Column: So, What Is A Content Management System?

KM
COLUMN
JUNE 2003
So, what is a content management

system?
A content management system (CMS) is critical to the success of almost every website
and intranet, and yet many organisations are
not familiar with this technology.
So, while we have written many articles on
a range of specific CMS issues and strategies,
we now take a step back to answer the question: what is a content management system?
In this article we will focus on web content
management, and will only touch upon
broader content issues at the end of the document.
The business problem
CMS: A working definition

A content management system (CMS) supports the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and discovery of corporate
information.
It covers the complete lifecycle of the pages
on your site, from providing simple tools to
create the content, through to publishing,
and finally to archiving.
It also provides the ability to manage the
structure of the site, the appearance of the
published pages, and the navigation provided to the users.
You have a website, or intranet. It has grown

organically over time, and while it is very
useful, it is far from perfect.
Note that we are focusing on the most common use of a CMS: to manage web content.
In some circles, these systems are therefore
called web management systems (WMS).
Much of the content is out-of-date or inaccurate, its hard to find things, updating the site
is complex, and the appearance is becoming
dated.
Content management systems can be much

broader than this, but we wont touch upon
these aspects until later.
Worse yet, youve lost track of all the pages

on the site, and by having all the changes
made by your skilled webmaster, the updates are piling up in their in-tray.
Business benefits
What was on the site last week, or last year?

You couldnt say. In the back of your mind,
you know that this could leave you in a difficult position if a customer sues, but there is
little that you can do.
streamlined authoring process
If this sounds grim, you are not alone. In

fact, its the natural by-product of maintaining a site using manual tools such as
Dreamweaver or Frontpage.
improved site navigation
Thankfully, these problems are what a content management system is specifically designed to solve.
increased security
There are a wide range of business benefits

that can be obtained by implementing a
CMS, including:
faster turnaround time for new pages and
changes
greater consistency
increased site flexibility
support for decentralised authoring
reduced duplication of information
greater capacity for growth
reduced site maintenance costs
About the author

James Robertson is the managing director of Step Two Designs, a knowledge management and content management consultancy based in Australia. James specialises in
intranets, content management strategy, information architecture and usability.
Beyond these, the greatest benefit the CMS

can provide is to support your business goals
and strategies.
For example, the CMS can help to improve
sales, increase user satisfaction, or assist in
communicating with the public.
Copyright 2005, Step Two Designs Pty Ltd www.steptwo.com.au

knowledge management content management intranets usability information architecture
Publishing
Content
Creation
Content
Management
Anatomy of a CMS
The functionality of a content management
system can be broken down into several
main categories:
content creation
content management
publishing
presentation
Each of these will be explored in the following sections.
The CMS manages the entire

lifecycle of pages, from
creation to archival
Content creation
At the front of a content management system
is an easy-to-use authoring environment, designed to work like Word. This provides a
non-technical way of creating new pages or
updating content, without having to know
any HTML.
The CMS also allows you to manage the
structure of the site. That is, where the pages
go, and how they are linked together. Many
even offer simple drag-and-drop restructuring of the site, without breaking any links.
Almost all content management systems
now provide a web-based authoring environment, which further simplifies implementation, and allows content updating to
be done remotely.
It is this authoring tool that is the key to the
success of the CMS. By providing a simple
mechanism for maintaining the site, authoring can be devolved out into the business itself. For example, your marketing manager
Presentation
maintains the press release section, while

your product manager keeps the catalogue
up to date.
Content management
Once a page has been created, it is saved into
a central repository in the CMS. This stores
all the content of the site, along with the other supporting details.
This central repository allows a range of useful features to be provided by the CMS:
Keeping track of all the versions of a
page, and who changed what and when.
Ensuring that each user can only change
the section of the site they are
responsible for.
Integration with existing information
sources and IT systems.
Most importantly, the CMS provides a range
of workflow capabilities. These are best explained by giving an example:
When the page is created by an author, it is
automatically sent to their manager for approval, and then to the central web team for
their editorial review. It is finally sent to the
legal team for their sign-off, before being automatically published to the site.
At each step, the CMS manages the status of
the page, notifying the people involved, and
escalating jobs where required.
In this way, the workflow capabilities allow
more authors to be involved in the management of the site, while maintaining strict
control over the quality, accuracy and consistency of the information.
Workflow rules bring order to

the chaos of manual processes
So, what is a content management system? Page 2

Publishing
Enterprise content management
Once the final content is in the repository, it

can then be published out to either the website or intranet.
There is also a relationship between content

management systems and other information
systems within an organisation, including:
Content management systems boast powerful publishing engines which allow the appearance and page layout of the site to be
applied automatically during publishing. It
may also allow the same content to be published to multiple sites.
document management
Of course, every site looks different, so the

CMS lets the graphic designers and web developers specify the appearance that is applied by the system.
These publishing capabilities ensure that
the pages are consistent across the entire
site, and enable a very high standard of appearance.
This also allows the authors to concentrate
on writing the content, by leaving the look of
the site entirely to the CMS.
The CMS fully automates the

publishing of your site
records management
digital asset management
At present, these are typically sold as separate systems, and achieving interoperability
between them is not easy.
Some progress is being made with the creation of so-called enterprise content management systems (ECMS), which combine
together a central content management system with other tools to manage the full range
of content that exists within your organisation.
These systems are relatively immature, however, and there is not much agreement about
what they should encompass. This is certainly a market that will evolve rapidly over
the next few years.
Take the time to pick the best

product to meet your needs
Presentation
The content management system can also
provide a number of features to enhance the
quality and effectiveness of the site itself.
As an example, the CMS will build the site
navigation for you, by reading the structure
straight out of the content repository.
It also makes it easy to support multiple
browsers, or users with accessibility issues.
The CMS can be used to make your site dynamic and interactive, thereby enhancing
the sites impact.
Beyond the web

So far, we have concentrated on the creation
of HTML content for corporate websites or
intranets. While this is the strongest aspect
of most content management systems, many
can do much more.
Central to the power of many systems is the
concept of single source publishing, where
a single topic can be published automatically into different formats.
This could include printed formats (PDF,
Word, etc), wireless/hand-held formats
(WAP, etc), or XML.
CMS marketplace
This article has presented a general overview of typical content management system
capabilities, and how they can be used to
benefit your business.
In the marketplace at present, there are literally hundreds of content management systems, all having different capabilities and
strengths.
This is the nature of a rapidly changing marketplace: while there are many very good
products, there is little consistency between
vendors.
Our single best piece of advice: take the time
to determine your business requirements,
and then comprehensively evaluate the
products on the market against them.
Every organisation has a unique set of requirements for a content management system, and there is no one-size-fits-all
solution. By allocating sufficient time and
resources to selecting the CMS, you can be
confident that you have the best possible solution.

Conclusion
Other articles of interest
Content management systems are relatively

new in the market, and while many are still
not familiar with them, they have the potential to dramatically simplify the maintenance of both websites and intranets.
Centralised or decentralised authoring?
This article has given a high-level overview

of CMS capabilities. For more information
on specific CMS issues or aspects, browse
through the other articles available on our
website (www.steptwo.com.au).
Putting metadata to work
For example, you will probably find our article How to evaluate a CMS to be very useful
when investigating specific products on the
market.
Losing sight of the content in a CMS

What are the goals of a CMS?
Why every small website needs a CMS
Metrics for content management &
knowledge management
Is it document management or content
management?
A CM project presents unique challenges
More articles!
Did you like this article?
Find out when new papers are published:

www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe
Send your thoughts and feedback to:

jamesr@steptwo.com.au
Step Two DESIGNS

www.steptwo.com.au contact@steptwo.com.au
knowledge management content management intranets

Content Management
Requirements Toolkit
Fully-revised, and almost twice the size, the new
version of the Content Management Requirements
Toolkit captures the latest thinking in the content
management industry. In addition to the expanded
range of requirements, the Toolkit now provides a
comprehensive guide to writing CMS scenarios, as
well as a detailed overview of the whole selection
process.
Choosing a content management system (CMS) is not

easy. There are hundreds of products in the
marketplace, all with highly-variable capabilities. In
this rapidly-evolving environment, the challenge is to
find the CMS that best matches your business needs.
The Content Management Requirements Toolkit
provides a comprehensive starting point for identifying
the business and technical requirements that will drive
your selection process.
It contains 133 fully-developed requirements, across
five main categories.
n content creation
The single best

resource for rapidly
creating an effective
tender and selecting
the right CMS.
n content management
n publishing
n presentation
n contract & business
These ready to use requirements can be cut-andpasted directly into your tender document. This will
save you days of work, and is an invaluable checklist to
ensure that no critical requirements are missed.
Clear and concise, these requirements have been
distilled from real-world experience, and reflect actual
business needs.
Version 2.0
Fully-downloadable package
123 pages, August 2004
US$ 550.00
Step Two
DESIGNS
CMSLIFECYCLE
Produced and published by Step Two Designs
For more information on the Requirements Toolkit,

sample pages, and secure online ordering, visit:
www.steptwo.com.au

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KM

So, what is a content management

The business problem

CMS: A working definition

You have a website, or intranet. It has grown

Content management systems can be much

Worse yet, youve lost track of all the pages

What was on the site last week, or last year?

streamlined authoring process

If this sounds grim, you are not alone. In

improved site navigation

There are a wide range of business benefits

About the author

Beyond these, the greatest benefit the CMS

Copyright 2005, Step Two Designs Pty Ltd www.steptwo.com.au

The CMS manages the entire

maintains the press release section, while

Workflow rules bring order to

So, what is a content management system? Page 2

Enterprise content management

Once the final content is in the repository, it

There is also a relationship between content

Of course, every site looks different, so the

The CMS fully automates the

Take the time to pick the best

Beyond the web

So, what is a content management system? Page 3

Other articles of interest

Content management systems are relatively

Centralised or decentralised authoring?

This article has given a high-level overview

Putting metadata to work

Losing sight of the content in a CMS

Did you like this article?

Find out when new papers are published:

Send your thoughts and feedback to:

Step Two DESIGNS

So, what is a content management system? Page 4

Choosing a content management system (CMS) is not

The single best

Produced and published by Step Two Designs

For more information on the Requirements Toolkit,

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