Last week I finished up a short-term intensive project creating revisions and new content for the launch of three new websites for a mid-sized financial company. In order to reinforce their reputation for integrity and to extend their services to customers, the new websites include additional functionality and useful resources. Beyond the commonly available basic materials, these websites also encourage users to provide their contact information by requiring logins for access. This will help the company cement relationships with prospective clients.
The project was an unqualified success. With their cooperation, in a relatively short time I was able to develop an understanding of their industry, the company business model, and the target audiences for the content. This was only possible because the key stakeholders defined the project so well and provided me with the resources I needed to meet their needs.
Project Management for Content Providers
In truth, every business activity can be viewed as an ongoing or short-term project that needs to be managed. Because communications are a critical aspect of all corporate functions, many projects require content. Delivering well-designed content to support production, sales, marketing, finance, HR, and the other departments is very important. In some cases, content delivery is the entire project.
Companies often ask me about my availability and qualifications to provide communications, edit, or manage a content project. As I visit with them, sometimes the original scope seems to inflate and lose focus. This is dangerous for all parties because undefined benchmarks or deliverables decrease the likelihood that the objectives will be met.
Managing Your Content Project
Developing a new website is a good example of a content project. Like any project, the process begins with assessing the needs, formulating objectives and establishing the timeline and who the contributors will be. For a website, once the site navigation plan and page layout is determined, the programmers, graphic designers, and content developers can get going. Ideally, these contributors can work concurrently so that one aspect can inform the others.
As in any project, the process of content creation can be conceptualized broadly or with every step meticulously detailed. Project Managers understand that all projects begin with defining the scope, collecting resources, and then establishing the timeline and accountabilities. Managing the project involves facilitating communications with stakeholders and monitoring progress throughout the duration of the project.
7 Steps to Successful Content Projects
1. Create actionable objectives that are measurably defined and achievable but consistent with the broad Strategic Communications Plan.
For instance, if the overall goal is to create a comprehensive employee handbook for an organization, develop more limited sub-projects within the larger project. Producing the overall content document will involve many departments and contributors so it can seem overwhelming unless it is broken into smaller pieces that have shorter time frames and reduced outcomes. That can be much more easily be managed.
2. Consider using the actionable objectives as sub-phases of the larger content project.
This breaks a potentially overwhelming undertaking into discrete parts that can more easily achieved.
3. Prioritize the intermediate projects.
In most cases it is advisable to start with the less resource intensive, shorter duration sub-projects that yield more immediate returns. That provides
- Experience that can applied to more complicated projects.
- Confidence about the productivity of the overall project
- Enthusiasm that will build support from constituents
- Income that will help extend project resources
4. Limit the number of concurrent projects that are in progress.
Too many separate activities undermine communications and the management of time, money, and responsibilities. Large numbers of related projects cannot be handled by one overall project manager and increasing the layers of supervision of different pieces will result in waste. (This is consistently sited as that reason the website for the Affordable Care Act has failed. The time frame for the overall project was so large and all the subdivisions were handled separately. Communications between the different teams were difficult to impossible.)
5. Establish responsibilities, clear lines of communication and a spirit of collaboration.
This is impossible without influential project champions who provide the impetus for active participation. Their support will actively encourage commitment from all the stakeholders and that will translate into more enthusiastic contributions to the project. Make sure that both formal and informal communication channels are open and that everyone understands where their responsibilities begin and end and relate to all the other aspects of the job. (Again, think about the website for the Affordable Care Act.)
6. Provide active oversight throughout the life of the content project.
Follow-up regularly with each project contribution team and supervisors with updates and adjustments so that all deadlines and resource limitations are monitored and met.
7. Wrap-up sub-projects with debriefing sessions that include all participants and also the key stakeholders for subsequent phases of the larger project.
There is a lot to be learned after a content project closes. Mistakes are inevitable and provide valuable insights going forward. This is the best way to give feedback to contributors and strengthen active participation in the future.
Managing far-reaching content projects is tricky because, as the scope extends, so do the risks. Tightly defining and managing the different aspects will increase the probability that the overall project objectives can be met as efficiently and pleasantly as possible. Success is productively meeting corporate content needs.
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