Marie Etzler is a writer and knowledge manager. In addition to being a director of a team of technical writers, she also manages the creation of video tutorials for Magaya Corporation, a logistics software company. Maire has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English, and is a published writer and award-winning screenwriter.

Case Study: The Unexpected Relationship Between Adopting a CCMS and ContentOps

Before a CCMS

• Documents saved on a server folder
• Lone Tech Writer
• User Manuals in PDF and a homegrown online knowledgebase

Changes Leading to the Need for a CCMS

• Company acquisitions
• New products
• Growth

CCMS and Publishing Tools Researched and Implemented

• Selection based on company size, tool cost, XML, DITA, translations
• DitaToo CCMS
• Zoomin for Salesforce

Speedbumps and Detours on the Road to Success

• The need for internal company support, budget
• Define and get commitments from other departments
• Plan for more time and help than you imagine

Unexpected Benefits

Standardization of processes, which I included in a new ContentOps plan: I wrote out everything that my department does, and I graded the maturity level: Our use of XML and CCMS workflows is the most standardized of all our processes and graded at a level 5.

Takeaways

• Have internal support for each step
• Pace yourself

In this session, attendees will learn:

• Key points to consider when evaluating a CCMS and publishing tools
• How your ContentOps plan can influence your selection process