Content Maturity Model
There are several "maturity models" that are applicable to content; however, most are specific to a particular implementation, industry, technology, etc. At Wild Basin Media, we have taken many of these contents are simplified into a generalized maturity model.
If you would like to explore other models, here are several to start with:
The term Maturity Model is commonly used to model the maturity for the capability of certain business processes. One of the earliest instances of the term is the Capability Maturity Model from Carnegie Mellon University.
Wild Basin Media's use of the term is specific to the capability of an organization's creation, management, and use of content.
Use as a Guide
Wild Basin Media uses a simple classification system to identify a company's current status for generating digital data. This provides a clear picture for where a company is at, but perhaps more importantly, it outlines potential areas for growth including next steps.
| Level | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unmanaged Content | No official content management, publishing, or distribution plan. |
| 2 | Structured Content | Content is structured, meaning documents transitioned (or transitioning) to XML. Teams begin to understand the importance of metadata and the separation of content from presentation. |
| 3 | Managed Content | Content is managed in CMS. Content moves from individual documents and local hard drives into a generalized storage medium where content can be versioned and searched. |
| 4 | Content Reuse | Structured content is being reused and repurposed within the team/department. Best practices of the Content Maturity Model are adopted by teams and departments beyond those that initially began the investigation. Propagation extends to the enterprise as content cross-pollination begins to occur in the organization. |
| 5 | Expanded Content Offerings | Content goes beyond usual documentation offerings, typically textual documents. Entire company leverages the knowledge and assets of its employees. Video-enhanced documentation and other atypical content is possible. |
| 6 | Semantic Realization | Content and business systems move beyond silos of information. Metadata and semantic markup become dynamic, active, and drive intelligent consumption of information. |
Explore Content Possibilities
To begin your exploration into the maturity model and learn how to evolve your content, try our Getting Started Tutorial.
