Article Idea:
The Content Matrix deliverable: a tool for prioritizing content and functionality
suggested by Jason Ford on 2007/11/09
There is a chasm that must be crossed in every web project where all requirements and big ideas are somehow synthesized into a final feature set for the project. Difficulties getting alignment among stakeholders on what is and is not in scope for the project, phase 1, etc. can paralyze a web project before it really even gets off the ground.
Over the past year I’ve refined a process and deliverable that I use to overcome this hurdle, make smart scoping decisions, and get alignment among key stakeholders. The process includes the following steps:
1. Gather all input requirements and ideas for content and functionality – these can come from product managers, competitive sites, input documents, etc.
2. Using ideas collected in step one as a foundation, conduct a whiteboard session to capture all content/functionality ideas – for larger projects this may actually be a series of whiteboard sessions.
3. Structure the results of the whiteboard session into a Content Matrix deliverable – essentially a grid aligning potential content/functionality line items against audience segments and site objectives.
4. Assign prioritization values to each items in the Content Matrix based on effort and impact.
In my proposed article, I would walk through the process outlined above and provide a step-by-step tutorial for creating the Content Matrix deliverable, which can be created in any spreadsheet application.
I’ve used variations of the Content Matrix at two digital agencies now – on projects for clients ranging from local retailers to Fortune 500 companies. I’ve found it to be extremely useful for both large and small projects as it can be expanded to be a multi-week process or condensed down to a single day’s work depending on the magnitude of the project.
Let me know if you guys think this is something the community could benefit from.
Want to see this idea turned into a story?
12 people said yes. | 0 people said no.
Putcha V. Narasimham
3 Reputation points
Posted 2007/11/17 @ 21:37PM with
Matrix methods are effective in providing a comprehensive view of multiple factors involved and allowing drilling down to details (with a provision to get back). Although the details of Content Matrix are not known, it appears that it would be helpful.
I am reminded of “Customer Satisfaction Matrix” that is used to correlate “Features that customers value—F” and “The Means to Meet them—M”. By organizing F’s in decreasing order of value to customer and M’s in decreasing order of cost, most cost effective means can be selected and later incorporated. This is a simple tool of Total Quality Management, that has high pay off.
Putcha V. Narasimham (putchavn@yahoo.com)
Nathan Wall
1 Reputation points
Posted 2008/01/02 @ 00:54AM with
Your content matrix deliverable sounds similar to a project Ive been working on for a little while now for a government agency. I started working on the matrix approach as a means of assembling fragments of a larger design and development process into a framework that could be reused to rewrite about ten thousand pages of content.
At first glance I am following a process that is fairly similar to what you outline, but with perhaps one major difference – my step 3 extends the use of audience segment and site objectives and maps content back to customer tasks and goals while still accounting for desired business outcomes. Maybe the difference is in the detail?
Either way – I’d love to hear more.
Nathan Wall
Chris Moritz
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/04/14 @ 12:05PM with
Would be extremely useful imho. I can think of five different people (off the top of my head) at my organization that’d love to read it.
Jason Ford
13 Reputation points
Posted 2008/05/12 @ 10:54AM with
Hmmm…I’m not sure how this whole Ideas section is supposed to work. It seems like I’m supposed to wait from someone from BoxesandArrows to contact me before submitting the article – is that right? Does anyone have any insight into how this process works?
Amanda Abelove
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/05/19 @ 15:56PM with
I’d really like an object oriented content matrix… It is a PAIN to get it services clients to separate content and navigation from use cases.