Imagine you're about to buy a new car: at first, the wealth of options seems limitless. Which type, which make, which model, and which options best suits my requirements?
If you don't want to rely solely on advertising and want to benefit from as much objective information as possible, you have to do a lot: check reviews, take test drives, read specialist magazines, compare offers, and much more. This takes time and doesn't always make the decision easier in the end. Information managers who are looking for the right Content Management System for their department face very similar challenges. The advantage in this case is that an independent specialist service provider for technical documentation can provide targeted support when comparing systems, and therefore make the selection process much easier. We'll show you how this works in the following article.
It all starts with a vision
Hidden costs, technical problems, and the risk of making the wrong choice - if you want to introduce new software, you naturally think about everything that could go wrong. The good news is that with the right strategy and good preparation, such problems can be effectively avoided. To do this successfully, you should start the selection process with a precise analysis of your specific situation.
In concrete terms, this means that you should first clarify what you want to achieve with the new system. Formulate the concrete goals of your department and specify the direction you'd like to pursue with your technical documentation in the future. Ideally, you should bring your technical editorial team and management together for this kick-off.
The requirements analysis
Based on this vision, you can now define your specific requirements for the new CMS. My recommendation: Don't waste any time calculating the basics of technical authoring within your team. Every good CMS accomplishes standard functions such as modularisation and versioning. You therefore don't need to include these in your list of requirements. Instead, concentrate on the unique selling points that are important to you and that only a few specific systems out there can offer.
Important questions in this context can be, for example:
Which functions are essential for the daily work of my team?
Which technical editorial processes - e.g. multi-stage approvals or automatic checking of terminology - must the system be able to implement?
Which publication formats does the system need to support?
Which interfaces to other systems do we need in the long term?
If you're unsure exactly where your team currently stands and where the journey should take you in the future, external consulting expertise can help. In our customer projects, for example, we use on-site workshops to examine the goals, wishes, and requirements of the team and other departments. This opens up new perspectives on your own processes and helps to incorporate the viewpoints of all relevant stakeholders.
Finding the right system – quickly and easily
With the list of requirements in hand, it's time to move on to the hot phase of system selection. If you go it alone, you now have a lot of work ahead of you. Systems need to be analysed and their functions need to be compared with the list of requirements. As detailed information on the technical features of the systems is generally not freely available, you first have to ask the vendors for it. The research phase is an additional burden that should not be underestimated, especially in your stressful daily routine. Therefore, support from an external partner can also be a sensible solution here.
The big advantage of this approach: As a documentation service provider, we work with various systems in a wide variety of projects on a daily basis and have a correspondingly sound knowledge of tools. This enables us to identify suitable systems and highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of individual solutions, regardless of the vendor. What's more, because we know the exact functional scope of the systems, the research phase is eliminated and the selection process is considerably shortened.
We usually present the results of our system comparison to your team and your management in a joint meeting. This allows us to present the system we recommend to you in detail and explain what led to our decision. We not only focus on the technical specifications, but also analyse the soft factors when comparing systems and vendors – such as the response time and quality of support.
A test drive is worthwhile
Regardless of whether you're buying a car or a system – nothing is more revealing than a practical test under real-life conditions. My recommendation is therefore: take your time and test your favourite system with specific use cases from your day-to-day technical editorial work. This will help your team to better understand what it's really like to work with the system. Please note: a bit of typing here and there is not enough during the test phase. Plan enough time for the test – about one-to-three weeks, depending on the size of your team and the number of requirements – and prepare well for the test phase within your team.
What's important in the test phase:
Think about which typical (and perhaps also atypical) workflows you'd like to try out.
Document your test results and those of your colleagues in a structured way and evaluate them together.
Check whether a (semi-)automatic import of your data into the new system works and how much manual rework is still required afterwards.
Talk to your IT department and make sure that the system, hosting model, and data security meet your company's internal requirements.
Be sure to test the response times and quality of support during the test period. Even the best system is of no use if you have to wait a long time for problems to be resolved.
My conclusion: expert help saves time
In my consulting projects, it's been shown time and again that having an external partner search for the right Content Management System saves a lot of time. Of course, the actual amount of time saved always depends on the individual situation of a technical editorial team. In principle, however, it's possible to have only a few weeks between the start of the project and the final system recommendation. Another advantage: if you receive professional advice, you reduce the risk of important requirements being overlooked and ending up with a system that is not the best fit for your needs.
Do you need help with the selection or implementation of a Content Management System? Then please feel free to contact me to arrange for a free consultation.
