Case Study: The Evolution of the National Cancer Institute's Content

How We’re Creating Future-Ready Content at NCI

AND LIVING TO TELL THE STORY

A Case Study

PRESENTED BY

Lakshmi Grama

• Senior Digital Content Strategist• National Cancer Institute

Lynn Cheryan

• Associate Creative Director User Experience• Sapient Government Services

INFORMED BY

• Part of the National Institutes of Health

• Federal Government's Principal Agency for Cancer Research

• Legislative Mandate to Communicate Research Results

Overview of NCI’s Content

SOME PERSPECTIVE

• Core Content—”PDQ” (Physician’s Data Query)

• Patient-education Content

• Fact Sheets

• Articles About Cancer Research

• Spanish Site

NCI’s Content is Authoritative and Trusted

SOME IS HIGHLY STRUCTURED

PDQ CONTENT

FLOWED BEAUTIFULLY TO MOBILE SITE

METADATA DRIVES FUNCTIONALITY

SOME IS NOT

UNSTRUCTURED CONTENT

Source: http://3btheaterposterarchive.wordpress.com/

OF HTML

WHY WE NEED FUTURE-READY CONTENT

DIGITAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE

ANALYTICS SINCE LAUNCH OF M.CANCER.GOV

Source: Adobe Analytics

Traffic to Our Mobile Site m.cancer.gov Increased 235%

Traffic to Our Desktop Site from Mobile Devices Increased 183%

Mobile Traffic IsA KEY REASON WE’RE GOING responsive

CHALLENGESFUTURE-READY

TWO PUBLISHING PLATFORMS

PercussionXML Authoring System

LACK OFLACK OF

GOVERNANCEGOVERNANCE

WITH TEETHWITH TEETH

PRINT-CENTRIC CONTENT

http://etc.usf.edu/clipart

EVEN THE URLS ARE PRINT-CENTRIC

REDUNDANT OR SILOED CONTENTSearch for “Fatigue” and you’ll find—

LINK FARM PAGES

TEXT-HEAVY CONTENT

NCI MISSION

STATEMENT

CONTENT GAPS

Source: http://epd4k.com/blog/

EVIDENCE-BASED FOCUS LEADS TO SOME GAPS

If body of research is not great, we may not have information on a topic—even if it is topical

Well-intentionedWell-intentioned

THAT DIDN’T LAUNCHTHAT DIDN’T LAUNCH

IDEASIDEAS

NEW CANCER TYPE LANDING PAGES

Can’t solve a content problem with Technology

And you Can’t solve a content problem with IA and UX, Either

It’s time to fix the content

OUR APPROACH

FUTURE-READY CONTENT

NCI’S DIGITAL STRATEGY

EVOLVE NCI’S DIGITAL ENTERPRISE INTO DYNAMIC PUBLISHING PLATFORM

CREATE A MORE COHERENT NCI USER EXPERIENCE

MAKE CONTENT MORE ENGAGING AND SHARABLE

FUTURE-PROOF CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE

HIGH-LEVEL PROCESS

repeat

DIGITAL STRATEGY

PROJECT & CHANGE MANAGEMENT

the Content Owners

http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/

WORKSHOP WITH PRIMARY CONTENT CREATORS

EDUCATING CONTENT OWNERS THROUGHOUT NCI

OPSOTTC

DCTD

DCEG

OGCR

CGHCCT

DCCPS

FNLCR

OCC

CBIIT

OSPADEA

OHAM

OCE

CCROCNR

CRCHD

CSSI

OADCB

OGA

CCCT

OBF

OARDCPOCG

CCG

LASER-LIKE FOCUS

CONTENT STRATEGY

ELEMENTS OF OUR CONTENT STRATEGY

Digital Content Strategy

• Content Vision• Content Governance

Editorial Content Strategy

• Editorial Strategy• Content Production

Technical Content Strategy

• Taxonomy, Metadata & Content Model

• Content Workflow & Metrics

TechnicalContent Strategy

TechnicalContent Strategy Editorial

Content Strategy

Editorial Content Strategy

Digital Content Strategy

Digital Content Strategy

• New Editorial Strategy

• Make Content More Engaging

• More Shareable

• With Clear “Care Instructions”

CONTENT VISION

“Care Instructions”

Source: http://epd4k.com/blog/

FILLING THE CONTENT GAPS

TECHNICAL CONTENT STRATEGY

• Updating Content Model

• Simplifying

• Adding More Structure

• Supporting Content Syndication

• Adding More Social Media Capabilities

ArticlePress

ReleaseFact

Sheet

Image

Landing Page

Home Page

Cancer Type Home Page

Research Area

Info-graphic

Video Audio

Institu-tion

External Link

List Form

PDQ Summary

Defini-tion

CitationFileMedia

Carousel

SOCIAL-READY IMAGES• Enhanced image content type that allows us to upload multiple crops

• Using 2X images (twice the resolution for retina displays)

• Using the“Wide Feature” image in social metadata (Open Graph,Twitter, or Flipboard)

• No standards!

• Twitter: 120 X 120 , less than 1MB

• Facebook: At least 1200 X 630, less than 5MB

• Flipboard: At least 400 pixels in smallest dimension; standard aspect ratios

BEST PRACTICES

ScottJust Interested

“Looking for a few quick pieces of information”

Causes, risks

Antonio/ClaudiaCo-Browsers

“Finding out what we need to know”

Causes, prevention, treatment

JanineSearching for

Questions

“Coming to grips with a new cancer diagnosis”

Basics, Treatment

MartinLooking Forward

“Ready to get past cancer”

Prevention

Doug & LauraSurrogate for

Patient

“’Running interference,‘ so she can get better”

Clinical trials, cancer news

Prevention Screening Testing Treatment

BarbaraDesignated

Searcher

“Using my skills to help my friends”

Treatment, Trials

CynthiaPersistence

Pays Off

“Finding answers to specific questions”

Side effects, tips, support

Latha, RNFront-Line Nurse

“Helping my patients get through treatment”

Large suburban cancer center

“This is my expertise”

Large suburban practice

Dr. HenryOncologist Health

Professionals

Patients, Friends, Family

Dr. SandraHanding Off

“I leave cancer to the specialists”

Solo practice, small town

Dr. StuartMaking the Transition

“I want to be ready to talk to the ‘big boys’”

Small suburban practice

Mary, LPNCommunity

Nurse

“I’m the front line on prevention and testing”

Urban women’s health center

Dr. BorisStaying Involved

“They are my patients; I’m part of their team”

Urban medical system clinic

PersonalInterest

In TreatmentMaking Decisions Handling Side Effects

NewDiagnosis

Recurrence SurvivorsGeneral Interest

Patricia, RNResearch

Coordinator

“Digging deep for the answers we need”

Rural hospital oncology center

Karl, RNLibrarian

“Giving patients the information they need”

Cancer center

INFORMED BY USER RESEARCH

. focus on patient-

As NCI’s first ever mobile site, m.cancer.gov provides comprehensive cancer information in a simple interface.

Users can find information about treatments for almost 100 types of cancer, as well as general information about coping and side effects; the Dictionary of Cancer Terms; cancer research news; and information about NCI.

All content can be easily shared via email or social networks, and each page contains links to NCI’s other online channels: the full Cancer.gov site, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Be mindful of future reuse when defining content types: when generating cancer data and information, standardize content from the start so it can be used across platforms•Use semantic markup•Create a universal style guide for content

Consider the user’s needs and habits: use metrics and analytics to understand your users so that the mobile functionality you create responds to their needs.•Determine whether an app or a site is best based on the behaviors of the users and the nature of the data.

Be consistent and efficient: share content between your web- and mobile-based sites to standardize content and avoid rework.

USING ANALYTICS TO DRIVE USER-CENTERED DESIGN

NCI Office of Communications & Education

WHAT IS NCI?

CANCER.GOV PLATFORM

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

SITE USAGE

USER-CENTERED DESIGN

GETTING STARTED

THE STRATEGY

THE OUTCOME

INSTANT ACCESS TO CANCER INFORMATION

212,000

THE RESULTS ARE IN THE NUMBERS

11% 44%Average number of mobile phone visits per month

Increase in English calls to 800-4-CANCER

Increase in Spanish calls

to 800-4-

CANCER1BEST PRACTICES LEARNED KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Identify a need for a mobile site based on analytics. Do you have a high number of site visitors already using mobile devices?

• Cater the mobile site content to its users’ needs based on the most popular content that can be made mobile-ready.

• Design the mobile site with the user in mind. For example, NCI creates site content in both English and Spanish to provide for underserved audiences.

• Establish a set of baseline standards and procedures for future content development and continue to develop those standards.

10Named one of top 10 federal mobile apps2

A division of the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.

Utilizing shared content from NCI’s enterprise website, m.cancer.gov optimizes NCI’s digital communication channels through enhanced access and usability.

Cancer.gov is a multi-channel, interactive digital content stream connecting and engaging with audiences where they are, via their chosen channel. Mobile provides additional reach beyond the main website and social media channels.

With 30,000 pages of evidence-based health information, Cancer.gov currently receives nearly three million visits each month from patients, caregivers, health professionals, researchers, and strategic influencers.

• Metrics showed that more and more people were visiting Cancer.gov on their mobile devices each month.

• For many underserved populations, mobile devices are the only connection to the Internet.

• Focus groups with user representatives revealed what content was of most interest.

• Based on user research, m.cancer.gov focuses on content for patients, their friends and families.

• Analytics and focus groups helped drive the focus of what content to include on the site.

References: 1 (In the first 6 months after launch)2 Government Computer News http://gcn.com/articles/2012/07/16/agencies-build-digital-government-with-apps.aspx

Data from user research and analytics indicates a focus on patient- and caregiver-oriented content for the first mobile site release.

NCI then used analytics to identify the most popular content on Cancer.gov and made it mobile-ready and search-optimized. 

• Evidence-based information about treatments for almost 100 types of cancer

• General information such as coping and side effects

• Dictionary of Cancer Terms• Cancer research news• Information about NCI

• Share content between sites in a Content Management System: content can be updated simultaneously on both Cancer.gov and m.cancer.gov.

• Use “mobile first” principles to design a streamlined site that contains a wealth of information and is easy to use.

• Build a site that is bilingual (English/Spanish) to reach underserved populations that rely heavily on mobile Internet access.

Comprehensive content for audiences in a simple and easily navigable site:

Most Popular Content

IA Informed Content—CONTENT Informed IA

• Re-architecting entire site

• Review content strategy and goals with content writers

• Draft sitemap (IA) guides content development—shows them the gaps that need to be filled

• Iterate IA and Content Strategy reviews of the content as it evolves

PROJECT& CHANGEMANAGEMENT

Change Management—Everyone Has a Need for

Control

COMMUNICATION & TRANSPARENCY

CREATING FUTURE-READY CONTENT

What’s taking shape

STRUCTURED

FACT SHEETS

Recently structured to optimize display on our mobile site

• Each question/answer pair is a separate content structure

• Structure is important for our mobile site• Enables accordions

• Enables button to call our Cancer Information Service hotline

• We streamlined mobile presentation, for example• No fact sheet “branding”

• No key points

MODULAR & REUSABLE CONTENT • Reusable components

• Relates to content model

• Drives functionality

We Are:

• Adding more structure to image content type

• Creating new infographic content type since these can render as a page for syndication

• Planning to use taxonomy terms to associate research articles to major topic areas across the new information architecture

Title

Video Chunk

Text Chunk

Key Points Chunk

Infographic Chunk

Boilerplate Chunk

ImageChunk

IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES

TAKING DOWN HTML BOOKLETS

FINDABLE

SEO-AT-A-GLANCE

Planning for a “Metator”

TRANSPORTABLE

Source: http://www.walls360.com/Star-Trek-Enterprise-Transporter-II-p/124.htm

ENABLING CONTENT SYNDICATIONFacebook

TV/VideoGamesNew Social Networking

RSS

Apps

Widgets

Partner sites/apps

m.cdc.gov

EHR

Content

Content Services

API

INCREASE AUDIENCE

ENGAGEMENT

SOCIAL-READY

PRESENTED MORE GRAPHICALLY

WITH MORE MULTIMEDIA

We’re doing it all in Spanish, too!

WISH US LUCK!

QUESTIONS?

Lakshmi Grama

• Senior Digital Content Strategist• National Cancer Institute

@lgrama

Lynn Cheryan

• Associate Creative Director User Experience• Sapient Government Services

@lcheryan