Unified content strategy streamlines documentation for a technology systems company

A case study on content strategy

Upgrades to an intelligent content management system powered by a unified content strategy improves U/X and results in  $600,000 dollars in annual savings.

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The Challenge: Legacy authoring tools stifle technical writers.

Over the years, this client’s firm evolved through mergers and acquisitions while experiencing rapid growth in its product line offerings. A legal requirement meant configuration and administration documentation had to be available for each variation in the product line.

Using legacy authoring tools and systems, the 12 technical writers were beyond capacity with continuous updates to the ever-growing catalog of products. Expanding the team would not provide the efficiency and scalability needed to support the growth in the product line on a six-month release cycle. At an average annual cost of $720,000, it was time to modernize the documentation department for a more efficient approach.

 

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Documents were on a six-month release cycle, some online and some printed, resulting in a complex content lifecycle management process heavily dependent on manual administration.

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The business needed a single-source document set for multiple hardware products, platforms, and Operating Systems (OSs).

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New product families required a unique documentation suite and writers to manage it.

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Documentation had to be available online with a mandatory requirement that some components be printed and included in the product box.

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Legacy authoring tools led to duplicated content across the documentation sets.

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Any delays to the documentation included in the packaging meant the product could not be shipped until the documentation was complete and included, which posed potential supply chain disruptions.

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Any applied strategies and processes had to be compliant with strict ISO standards.

 

The Solution: Intelligent content structuring.

Upon evaluating the entire document suite, Innovatia found a high degree of potential for content reuse. This project was perfect for the application of an intelligent content model. By introducing DITA XML and enabling a CCMS, we significantly reduced the content required to be produced and maintained

The single-source content method and automated content lifecycle management workflows streamlined the creation, maintenance, and publishing of installation guides, configuration guides, troubleshooting guides, regulatory information, security information, and user guides. Product variations could be presented in an unbiased manner. The scalable, unified content strategy with a DITA Component Content Management System (CCMS) resulted in content that was easier to create, manage, maintain, and find.

 

Results & Impact

The unified content strategy and application of intelligent content tools reduced the growing library of 6 document sets to one document guide and the introduction of quick reference guides. The more streamlined approach improved the quality and accuracy of the content by eliminating discrepancies and redundancies for a more concise, up-to-date information flow. Traditionally, content was created from an engineering perspective. Incorporating a more user-centric perspective made the content easier for end-users to find and understand. Consequently, users spent 75% less time searching for information. Efficiencies in content lifecycle management and content creation allowed work that had required twelve writers in the past to be managed by six, and subsequently two, writers. The improved efficiency and leaner technical writing team offered the client a $600,000 cost savings.

75%
reduction in search times
 
$600,000
cost savings
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