Architecting content strategy through an inventory, audit and framework
Developing an overarching content strategy for multiple software tools across a project portfolio
How architecting a content strategy helps a construction industry SAAS
Procore Technologies is a B2B SAAS company focused on improving the lives of everyone in the construction industry through tools that connect teams and help get things done.
As the senior content designer supporting the project management and quality and safety (PMQS) product team, I'm an embedded member of the team working with a team that includes:
- Product designers
- Product managers
- UX researchers
- UI designers
Content Inventories and Audits
The first step to truly becoming embedded on a product content team is understanding just WHAT content there is and the state it's in.
However...
A content inventory of "the words" in one of the multiple software products the PMQS team works on had never been done before.
Neither had any content audits.
Content Strategy to the Rescue!
I led the charge to define project scope and goals. The project milestones included:
- Content Inventories: poking under the hood at all the product content for four software tools: RFIs, Submittals, Schedules, and Inspections
- Content Audits: applying a critical lens through my own content audit methodology that combined both traditional UX heuristics as well as a classification system for errors and suggestions for new content or UX improvements
- User Research and Personas: In parallel with work on the content inventory and audit, I was involved in workshops with current users to hear feedback on in-flight product features and the work being done to modernize several software products. This research along with my explorations of the content and workflows of each tool informed a few personas I developed to share with the team.
- Content Strategy: high-level recommendations across content for my product partners to consider in their work. The content strategy also included teaching moments to help inform product designers and other key stakeholders on the ways in which content can be used to improve the user experience, such as by allowing for appropriate context in the flow.
- Socialization and Implementation: My findings were shared with my Product Design, UX Research, and Product Management peers across the PMQS division as well as the content design team. The inventory and audit spreadsheet were also shared with the engineering teams as part of in-flight sprint work logged in Jira. That way, engineers were able to address content-specific recommendations and changes as they worked through their backlog.
Below are some selected artifacts from the project:
Content Strategy
At the same time as I worked on the content inventory and audit, I also was involved in workshops with current users to hear feedback on in-flight product features and the work being done to modernize several software products within the PMQS suite of software products.
This research along with my explorations of the content and workflows of each tool informed a few personas I developed to share as part of my overarching content strategy presentation for the team.
