Get ready to publish with us
Thank you for partnering with the Content Design team! We’re thrilled to work with you in creating and maintaining your content.
To facilitate seamless collaboration, we have a defined process.
Scoping the work
Before we start on any project, we’ll schedule a discovery conversation. This conversation allows us to understand your needs, the scope of the work and helps us estimate the work requirements.
The more detail you can provide at this stage, the better we can plan and execute our shared vision.
We may have already had an introductory call with someone on your team, but we consider the discovery conversation our first official meeting.
Information we need from you
Project overview
A general description of the project, its purpose and its context within your broader goals.
Constraints
Potential limitations or challenges that we should be aware of, such as organizational and technological constraints.
Objectives
Clear, specific objectives that you want to achieve. Examples of these might include engagement, awareness, content clarity or increasing your user base.
Stakeholders
Information about who will be involved in the project from your side. This includes their roles and how they will be contributing to the project.
Content needs
Details about the type of content you need and an estimate of the volume of content required.
Timeline
An estimated timeline for the project, including key milestones and deadlines.
Required documentation
We require certain documents to be in place to maintain a smooth project flow. This includes:
- Current or existing content
- Subject matter information (could be internal documents)
- Any previously completed design research
Rules of engagement
Our rules of engagement are in place to foster open communication, ensure vision alignment and maintain productivity throughout this collaborative process.
Defined roles and responsibilities
To foster organizational efficiency, it’s important that your team establishes and agrees on who is responsible for specific tasks, decision-making and final approvals throughout the process.
We are happy to work with your designated contact.
We ask that this person keeps your team informed and updated on the work that’s happening and schedules review and approval meetings with managers and directors as required.
Share relevant information
Provide all the necessary information and context the Content Design team needs to understand the project requirements.
Receiving information late in the process slows down our work and often means revisiting decisions that have already been approved.
Embrace expertise
We firmly believe in cultivating an environment of mutual respect and professionalism. It’s important to acknowledge that our teams are working together as part of a larger ecosystem to achieve our goals, and that we all have a valuable role to play.
You are an expert in your product, service or technology. We are experts in content design and plain language. Together, we can create content that makes sense to everyone.
Provide timely and constructive feedback
When reviewing content drafts, provide clear and constructive feedback within the agreed upon timeframes.
Focus on the content’s alignment with the project goals and objectives, rather than personal preferences.
If your content requires legal review, let us know as soon as possible so we can work this into our schedule.
Set realistic timelines and expectations
Together, we’ll establish realistic timelines for content creation, review cycles and final delivery.
Be mindful of our team’s workload and availability. Avoid last-minute requests or excessive changes that may impact quality or deadlines.
Embrace iteration and continuous improvement
Understand that content creation is an iterative process.
We encourage ongoing collaboration, learning and improvement.
Be open to refining and iterating on the content based on user feedback or evolving project needs.
Our writing process
At the heart of every success content design process lies a well-defined, systematic approach. This is why we’ve carefully crafted a comprehensive 5-step writing process, designed to make sure the content we create aligns perfectly with your vision and goals.
Step 1: We review your information
We begin with an in-depth review of all the information you provide. This could include existing written content, user data and presentations. Our objective is to understand your content and content goals thoroughly.
Step 2: Interviews with subject matter experts
To ensure accuracy and depth of content, we may need to conduct interviews with subject matter experts on your team. This could include product owners, analysts or frontline staff.
This step is crucial for us to obtain a nuanced understanding of your product or service, which in turn enables us to produce content that is both technically sound and user-friendly.
Step 3: We draft the information architecture
Once we have a firm understanding of the topic you wish to communicate, we’ll start shaping the skeleton of your content. This is known as the information architecture (IA).
The IA outlines how the content will be structured and organized, creating a coherent and logical user journey. We’ll share this draft IA with you for approval.
Step 4: Content development and iterative approvals
Upon your approval of the IA, we’ll move to creating the actual content.
We believe in a collaborative and iterative process, so we’ll send you draft content within a test website environment at various stages. This allows for continuous feedback and adjustments, making sure the content matches your expectations and needs.
This approach minimizes surprises, reduces the need for major revisions and makes sure the final product is a true reflection of your requirements.
Step 5: Final review and approval
Once we have refined the draft content based on your feedback, we will send it to you for a final review. This is your opportunity to provide any further feedback and request minor changes.
Once we have addressed your requested edits, we’ll present the final draft for your approval. Only after we receive your green light will we consider the content ready for publishing.
Project management practices
Our project management practices revolve around 3 key principles to propel project success: defined deadlines, weekly check-ins and ongoing support.
Deadlines
During the discovery conversation, we’ll agree on key project milestones and deadlines.
These might include deadlines for providing initial content drafts, feedback, revisions and final approval. We’re dedicated to setting timelines that are both realistic and beneficial for both parties.
Weekly check-ins
We believe in the principle of early and frequent communication.
As part of this commitment, we offer a flexible and accessible approach to weekly communications. Check-ins can occur through a Microsoft Teams meeting or a comprehensive email update on a designated day of each week. These check-ins serve as an opportunity to exchange information, address any obstacles or concerns and share project updates.
Ongoing support
Our partnership doesn’t end once the content is live. We offer ongoing support based on team capacity and needs which may include:
- Monitoring user feedback
- Front-end training on our WordPress platform
- Working with teams to make updates or improve user experience as required
- Ensuring the content remains relevant and effective