Data/Content Strategy Resources?

[Gretchen]

Hi All -

We have a new project at work to create a content structure,
maintenance plan and governance plan for a product information
management system.

Our client is transferring its product marketing information into this
system, which is to then be used for catalogs, other print materials
and its website.

Does anybody have any good resources (articles, presentations blog
posts) on the best way to approach this, and maybe what pitfalls to
avoid?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Gretchen

[Laura Creekmore]

Gretchen,

That's a big question! Are you looking for technical tips, process
advice, both? Has your client selected a content management system
already, or is that part of this endeavor?

Laura Creekmore
la...@creekmoreconsulting.com
615.500.4131

[Rahel Bailie]

I have 90 resources listed in my delicious folder: http://delicious.com/rahelab/content_strategy plus 3 resources on governance. 

There will be a bit of picking-through, but it should get you started.

===
Rahel Anne Bailie, Content Strategist / CM Consultant
Intentional Design Inc. www.intentionaldesign.ca
Content strategies for business impact      Tel. 604.837.0034 (PT, GMT -8)
Social apps (skype, twitter, etc): rahelab
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rahelannebailie

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[Gretchen]

Hi Laura -

I'm really asking about process, and any tactical tools or templates
anybody might have to share. It's not a CMS project, but rather a PIM
(product information management) project. The PIM will feed data to
the CMS, print catalogs, and other places. The web interface will
inform the data structure within the PIM, of course.

Gretchen

[Gretchen]

Oh, it's the motherlode! Thanks much. I'll get to digging.
Gretchen

On Jun 16, 11:54 am, Rahel Bailie <rahel.bai...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have 90 resources listed in my delicious folder:http://delicious.com/rahelab/content_strategyplus 3 resources on

> governance.
>
> There will be a bit of picking-through, but it should get you started.
>
> ===
> Rahel Anne Bailie, Content Strategist / CM Consultant
> Intentional Design Inc.www.intentionaldesign.ca
> Content strategies for business impact      Tel. 604.837.0034 (PT, GMT -8)
> Social apps (skype, twitter, etc): rahelab
> LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/rahelannebailie
>

> On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 9:11 AM, Gretchen <gthomas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi All -
>
> > We have a new project at work to create a content structure,
> > maintenance plan and governance plan for a product information
> > management system.
>
> > Our client is transferring its product marketing information into this
> > system, which is to then be used for catalogs, other print materials
> > and its website.
>
> > Does anybody have any good resources (articles, presentations blog
> > posts) on the best way to approach this, and maybe what pitfalls to
> > avoid?
>
> > Any help would be greatly appreciated!
> > Thanks,
> > Gretchen
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> > "Content Strategy" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to content...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to

> > contentstrate...@googlegroups.com<contentstrategy%2Bunsu...@googlegroups.com>
> > .

[Rahel Bailie]

I've done PIM and CMS projects, and they're not that different from one another, actually, when it comes to process. What types of tactical tools are you looking for?

===
Rahel Anne Bailie, Content Strategist / CM Consultant
Intentional Design Inc. www.intentionaldesign.ca
Content strategies for business impact      Tel. 604.837.0034 (PT, GMT -8)
Social apps (skype, twitter, etc): rahelab
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rahelannebailie

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To post to this group, send email to content...@googlegroups.com.

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[Ruth Kaufman]

PIM can be different from CMS in that the usage of the PIM data can necessitate process differences. It depends on how the data set is used -- if in a distributed manner, as metadata, etc. Other considerations around process include governance and change management, both at the product management level and downstream at the application consumption level. PIM might be closer to a taxonomy/controlled vocabulary problem than a CM problem, per se. 

It is a very broad question. Without knowing more of the context, I would advise to think of the PIM data in context of an entire supply chain and consider rate of change, methods and reasons for consumption, and where rigidity versus flexibility in structure make sense -- both in terms of taxonomic/relationship structures and content elements. Do hierarchies need to be encoded? Is the PIM data used for tagging content? If so, do values need to be assigned alphanumeric codes? Do users need to be able to see alternate names for products, categories or product attributes? Does anything need to be translated? Who owns the data and who contributes to it? What is the corporate culture around governance? etc. etc.

I know I'm not answering questions here, but hope this helps get more gears turning.

Ruth