Toc08 Goldthwaite Digitizing Your Backlist

O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference February 13, 2008 Rebecca Goldthwaite Director, Strategic Partner Management – Cengage Learning <xml> Digitizing Your Backlist Tutorial </xml>

1300 titles [textbooks, lab manuals, workbooks, etc.] 187,000 pages Mixed content sources [Quark, PDF, OEB, Word, etc.] 1 internal project manager 10 internal technical point persons 3 offshore vendors Publisher-supplied onsite training Internal & external QA Tracking database w/web interface Backlist Project Background

1 Why Digitize Your Backlist? 2 Content Analysis & Business Decisions 3 The Backlist Project Team 4 Backlist Project Management 5 What’s Next? Digitizing Your Backlist Tutorial

1 Why Digitize Your Backlist? <?xml?>

Media-neutral Agile Format-agnostic Responsive Flexible Proactive

Media-neutral content Quick updates New business models Custom publishing Localized products Accelerated to-market schedules Meet accessibility requirements / needs 1 Why digitize your backlist?

Many products from one content base Content readiness critical to keep up with evolving technology Standardized structure/tags is critical Reuse of assessment materials Media-neutral content

Web vs. print publishing Accuracy-sensitive disciplines Time-sensitive subject areas Technology-specific subject areas Collaborative publishing Collaboration vs. control Revision cycles Quick updates

Long Tail publishing strategies eBooks Subscriptions Electronic product [web, mobile, iPod] Apple Learning Interchange http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/ New business models

Death of the Frankenbook Custom curricula Ancillary products from core books Licensing & certification test banks / study aids State- or accreditation-specific products Customized publishing

Unit conversions, localized spellings Easily create alternate editions Lower cost/increased revenue in the international textbook market Localized products

Offer entire product family simultaneously Share digital content between product types with confidence Use standard designs & automated composition to speed production cycle Accelerated to-market schedules

Braille Large print DAISY talking books Audio files [text-to-speech transformations] Interactive eBooks Meet accessibility requirements/needs

National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard [NIMAS]: http://nimas.cast.org Digital Accessible Information SYstem [DAISY]: http:// www.daisy.org Web Accessibility Initiative: http://www.w3.org/WAI Adobe: http:// www.adobe.com /accessibility Section 508: http://www.section508.gov & http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist Accessibility links

Organize & inventory your content Get to know your content Establish content standards Decide how to handle complex content 2 Content analysis

Catalog content Source materials Printed books/journals, PDFs, application files, miscellaneous Location of files/hardcopy Permissions data Subject area Complexity Consider content integrity Archive/print quality Content accuracy [poor copyedit, etc.] Organize & inventory your content

Ensure content is available and usable before your project begins Don’t wait until the production phase Volume forecasts, scheduling and budgeting are difficult if you do not have a clear understanding of what you have You’ll discover missing images or other issues mid-conversion – minimize with time spent on your content inventory Lesson Learned Chasing your content is a waste of valuable time

Presentation vs. semantic markup Understand the difference Separate content from presentation Content analysis Get to know your content

Presentation markup dictates the visual representation Bold, italic, underline, etc. CSS for web sites Semantic markup describes the content Tells you what to expect between the tags List, chapter, title, name, etc. Presentation vs. semantic markup

Rebecca Goldthwaite | Director Strategic Partner Management, Production Global Production & Manufacturing Services | Cengage Learning Inc A 5 Maxwell Drive, Clifton Park, NY 12065 | T 518-348-2396 | C 518-698-6366 <bold> Rebecca Goldthwaite </bold> <plain> | </plain> <italic> Director Strategic Partner Management, Production </italic> <br> <plain> Global Production & Manufacturing Services | Cengage Learning Inc </plain> <br> <bold> A </bold> <plain> 5 Maxwell Drive, Clifton Park, NY 12065 | </plain> <bold> T </bold> <plain> 518-348-2396 | </plain> <bold> C </bold> <plain> 518-698-6366 </plain> Presentation markup

Rebecca Goldthwaite | Director Strategic Partner Management, Production Global Production & Manufacturing Services | Cengage Learning Inc A 5 Maxwell Drive, Clifton Park, NY 12065 | T 518-348-2396 | C 518-698-6366 <name> <first> Rebecca </first> <last> Goldthwaite </last> </name> <title> Director Strategic Partner Management, Production </title> <division> Global Production & Manufacturing Services </division> <company> Cengage Learning Inc <company> Semantic markup

What is the smallest, salient chunk? Widespread sampling of content Don’t overlook the really old stuff Every book/journal/article/etc. is different Editorial is a key participant–they are closest to the content Build sample element lists Get to know your content

Determine if there are any standards Develop title- or discipline-specific element lists & rules if appropriate Know how you will map to DTD/schema at a high level if using XML Who will be the keeper of standards? Establish content standards

Math, chemistry Poetry, readings Annotations, arrows, callouts Mixed-content or accounting tables Code examples Multipart figures Cross references Position references Decide how to handle complex content

Brubby Mommy, why is that man staring at Brubby? I’m not sure how old I was when I realized you were different from the other brothers. That man on the street saw you as something I could not, would not – still do not. Poetry

Annotations, arrows, callouts Multiple images need to be combined and saved as one – but don’t forget to save the native files separately as well

Multipart figures Multipart figure with one caption for all three pieces and the two math operators, which most likely have not been set as part of the image file[s].

Unreferenced figures Which piece of text does this unreferenced image need to anchor to in the XML?

This chunk…from the previous page Unreferenced figures cont.

Cross references What happens if you want to combine this with content from a title that uses the term modules ? What happens to the reference of ‘ previous ’ if the sections are rearranged? What if the name of the referenced section changes? What if the referenced section is deleted completely or not used when the Serving XML chunk is repurposed?

Position references What happens if this title were reformatted so that the image no longer ‘ followed ’ the callout?

Set project goals Plan for content reuse Choose a conversion format XML vs. PDF vs. structured database vs. hybrid approach 3 Business considerations

What are your goals? Be sure you know what they are Clearly articulate internally & externally Manage expectations Each group will have its own agenda! Set project goals

Market needs Community wants/desires New product ideas Known & potential reuse Explore new platforms Research industry trends & competitive products Meeting federal/state requirements Plan for content reuse

Consider the end product/platform/use Consider future needs/use Consider budgetary restrictions Consider schedule/deadlines Choose a conversion format In-depth content analysis is necessary regardless of final format chosen!

Advantages Completely searchable Flexible – can be rendered many times in many different ways while leaving content intact Stores content in a meaningful way Allows seamless content repurposing Disadvantages Not human-eye friendly, will need to be rendered So many decisions [DTD, schema] Requires more technical support & infrastructure Generally a longer production cycle XML

Advantages Human-eye friendly Added interactivity can be useful to end users Generally faster, cheaper Disadvantages Limited searchability –fully searchable PDFs can be almost as much work as XML conversion Content repurposing is evident to end user Content is not stored in a meaningful way Inflexible Adding metadata & links PDF

Functional areas & staffing Considerations Project management Vendor[s] 4 The backlist project team

Identify functional areas to include & determine team size Discuss project goals to build consensus & gain support Establish expectations & roles Functional areas & staffing Training Group Production Technology Rights & Permissions Vendor Management Content Services Production Editorial Project Management

Is staff dedicated to this project only? Will volume of work be reasonable? Are expectations clear? Did you build consensus for this initiative? Are appropriate technical resources available? Considerations

22+ team members Consensus was not a focus Production-centric initiative Marketing & Custom groups were not involved Our backlist team Custom Marketing Training Group 0 Production Technology 3 Rights & Permissions various reps Vendor Management 1 Content Services 6+ Production 11 TPPs Editorial reps from all lists Project Management 1

Recognize that engagement will vary Hold weekly meetings to stay focused & on schedule Hold team accountable, but with reasonable expectations Make time commitments clear from the beginning Obtain buy-in from both team members and their managers An escalation plan is important for issues related to task execution, but make it your last resort Back-up plans enable you to react quickly to lost resources Emphasize teamwork by being a team player yourself! Lesson Learned Team engagement can make or break your project

Internal vs. external Individual vs. team Experience considerations Budget considerations Project management

Execution Communication Project & process knowledge Planning & troubleshooting Critical PM competencies

Onshore vs. offshore Experience Training requirements How many? Schedule Consistency/quality Managing & tracking Test/pilot potential vendors Vendor[s]

True or False? Offshore teams are not fluent in English. True or False? Offshore teams are only experienced in hard disciplines, such as mathematics and physics. True or False? Offshore teams have working hours that make project implementation difficult and relationships complicated to build and maintain. Offshore vendor True or False

There are cultural & communication differences The customer is always right, even when not Instructions will be followed implicitly – what happens if you’re wrong? Difficulties with the N word – No Building trust is critical Lesson Learned Working with an offshore vendors is worth the effort

Identify training requirements Determine process and workflow Develop a quality assurance plan Build a schedule Finalize your budget & pricing Implement tracking & reporting mechanisms Plan for the unexpected 5 Backlist project management

Identify training needs Project manager Project team Vendor[s] Create & execute training plan Documentation Pilot & training packages Plan for just-in-time training Onsite vs. remote Query/response plan Training

Identify internal processes & workflows Identify vendor processes & workflows Analyze for potential problem areas Process & workflow

Allow vendors to find efficiencies Insist on automation Set clear expectations for deliverables Complete a pilot before starting to establish true scope & test the process Collaborate with vendor[s] Your vendor does this for a living – you just think about it for a living – become partners Lesson Learned Don’t create a process that is too rigid or too fluid

QA tool decisions Internal vs. external QA Distributing files Tracking QA issues Automate, automate, automate!!! Quality assurance

Pilots/testing Start-up Ramp-up Production Completion Schedule phases

Be realistic Meet both internal & vendor expectations and abilities Consider content complexity Anticipate ramp-up Account for bottlenecks & technology/tool hurdles Schedules should:

Determine titles/products/pages earmarked for conversion Review pricing proposals Identify $$ allocated Choose a pricing model that works Implement invoicing & budget-tracking procedures Budgets & pricing models

Identify the phases of production activity Identify any interdependencies Identify accountability for each phase [vendor vs. internal, for example] Be sure to separate discrete activities Sequence phases based upon activities & appropriate interdependencies Base pipeline reporting on these phases Mapping production activity

Establish tracking/reporting process & tools Base data entry milestones on these activities Communicate data entry responsibilities Establish timing for data entry based upon when it will be pulled for trend tracking & reporting Tracking production activity

Sample production activity map Permissions gathering Source files to vendor Sample conversion Sample QA /approval Full conversion Full QA/approval Delivery readiness

Sample pipeline phasing Awaiting permissions Awaiting source files With vendor for conversion: sample Sample package with QA With vendor for conversion: full Full package with QA With vendor for delivery Final package delivered

Activity – pipeline correlation Awaiting permissions Awaiting source files With vendor for conversion: sample Sample package with QA With vendor for conversion: full Full package with QA With vendor for delivery Final package delivered Source files to vendor Sample QA/approval Full QA/approval Permissions gathering Sample conversion Full conversion Delivery readiness

Generate a pipeline report to identify bottlenecks Use status meetings with both vendors and internal staff to resolve Pipeline reports for trend analysis

Content availability Source file integrity Permissions gathering delays Content complexity Internal staff workload QA process & tools Technology & tool hurdles Identifying & resolving obstacles

Interoperability Findability Storage Authoring 6 What’s next?

Playing nicely with others Interacting with third party content/systems Online & print mashups Subscription-based models w/third parties Open-source learning management systems Moodle Sakai Be sure to convert your assessment content! Interoperability

Importance of metadata & ontologies Curriculum based upon learning objectives / state educational standards Semantic web applications/interoperability Findability

Content management systems Linking digitized content to other assets & systems Storing rights & permissions with your content Access / editing considerations Storage XML/ PDFs R&P Images Metadata Other Systems

Modularity vs. linearity Securing comprehensive rights Authoring tools & templates for content consistency Electronic editing, proofing, revisions Authoring

Plan to Fail Optimistic conversations about new initiatives often sound like this: “If we have this and this and this and this it will all work!” Yes, but what happens when some of those necessary pieces are not in place, or something breaks? The process breaks down. Plan on failure happening—often. There will be fewer surprises and the ones that you do encounter will be more manageable and less stressful. I truly believe that if you are successful on your first attempt at anything, you didn’t take enough risk and could have been far more successful in the long run by failing a few times and learning a lot along the way.

Toc08 Goldthwaite Digitizing Your Backlist

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