Volume 1

Issue 3

September 2004

Editorial The Wonders of Technology! A resounding theme throughout this issue of The Rockley Report is "technology does not a successful content management implementation make!" Yet, technology is important, important enough for us to devote an entire issue to it, exploring topics such as the impact of technology on information architecture, the impact of technology on its users, and the impact of XML on authoring, specifically the role of XBRL. Steve Manning with Diane Mueller-Klingspor, who is currently heading up the XML and XBRL efforts at BusinessObjects help us to understand XBRL's role in a content management strategy. For an expert's view on the role of technology, we turned to Tony Byrne, Founding Editor of CMS Watch and president of CMSWorks, Inc., a USA-based content management consulting and training firm. CMSWatch.com provides an independent source of information, trends, opinion, and analysis about Web Content Management solutions, including information about related technologies, such as XML, digital asset management, and content syndication. Besides residing over CMSWatch.com and being principal author of the CMS Report, Byrne helps organizations identify and select appropriate CMS technologies. He definitely qualifies for as an "expert" when it comes to understanding CMS technology and in our feature article, "Tony Byrne Talks Technology." We also look to James Robertson, Managing Director of Step Two Designs, a vendor-neutral content management consultancy located in Australia. Robertson is also the author of the Content Management Requirements Toolkit and provides us with his "Best Practices for Selecting a CMS." However, if you want to be a position to select a CMS, you have to make a business case for it, and Steve Huffman and Janice Jones from Medtronic Core Neurological take us through their step-by-step approach that won them approval for their content management system and their project to implement it. Technology also has a way of not realizing its potential, and companies often have to compromise, especially when they choose their tools up front, then attempt to develop a content management strategy that will work with their chosen tools. Kelly McCurry and Tim Wilkes, from Scratchcat Communication Consulting in Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), describe their experiences developing an intranet content management strategy for one of their clients, learning when to compromise and on what, given the clients' selected tools. And, as always, Scott Abel provides us with a look at goings on and valuable resources in the content management world. Mark your calendars for the upcoming Gilbane Conference on Content Management Technologies (Nov. 30 to Dec. 2), during which CM Professionals (a newly formed, international community of content management practitioners) will hold their first summit. We welcome your feedback. Please send comments, as well as suggestions for stories in future issues to kostur@rockley.com. Our Call for Submissions describes the kind of stories we're looking for and how you can submit articles for publication in future issues.