What is content strategy

3. How to align content in an agile workflow

Traditionally, content life cycles were not iterative. Publishing tended to be a rather linear process: the managing editor assigned the story; the writer researched and wrote it; the editor edited it; the designer laid it out; the publisher printed and distributed it. For large web projects, content was almost an afterthought. It came into play only after design templates and wireframes were all approved and ready for development. It basically replaced lorem ipsum.

But times are changing. Businesses are realizing the importance of a content-first strategy. Content creators now work alongside cross-functional teams and are an integral part of agile workflows.

And even though content has traditionally been linear, according to Brendan Murray, a Dublin-based content manager and former journalist, the content landscape inherently has many of the characteristics of an agile environment.

To make his point, he offers the following scenarios:

• A story is breaking on social media and you need to get your brand involved as soon as possible.
• A new source emerges with vital information just as you’re about to publish.
• A massive national breaking-news story consigns your lovingly crafted PR campaign to the scrap heap.
• A deadline one month away is pulled forward by two weeks, throwing workflows into chaos.

In other words, content creators are no stranger to rapidly changing requirements and constraints, just as in agile development. Deadlines, Murray suggests can be viewed in the same terms as sprints. The key to content teams understanding agile iteration is helping them view content like building blocks, where each communication makes up a larger message and that message becomes more honed, focused, and optimized over time.

How can developers and designers accommodate content is an agile workflow? Well, for starters, during a new build, refuse to accept lorem ipsum text. Insist on receiving a first draft of the actual content that will appear in the finished product.

If you’re using a content-first strategy, this will go without saying. But even if you’re not, the early content iteration will help focus your design and find greater acceptance with stakeholders. It will help them better visualize the end product and, most importantly, gives your team a first draft to build on to initiate the conversation with stakeholders—marketing, sales, data analysts—who need to give feedback on the process. Their feedback may be as simple as a bunch of questions.

Encourage content strategists and creators to view each unit in the content-production process as a single step on the path to your final goal rather than an end in itself. This fosters early and continuous development, frequent delivery, iterative pieces of output, and sustainability, all of which are cornerstones of the agile approach.

This approach can help put content where it ideally belongs ― at the heart of development and UX. Even when other workflows are in play (waterfall, for example), make sure content milestones are agreed upon early and allow stakeholders to periodically see exactly what’s going on. When content, design and development don’t work in silos, there’s much more agility, transparency and flexibility in the process, and a much higher buy-in from the client. When you work together, you’ll realize you’re advocates for each other’s work, rather than adversaries who resist healthy input. There’s much more empathy and camaraderie. It’s much more fun!

This open, documented approach also works great when content isn’t directly feeding into a new build, but is part of an ongoing, business-as-usual workflow. It sets a powerful precedent and showcases how iteration can be easily tracked on both development and content sides, providing an early focus on regular milestones.