We need editors, not a content management system

There’s a discussion going on concerning our CMS in the organization I work for. Specially these last few months, since more and more people outside of the web team seem (finally!!) to realize the usefulness of a knowledge dissemination tool.In fact, since we implemented our content management system in late 2002, daily web operations have considerably improved, but the CMS did not solve all our problems. Rather, it seems that it has created or at least put a finger on new issues we did not have before.I have been reading a lot about content management issues lately and more specifically about why the implementation of a cms is not (always) a success (and apparently, most of the time it is not …). Here are some ideas that I’ve collected around the web:

• Content management is a process, not a technology. Focusing on the software rather than how you process your content doesn’t serve your needs. In most cases, the setting up an efficient and effective editorial process will do the trick. Choosing the software is secondary. See Jeffrey Veen’s article “Why content management fails“, John Zeratsky’s “Strategic content management“.
• Moving to a CMS is not always the best option. Content management softwares are usually expensive and include a lot of features that you’re never going to use. Some organizations just need a way to put their content on the web with a few simple steps (workflow). See an interview with Jeffrey Veen: “Making Your Content Management System Work for You“
• People don’t like to change the way they work. Human factor is the most important element in the adoption of a CMS. “A CMS installation is an editorial project, not a technical project” says Veen.
• You need a professional team to handle your CMS. A few years ago, it was ok to have only a few people dealing with daily web operations. Basically, they only had to post static web pages. Nowadays, more and more content is made available through a website. Information goes faster too. With a CMS, and to some extend, with any web technology you use, you need to have distinct competencies involved in a web team. See Jesse James Garrett’s “Nine pillars of successful web teams” (Here’s the PDF of the Garrett’s diagram).

Another interesting article listing some Do’s and Don’ts about CMS is posted on Alttags blog.