They key to this, I think, is learning together; involving all stakeholders in user research and content design. This is supported by something Jo Wolfe asked us – to challenge ourselves to leave our preconceptions behind when starting a project. I think too often we start a project with a solution before really understanding the problem we\u2019re trying to fix.<\/p>\n
![\"Pair](\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/web\/files\/2017\/02\/agile-content-workshop.jpg\")
<\/a>Proof I was there – taking part in a pair writing activity<\/p><\/div>\n
Mental models help create empathy<\/h2>\n
In its simplest definition, a person\u2019s mental model is the way they look at the world. It\u2019s based on beliefs or assumptions about how things should work. Mental models are built up over time through experience. They are unique to an individual and change over time, as we gain more experience of different situations.<\/p>\n
We can gain an insight into someone\u2019s mental model through user research. This allows us to understand their motivations and concerns. It helps to create empathy and in turn, allows us to design content that meets their needs.<\/p>\n
Use principles to drive content creation<\/h2>\n
Lauren Pope and Sarah Jones from Brilliant Noise shared a case study from their work with American Express to streamline content creation and reuse through an editorial hub. They aligned the work of multinational content production teams through a clearly defined purpose and set of principles.<\/p>\n
The principle that stands out to me is this:<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly AmEx can do this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s a bold statement about the importance of producing unique content. Something that I\u2019m painfully aware of in the HE sector is the number of university websites that are just carbon copies of each other. Whenever we create new content for our sites we need to ask \u201cwhat makes us unique?\u201d and use that to tell a story.<\/p>\n
Solve fewer problems better<\/h2>\n
This nugget of wisdom comes from Alex Watson, a product manager for BBC News. It\u2019s pretty clear what it means, and I\u2019m sure most of us would be likely to dismiss it as a given. And perhaps that\u2019s the problem. We can get so swept along on a treadmill of things we need to get done, that sometimes we lose quality in the work we\u2019re doing. I\u2019m going to make a commitment to myself to do fewer things better. Will you join me?<\/p>\n
\nImage credit:<\/strong> Paul Clarke on Flickr<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the end of January, I attended the Agile Content Conference in London. With the overall theme of collaboration, I was excited to pick up some practical tips to improve our work with colleagues in schools and services. Here are … Continue reading