RECLAIM THE USER EVOLVING FROM INFORMATION CREATION TO INFORMATION EXPERIENCE LAVANYA KRISHNAMURTHY AND SANDEEP MEDIKONDA CA TECHNOLOGIES © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

AGENDA Reality Check! Ground Reality Survey results Content Journey Expectation vs Experience Connecting the Dots Evolution of Information Experience © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

REALITY CHECK (TRUE/FALSE) Product documentation is the only content that a customer sees Product content is only created by product documentation team. I know exactly what my product is marketed for? I know where the users are facing issues with content.

GROUND REALITY Product content includes all the product-related information that customers are exposed to. Different teams author different type of content for customers Datasheet Sales Deck Services Docs Education Courses User Interface Documentation Communities KB Articles User Journey Buyer Journey

DO WE ALL CONVEY THE SAME MESSAGE? © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

GROUND REALITY – SILO’ED CONTENT TEAMS

GROUND REALITY – EACH PAINTING A DIFFERENT PICTURE

EXPECTATION VS EXPERIENCE

DISCLAIMER None of the examples shown hereinafter are intended to show any person or company in bad light. Our aim is to help create awareness about the gaps, so that we can work towards fixing them.

TERMINOLOGY DIFFERENCES Datasheet Documentation © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

MISSING INFORMATION © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

MARKETING VS TECHNICAL CONTENT © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

MARKETING VS TECHNICAL CONTENT: INCONSISTENT MESSAGING © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

DISCRETE PLATFORMS - FINDABILITY PERILS © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

CONNECTING CONTENT VS MESSAGES Links to other product-related content Connects content in different platforms Connecting Messages Provide a consistent message across deliverables Use the same terminology Be on the same page in terms of business problems addressed and the solution offered

WHAT CAN YOU DO? BE THE CONNECTING LINK

STEP UP AND LEAD Collaborate with content creating teams Define the terminology Review the content and help fix the inconsistencies Go beyond traditional documentation © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

WHAT NEXT? Read up the Data Sheet for your product Pick one key feature Look for related documentation Assess the findability Check out the related content in Education courses and communities Present your analysis and suggestions to your Product Manager Collaborate with content creating teams and ensure consistent messaging across the board Promote content in communities

IMPROVING PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION Write an introduction for your product and the business problems it solves Use the key terms in the first 140 characters of an article. Restructure content based on key capabilities For new features, include the business context and the problem the feature solves

Evolving from information creation to information experience. KEY TAKEAWAYS Understanding the inconsistency in the information that an organization delivers to customers. Importance of consistent information and how it influences the brand value. Collaborating with different information creation teams to deliver consistent information. Evolving from information creation to information experience. © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

QUESTION HOUR © 2016, STC INDIA CHAPTER

Lavanya Krishnamurthy Sandeep Medikonda Lavanya.Krishnamurthy@ca.com Sandeepsamuel.medikonda.@ca.com