle
Content
Acquisition
Content
Delivery
Content
Strategy
Content
Management
Content
Engagement
The Content Lifecycle is a continuous process of
creation, publication, use and control
all guided by a continuously evolving Content Strategy

11. Content Metrics
10
8.3
8.8
4.2
2.8
As Is
1
1
1
1
2.4
4.0
7.8
To Be
8.7
10
“As Is” Current Score:
Content
Engagement
Content
Management
Content
Delivery
Content
Acquisition
10
10
45
“To Be” Target Score: 281
Content Metrics reflect the measurements that an organization
deems relevant. The first step is determining what needs to be measured.

12. Content Engineering, Technology & Solutions
Content
Acquisition
Content
Delivery
Content
Strategy
Content
Management
Content Engineering
Content
Engagement
Content Technology
Content Solutions

13. Content Technology & Content Solutions
Content Technology
Technology that has been specifically designed to
create, store, manage & process content with all its
complexity including intelligent content that has
been optimized for portability & processability
Content Solutions
Leverage content
technology to deliver
business benefits
from content assets
Seek to automate,
streamline & enrich
the content lifecycle

14. Back to Engineering
The Practice of Engineering
Balances multiple objectives
Approaches objectives with a methodical use of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
precedents
standards
experiments
measurements
tests
best practices
past experience
state-of-the-art technology
All decisions
•
Documented & verifiable
The Scientific Method
in practice

15. Back to Content Engineering
Balances the objectives
in the Content Strategy
with the realities of
available & affordable
Content Technology
Designs & validates
content structures
and the Content Lifecycle
processes that operate on those
content structures to realize a
sustainable Content Solution
Guides the solution through ongoing evolution

16. Case Study: Integrated Health Information
Context
Multiple
stakeholders
in the healthcare
ecosystem
Huge volumes
of published
information
Requirement
Scalable solution for discovering, accessing &
reusing medical content in multiple situations
•
•
•
Healthcare Professionals
Patients
Other stakeholders (Insurance companies, Government…)

17. Case Study: Integrated Health Information
Tailored
Rendition
Reference Lookup
Rationale
Medical Reference
Reference Summary
Identification
Guidance
Evidence
Reference
Client Adapted
Treatment Protocol
Published Master
Treatment Protocol
Evidence
Moved
Analysis
References
Sources
Aggregation of
content about a
Medical Resource
New
Related Links
Representation of
reference content
suitable for
efficient delivery
Clinical guidance based
on evidence ( )
Client adapted clinical
guidance retaining
evidentiary precedence ( )
End-to-End Precedence Network will permit bidirectional flow of notifications & analytics
Solution Objective: Connect primary medical references to clinical guidance so as
to establish a continuous Precedence Network that provides the grounded authority
for clinical decisions. Traceability was central to this engineered solution.

18. Case Study: Integrated Health Information
Establish Project Requirements
Project
Team
Clients
Business
Needs
Document
Identify
Needs
Test Setup
Draft
Requirements
Specification
Document
Requirements
Use Case
Task Setup
Testing
Team
Task Steps
Test Steps
Test Case
Task Result
Baseline
Requirements
Specification
Requirements
Validation
System
Constraint
Identify
Uncertainties
Prototyping
Plan
Experiments
Technical
Proof of
Concept
Conduct
Experiments
Usability
Testing
Document
Results
Test Result
Applying formalized methods to all stages of the project & to the content lifecycle

19. Case Study: Integrated Health Information
Content Modelling Technique (CMT)
A modeling technique that provides a systematic and disciplined way to represent content objects and processes
in the context of business goals and responsibilities assumed by organizations or individuals (actors).
Object
Objects are “things” that
can be used, consumed,
produced or called upon
to provide a service.
Process
Processes act upon “objects” in
order to change their state.
Processes may use, consume,
produce objects or depend
upon the services from objects.
Order
Start
Inheritance
Composition
Annotation
Choice
Choice
Details
Actor
Actors assume
responsibility for
outcomes. Actors can call
upon processes, objects &
other actors.
One or more
Zero or more
End
Flow
One
Zero or one
Relationship Cardinality
Primary Modelling Activities
Composition
Document
Front
Matter
Inheritance
Analyst
Body
Rear
Matter
Business
Analyst
Process
Review
Technical
Analyst
·
·
·
·
Testing
Sign-off
Content Modelling Technique
was developed with reference to:
Object Modeling Technique (OMT)
IDEF0 Function Modeling
Unified Modeling Language (UML)
Object Process Methodology

20. Case Study: Integrated Health Information
Tailored
Rendition
Reference Lookup
Rationale
Medical Reference
Reference Summary
Identification
Reference
Client Adapted
Treatment Protocol
Published Master
Treatment Protocol
Guidance
Evidence
Evidence
Moved
Analysis
References
New
Related Links
Sources
Aggregate
Content from
Sources
Generate
Summary
Representation
Add PlainLanguage
Content
Publish
Master
Treatment
Protocol
Define Client
Treatment Protocol as
modifications to be
applied to the Master
Extract sources
into XML,
reconcile &
validate details
Transform XML
into specialized
DITA & Refactor
Conduct an
editorial process
for adding clientfocused content
Transform DITA
into an XML
representation
that is widely
processable
Stage resources for client
customization, to be done
by defining a final set of
transformations that will
generate the client view

21. So Do You Still Want to be a Content Engineer?
Content Engineering
Is obligated to take a
full system-view
Considers content from
all angles to realize
a balanced solution
Cannot afford to cling
to any one disciplinary
perspective
Approaches objectives
using a documented,
formal methodology
Relentlessly deploys testing,
measurement & automation to find improvements

22. Making Connections
Joe Gollner
Gnostyx Research Inc.
www.gnostyx.com
jag@gnostyx.com
Twitter: @joegollner
Blog:
The Content Philosopher
www.gollner.ca