Imagine a future where siloed departments and legacy workflows don’t stand in our way. Today’s content is complex, interconnected, and needs to be ready for devices we haven’t even dreamed of yet. Tomorrow isn’t going to get any simpler. Successful outcomes demand a new kind of collaboration. For the past two years, Rebekah has studied how successful teams collaborate and has helped transform the way her team works and produces together. In this session, you’ll hear what she’s learned about making effective cross-discipline collaboration possible, and leave with actionable approaches you can use to unite your team and workflow, too. IN THIS SESSION, WE’LL LEARN: What it takes to make effective collaboration possible How project managers can play a key role in creating the cross-discipline teams of tomorrow Practical techniques you can use to bridge silos, increase productivity, and facilitate web content working sessions with your team

1. NEXT-LEVEL COLLABORATION WORKSHOP
web content working sessions
@REBEKAHCANCINO

3. Photograph by Deborah Coleman, Pixar
meet ed catmull

5. Photograph from “Inside the Pixar Braintrust” by Fast Company

8. Digital experiences are messy,
iterative, and overlapping, too.

9. “People don’t experience
content separately from design,
UX, and code. Making things
shouldn’t be that way either.”
– Jared Spool

10. File sharing and occasional
meetings are not collaboration.

11. Collaboration is when the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.

12. Our decision making is stronger
when we draw on the collective
knowledge of the group.

13. effective
collaboration
Create alignment =
deliver better outcomes
Remove politics =
launch faster
Reduce rework =
decrease costs
Boost morale =
increase productivity

14. content that matters
user
needs
business
goals

15. “Content doesn’t belong to
content. Design doesn’t belong
to design. Code doesn’t belong
to dev.”
– Nicole Fenton

16. UX
= wireframing

17. UI
content
= wireframingcode design

18. what about…
Ownership?
Our work is not as separate as
we imagine. No one person or
department can truly own anything,
but someone should be responsible
for leading.
Who goes first?
It’s not about who goes first, it’s about
creating space for things to unfold in
tandem.

19. “The secret isn’t content first or content last … it’s
content and design at the same time.”
- Travis Gertz, Louder Than Ten

20. collaboration doesn’t have to hurt

21. WITH
it’s about creating
space to share decisions
vs. FOR

22. planning your content

23. prioritizing
user needs
aligning with
business goals
mapping
content
to user needs
In this session, we’ll practice

24. thinking
doingfeeling
but first, empathize
@DANIELEIZANS

25. thinking
doingfeeling
map the user’s context
Which card is right for
me?
I hope I’m approved
How long does it take
to get approved?
What kind of credit
score do I need to
apply?
Will this help me
rebuild my credit?
Nervous
Hopeful
Confused
Skeptical
Browsing the site from
their phone
Looking the information
over with a partner
Getting ready to make a
major purchase
Researching after talking
to a banker

26. let’s practice together!
Get into groups of 4-5 people

28. Card
categories
Compare
cards
Check for
special offers
Card
description
Image of
card
Card details
Link to apply
Hero banner:
Susan G.
Komen card
Popular cards

29. STEP 1
Define brand goals, communication needs,
and prioritize

30. STEP 2
Determine user needs, tasks, and prioritize

31. STEP 3
Compare prioritized business goals and
user needs. How do they stack up?
Do we need to:
• Realign
• Discuss gaps
• Make conscious compromises

32. STEP 4
List all current content elements
(if you’re redesigning), and determine
new content elements needed.

33. STEP 5
Map content elements to prioritized user tasks,
look for gaps.
Look for:
• Missing content
• User tasks or needs that are under or over
addressed
• Content elements that don’t really align to any
user goal or need

34. you made it!
Let’s reflect

35. When web content won’t fix the problem
Discuss broken underlying business models and
decisions that go beyond the web and adjust
expectations

36. When business goals don’t align to user needs
When stakeholders participate in matching
business goals to user needs they discover
misaligned priorities for themselves.
• Realign those priorities
• Make conscious compromises

37. YOU COULD EVEN
Map content to visual hierarchy (wireframe sketch)

38. features and functionality, too
YOU COULD EVEN
Prioritize features, functionality, and content needs
with the project team and stakeholders

39. good content is
everyone’s responsibility

40. excuses, excuses
"That's not my job.”
"We don't have time or budget.”
"I don't want to step on toes.”
"No one will listen to me.”
"I don't know how to do that."

41. Cross-discipline content working
sessions (with stakeholders) help
us reduce risk and avoid costly,
incorrect assumptions.

42. Balance business goals and user
needs. Tie all decisions back
to them.

43. Create the space to do the work
together, not just talk about it.

44. Set yourself up for success by
thoughtfully planning how you’re
going to work together.

45. Collaboration is scalable. Use
cross-discipline working sessions
wisely so you don’t waste time or
blow budgets.

46. internal users
count, too

47. just jump in

48. thank you!
Bonus material on planning working sessions and
determining stakeholders: bit.ly/designtogether
togetherly.co sitewire.com
@REBEKAHCANCINO