A Process Perspective On Content Production

A business process perspective is often used to integrate functional silos in an enterprise. A process perspective is the foundation for numerous business development techniques such as customer focus, quality management, value chain management, service orientation etc.

What is the consequence of using this perspective on content production? Some main advantages are listed below:

  • Clarify the value add of content production
  • Align content production with consumer/user needs
  • Provide a holistic view of content activities
  • Enable follow up of e.g. time, cost, quality and service levels

What is the value add of content production? Are content produced with little or no value for the users? Many enterprises have detailed knowledge about the production costs of tangible assets but less so when it comes to content.

Calculating the content production costs is reasonable straightforward if you use a process perspective and look at costs for each activity in the process. Terms to consider are e.g. acquisition and creation costs, integration and delivery costs and also the cost of managing content over its life cycle.

Calculating the value of content is trickier. In a former blog I have argued that the value of content is created when it is consumed. The users experience of value can be based on e.g. collecting subjective opinions or measuring how much a content product is accessed during its life cycle.

How much value that is added in the process can be understood as the estimated value divided by the production costs.

A process perspective is an important technique for content production improvements. Most enterprises have something to gain by a holistic approach to content activities and view the production process from the outside in.

Even quite simple estimations and reasoning of content value in relation to production efforts can reduce the production of useless content and ease the overload burden for users.