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Title:
The Content Management Handbook
Review:
Martin White is the Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd
. He has long experience of the
introduction of content management technology in different sectors,
experience that he shares in the Content Management Handbook.
For White, content is 'the building block of information, and so at
least [of] explicit knowledge'. As he records, in today's competitive
world, the effective use of information can make the difference
between the success or failure of an organisation. In practice,
however, 'granular information' (content) is all too often held in a
range of formats, applications and systems, and managed in discrete
areas.
To obtain maximum benefit from its content, an organisation needs the
capability to manage it coherently and effectively. This capability,
White argues, should be expressed in a corporate Content Management
Strategy, and delivered via a Content Management System (the reader
will be relieved to know that the range of possible definitions of the
acronym CMS is addressed early on!). In the Handbook, White takes the
reader through the development of a corporate strategy, considers the
options for the system or systems that will realise it, and finally
looks at the practicalities involved in implementing those systems to
achieve strategic goals.
White argues that the implementation of content management technology
must be approached systematically, as a project in its own right,
rather than as an 'add on' for staff, and his experience shows as he
clearly and logically sets out the steps involved to the delivery of
the system(s) concerned. He places less emphasis on the softer aspects
of implementation such as change management, and on post
implementation evaluation and review. Throughout, however, he
successfully balances the practical (the nuts and bolts of
implementing the technology) with a watchful focus on strategic
objectives (the desired business benefits).
This is a practical guide, rather than a doorstep-sized volume seeking
to address every aspect of its subject in exhaustive detail. To this
end, every chapter includes a summary and list of further references,
and the final chapter offers a selection of books and websites for
those seeking further information. The Handbook is also liberally
provided with useful checklists and guides - everything from sample
questions for an audit of information use, and outline plans for
vendor presentations, to advice on preparing a business case and
developing a statement of requirements.
The Content Management Handbook covers a lot of ground in less than
150 (sometimes rather densely packed) pages. It pulls no punches in
making it clear that the effective implementation of content
management technology across an organisation is a lengthy and involved
process. This said, following the practical advice it provides will
undoubtedly help ensure that key concerns are addressed, and
unpleasant or unexpected surprises minimised, along the way.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Steve Lee is Web Content Manager for Consumer Direct. Consumer Direct
is a telephone and online consumer advice service supported by the
Department of Trade and Industry. It was launched in mid-2004 and will
ultimately be rolled out across England, Scotland and Wales.
Before taking up his present post, he held a range of information
management posts in British Trade International (now UK Trade &
Investment), including information researcher, database and website
manager, and Information Manager for the organisation's Freedom of
Information Act Publication Scheme.
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