Successful Content Management 1

Successful
System MigrationContent Management
System Migration
For mature organizations with large volumes of Web content, migration to a new
content management system (CMS) is challenging in the best of conditions. For
international organizations with multiple country sites requiring localization and
translation, the successful deployment of a new content management system that does
not impact the existing business can be daunting.

In this paper, ThoughtMatrix shares our experiences in successfully migrating

large-scale Web environments to new content management systems.

www.thought-matrix.com
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System Migration

Are you ready to make a move?

Whether the organization is implementing content management for the
first time or looking to migrate from a legacy system, or proprietary CMS,
to a commercial or open source platform, it is important to lay the
groundwork before jumping into the initiative. The organization will have the
highest degree of success when it is properly prepared and has answered
some critical questions. The organization must not only review their
processes and policies, but also dig deeper into whether existing business
processes really meet their needs. We will review some of the critical
questions, the components of these questions and discuss the
most important considerations.
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Question 1: Who are the key stakeholders?

While this might seem relatively simple initially, the question needs to be
broken down into components to be answered properly because of the
numerous types of stakeholders involved in the overall process.
The following are the key stakeholders with regards to content migration:
»» Content Owners – Who is responsible for the content in different areas of the site? Are
there multiple owners? Are there creators, reviewers and approvers, or are they the same
person? The hands-on stakeholders involved with reviewing the content, determining
what changes need to be made, if any, and how to map the content from the existing
taxonomy to the new taxonomy must be determined and documented.
»» Functional Owners – While content and functionality may be distinct, the two are often
inseparable. Many functional areas of the site have databases or integrate with other
systems, or sources, that include a great deal of content. We must determine who is
responsible for the functionality and whether it will move to the new site, and if so, in
what form? In addition, an owner must be identified for any changes to the content.
»» Taxonomy and Information Architecture Owners – Taxonomy has the potential to
become an extremely complex endeavor. For organizations that require a deeper dive
into developing full-scale taxonomies, the key participants in the process must be
identified. For most organizations, we follow a process called Tactical Taxonomy™, a
streamlined process focused on leveraging taxonomy best practices while yielding
the maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time. In this case, the owner of the
information architecture needs to be identified.
»» Localization and Translation Owners – While not every organization has localized
content, it is increasingly common to find Enterprises supporting at least a subset of their
content for multiple geographic regions. The owner(s) of the regional content should be
identified and included in the process as early as possible.
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Question 2: How long will it take

to migrate my content?
Questions regarding time and cost are the most common, yet also the
most difficult to answer. Some content migration processes go quickly and
smoothly, while others are much more complex.
One of the biggest mistakes we see with many content migration plans is treating time
estimates as a general formula. When estimates are generated using something akin to
“there are 10,000 pages on the site, migration will take approximately 5 minutes per page,
resulting in 50,000 minutes, which is equivalent to 833 hours; therefore, 20 man-weeks are
required to complete the migration”, the project is already set up to fail. Determining the
complexity of content migration requires a detailed analysis of not only the structure, format
and storage of the existing content but also of the new site. Most content migration efforts
involve the redesign of the site as part of the initiative. A new site design usually requires a
new information architecture and navigation structure. As such, content must be mapped
to the new information architecture and those mappings are rarely clean. The multitude of
manual steps involving key stakeholders can be very time consuming.
In the past, this effort has often been performed using large spreadsheets passed between
different groups, a painstaking, error-prone process. To normalize this effort, an interim tool
can be used to capture all content out of the presentation or design and begin treating
content as data. The tool requires different roles and views, along with the assignment of
attributes, as well as a light workflow. Our experience with numerous different processes
has ultimately led us to the use of a simple database-oriented, open source content
management system that minimizes the dependency on the ultimate CMS target. This
allows us to begin preparing for a migration while a new CMS platform selection is still in
process, or the new environment is still awaiting procurement.
ThoughtMatrix has developed a set of tools – including our Content Scanner™ and Content
Mapping Engine™ – to automate and streamline much of this process. These tools are
independent of the target content management system, enabling the analysis and mapping
process to begin before the new CMS is in place. All content is then loaded into a database
and integrated with a set of tools to allow internal users to map and edit content in
anticipation of the migration without impacting the current site.
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Question 3: How should the new site be rolled

out without impacting the current site?
The answer to this question depends heavily on the type of site and the
complexity of the environment. Sites that are more “application–oriented”,
or those with a great deal of functionality and integration are much more
difficult to deploy than standalone sites, or relatively static sites. It is critical
to have a complete understanding of what really exists with respect to
content and functionality, whether the new content management system will
have a role in the functionality on the new site and how the functional and
content development lifecycles can be coordinated. Sites fall into different
areas of the following spectrum:

CONTENT-CENTRIC PERSONALIZED SITE APPLICATION-CENTRIC

Trivial Logic Dynamic Presentation Layer Complext, Transactional
Business Logic
No Concept of ‘Users’ No ‘True’ Business Logic
Multi-Tier, Multi-User
Language/Technology Search
Independent Completely Dynamic

The key things to assess are:

1. What type of site do you have and what are the components of the site? Is the site
primarily static content, or is there a great deal of functionality?
2. What type of content management system do you have? Does the CMS have a role in the
delivery or does it only support the content creation and workflow?
3. What are all the content sources? Is content in static HTML pages? Is there content in
databases, XML or some other format that can easily be fed to a new system?
4. If the site has a great deal of functionality, is the functionality being recast in the new
environment or remaining as is?
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Looking at your overall Web presence and how it is structured will help provide a guideline
for how to stage your deployment. The next step is to consider whether certain applications
or regions can be staged over time with a roadmap for the move, which will simplify the
overall process and mitigate the risk to the organization.
While there is no pre-defined answer for every organization, the following chart provides
some guidance on what to consider based on the type of site you have and the type of
content management system to which you are migrating:

Highly Dynamic Site Simple Functionality Static Site

Decoupled CMS Consider maintaining Assess whether If the long-term goal is

application the application to remain static, move
functionality and environment is all content into the CMS
modifying only sufficient for long- to simplify maintenance
deployment. term needs. Determine and take advantage of
whether now is the features/benefits of
time to reconsider new environment.
the platform.

Integrated CMS Majority of application Consider rebuilding All content should be

functionality will either as much functionality migrated into a new
need to be rebuilt on as possible on the CMS in as modular a
a new platform or new platform. fashion as possible.
migrated.

Once you have completed your assessment of the different functional areas and regions,
you can build a roadmap for your migration that is based on a combination of business
priority, complexity and budget.
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Question 4: How do I handle

localization and translation?
Depending on the size of the organization and the global reach, the
translation and localization efforts can become quite involved. Ultimately, the
typical situation involves understaffed regional groups with limited budgets
who receive English content and designs with a limited amount of time to
address localization. A few things to consider include:
1. Think globally. Many U.S.-based organizations tend to start content in U.S. English and
hand it off downstream. This can create issues with bi-directional updates and from a
process perspective. We recommend organizations create “global content” first, even
if it is in U.S. English and, then, localize it for all regions, including the U.S. With such
a process, the regions only receive content they need and any updates can easily be
handled in the workflow.
2. Develop simple, clear workflows and communication. If your organization has
localization and translation needs, the appropriate CMS should provide solid workflow
support that can streamline this process. The organization should initially examine the
localization and translation processes and determine how they can best be streamlined.
Gaps in the overall communication process between the regions are easily surfaced with
this first step. It is critical to note that not everything can be fixed through workflow
and triggered e-mails. A combination of workflow with triggered notifications and an
improved communication process will greatly improve the quality of the organization’s
output in this area.
3. Consider translation memory. Translation memory can reduce the overall translation
effort a great deal. Translation memory applications, such as Idiom’s WorldServer and
SDL’s Trados, are translation “learning” systems that ensure faster and more consistent
translation over time, which can be beneficial for any search engine optimization
campaigns. If your organization outsources most of the translation, which is very
common, consider using an organization that leverages a translation memory solution.
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Content Migration Starts Day One

One of the first things we always tell our clients is that content migration
starts the first day of the project. This is not an exaggeration. We have seen
CMS efforts where the system was ready but the projects have stalled up
to a year, or more, as the business was still struggling to create content.
More often than not, the content falls behind the implementation. Therefore,
thinking about the migration effort as beginning in the first phase of the
effort is invaluable.

Conclusion
While many other questions arise regarding when organizations consider
content migration, this paper addresses the most common ones with
the biggest impact on the overall effort. Organizations move to new
content management systems for a variety of reasons, however most
include productivity and flexibility as key considerations. A good CMS
implementation enables stakeholders to manage their own content, thereby
increasing the adoption of the CMS over time. Poor implementations, on
the other hand, tend to result in one or two people performing all the
updates for the rest of the organization. Businesses invest significantly in
creating content, but often end up with the content locked up in an HTML
page where it cannot be effectively reused and monetized. It is critical for
organizations to deploy the content in such a way that maximizes the use
of the content. Planning and communication are the foundation of any
good initiative. If you use the answers to the questions we have raised here,
conduct the proper planning and effectively communicate with all key
stakeholders, you will be on your way to a successful CMS implementation.
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About ThoughtMatrix
ThoughtMatrix is a leading digital design and development firm focused
on creating engaging, immersive digital experiences. As a team of senior
professionals with extensive expertise, we develop game-changing,
innovative technology solutions and marketing strategies for all things
digital. The founders of ThoughtMatrix have delivered successful, global Web
initiatives in many diverse environments and all have functioned as C-level
executives of corporations. We believe in long-term client relationships built
by following through on commitments and delivering value.

ThoughtMatrix, Inc.
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San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-217-0009
www.thought-matrix.com
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