The Context

The Agile Coaching Team at Salesforce serves thousands of internal employees. The team provides agile coaching and training to the entire Technology organization, and it also creates and maintains content about agile methodologies, practices, and tools at Salesforce.

 

Prior to the pandemic, the Agile Coaching Team disseminated information about agile development at Salesforce mostly through in-person training, workshops, and coaching. When Salesforce transitioned to remote work in 2020, the Agile Coaching Team scrambled to create an online content hub to support employees.

 

When I joined the Agile Coaching Team as a consultant in February 2022, the team had implemented an internal website and established a content council. However, all of their content had been created and organized by agile coaches, not content professionals. The team recognized that they needed someone with deep content expertise to help them develop an effective content strategy and overhaul their content hub.

 

The Problem

During the discovery process, I uncovered these challenges:

 

• The team hadn’t done any user research, so they didn’t know enough about their users to create valuable content experiences that support the entire journey.
• The team was stuck in the tactical weeds. Instead of thinking strategically about their users and the content journey, they often reacted reflexively to content requests, worked on short-term projects and initiatives, or focused on areas of personal interest.
• Users of the team’s website were frustrated because the site was disorganized and difficult to navigate.
• Much of the existing content wasn’t useful or relevant. There were also critical gaps in their content, so the needs of their users weren’t being met.
• Some of the most helpful resources weren’t available on the team’s website. The information was fragmented across Quip, Google Docs, slides, and spreadsheets, which made it hard to search for and find specific content.
• The team didn’t have an established process for content creation and maintenance.

 

The Solution

To address the team’s content challenges, I followed this process:

 

• Vision: I interviewed stakeholders and agile leaders to understand their expectations, get buy-in, and establish the high-level content vision and objectives.
• Audit: I inventoried and audited all of the existing content. 
• Research: I conducted user research interviews to better understand the needs and goals of different users. I also conducted a card sort study to gain insight into users’ mental models and how they categorize information.
• Strategy: I identified and prioritized the top content needs of users, then worked with the team to create a content roadmap and backlog. I also defined content journeys for high-priority personas. 
• Architecture: To address the poor organization of the website, I synthesized the research findings and developed a new, scalable information architecture for the team’s content.
• Design and UX Writing: I designed wireframes and mockups of the team’s website in Adobe Illustrator and wrote all the UI copy. Then I implemented the design in Confluence.
• Outreach: I wrote the copy for the announcement of the site launch and designed a new Slack template to use for content marketing and outreach.
• Content Creation: Using my technical writing skills, I helped the team implement its content strategy by tackling a few key items from the new content backlog.
• Mentorship and Training: I shared my knowledge and expertise with the team to help them improve their content skills and content processes.

 

The complete process is described below in more detail. If you’d rather jump ahead to the impact and outcomes of the project, scroll all the way down to the last section on this page.

 

The Process

 

Vision and Goals

When I start a content strategy initiative, I spend time interviewing stakeholders and leaders to gain insight into their expectations and business goals. 

 

For this project, I discovered that agile leaders at Salesforce primarily wanted to improve their self-service content to achieve productivity gains for agile coaches. A coach typically supports dozens of agile teams and frequently addresses the same questions about agile. If the team’s content met users’ needs, it would save coaches time because users could find answers independently.

 

Stakeholders also wanted to make sure the team’s website was growing and attracting users. A substantial increase in user adoption would justify the team’s investment in content strategy and the site redesign. The growth target was a 30% year-over-year increase in unique site visitors and page views.

 

The Audience

Based on conversations with stakeholders, I discovered that there were three primary audiences for the Agile Coaching Team’s website: 

 

• Scrum leads (aka scrum masters)
• Product owners 
• Agile coaches

 

There were other audiences—for example, engineering managers and agile team members—but they didn’t use the team’s content as often.

 

Research

Next, I planned and conducted research sessions to inform the team’s content strategy and the information architecture of the new website. I used two research methods: interviews and card sort studies.

 

• Interviews: I conducted 15 interviews to gain insight into users’ unique needs, goals, behaviors, and pain points.
• Card Sort: I ran a card sort study with 19 participants to understand users’ mental models and how they categorize information.

 

User Research Interviews

I conducted 15 user research interviews: 5 interviews with coaches, 5 interviews with scrum leads, and 5 interviews with product owners. 

 

After synthesizing the research findings, I was able to identify and prioritize the top content needs of users. I delivered a presentation to the Agile Coaching Team to communicate the research results.

 

 

 

Card Sort Study

A card sort study is a UX research tool that gives you insight into how users understand and categorize information, which helps you define the organization and structure of websites and digital products.

 

For the Agile Coaching Team’s card sort, I used Optimal Workshop to run the card sort study over a period of two weeks. I performed 19 moderated open card sort studies, each about 45 minutes in length.

 

The Participant’s View of the Card Sort Study in Optimal Workshop

 

Card Sort Findings

After completing the study, I reviewed both the qualitative and quantitative data. In addition to doing my own analysis, I used Optimal Workshop’s tools to identify strong card pairings and potential information groupings. The diagrams below—the similarity matrix and the dendrogram—show common clusters of cards across participants.

 

Card Sort Analytics: The Similarity Matrix

 

Card Sort Analytics: The Dendrogram

 

Using a data-driven approach added greater depth and dimension to my analysis. It also made a more compelling case when I eventually presented the new information architecture to stakeholders and team members.

 

Audit

 

To evaluate the team’s existing content, I inventoried all the content and audited hundreds of web pages and dozens of documents and presentations. 

 

In the audit spreadsheet, I captured details about the content, added notes about its quality, and I made recommendations to keep, update, merge, or delete the pages. I also mined the content for keywords, terminology, and categories.

 

My Content Audit Template

 

The research and audit phases are crucial steps in developing a content strategy and information architecture. The research findings uncover the needs and mental models of users, which helps stakeholders view their content with fresh eyes and make informed, strategic designs about it. The audit findings reveal the gaps between the content an organization has and the content it needs.

 

Strategy

After completing the user research and content audit, it was time to help the team define its content strategy.

 

Content Backlog

With the research findings as our guide, I helped the team identify the top content needs of their users. Then we created a content backlog, added stories to the backlog, sized the stories, and prioritized the backlog items. The backlog ensures that the team will work strategically to deliver valuable, high-impact content in priority order.

 

Content Journey Maps

Based on the user research interviews and the input of stakeholders and SMEs, I created user journeys for the two primary audiences of the team’s content: scrum leads and product owners.

 

Then I combined the results of the audit with the new user journeys to develop content maps. By mapping the content to the different stages of the user journey, I helped the team visualize the end-to-end content experience. Content mapping ensures that the team will be able to deliver the right content to the right people in the right place at the right time.

 

The content mapping exercise proved so useful that I proposed we create a learning map in Confluence for scrum leads and product owners, which would help them quickly and easily find resources to support their journey. I designed the learning maps and then implemented them in Confluence.

 

The Scrum Lead Learning Map

 

The Scrum Lead Learning Map

 

Content Strategy Brief

The content strategy brief is a document that outlines the strategy at a high level. I created a content brief for the Agile Coaching Team that included:

 

• Content vision and roadmap
• Business objectives and metrics
• Prioritized list of audiences and their needs
• Links to the content backlog and content maps
• Key insights from the content audit

 

Information Architecture

With the content strategy in place, it was time to determine the best way to organize and structure the content. Using the data and insights collected from the interviews and card sort study, I identified eleven main information categories for agile content at Salesforce:

 

• Agile Coaching
• Agile Training and Certification
• Introduction to Agile
• Product Definition and Discovery
• Roadmap and Release Planning
• Work Definition and Estimation
• Scrum Ceremonies and Sprint Cycle
• Kanban System and Operations
• Team and People Development
• Agile Reporting and Metrics
• GUS for Agile

 

Those categories became the root level of the site architecture. Once the top level of the information structure was in place, I was able to create the sub-categories of the hierarchy. The graphic below shows the first two levels of the sitemap.

 

 

After reviewing the structure and the labels with stakeholders, I got the green light to implement the new site structure in Confluence. I created the new page tree in Confluence. And based on the audit findings, I updated, merged, or deprecated content as I reorganized the site.

 

Design and UX Writing

The new information architecture gave the website a strong foundation, but the site needed a complete design overhaul to deliver a better overall user experience. When designing the team’s new website, I adhered to Salesforce’s brand guidelines and visual language. I followed this process:

 

• User Goals: I defined the top goals of users who visit the website.
• UX Writing: I wrote and finalized the UI copy for the main pages of the site.
• Wireframes: I designed wireframes for three different options for the site’s homepage. I solicited input from stakeholders, and then we chose the design option that provided the best user experience.
• Mockups: I designed a high-fidelity mockup of the site’s homepage in Illustrator, and I asked stakeholders for feedback. After the review process, the team approved the new homepage design. I then created mockups for other site pages, including templates for landing pages, service pages, and learning maps.

 

The Homepage Mockup in Adobe Illustrator

 

When the design of the website was finished, I implemented the page designs in Confluence. At that point, it was finally time to launch the new site.

 

Outreach

I wrote the copy for the announcement of the site launch, and I designed a new Slack template that the team could use for content marketing and outreach. The outreach efforts were handled by the program manager for the Agile Coaching Team.

 

Content Creation

After wrapping up the content strategy, information architecture, and site redesign, I still had two months left in my contract. I spent that time helping the team implement its new content strategy by tackling a few key items from the content backlog.

 

I used my technical writing skills to research, plan, and create much-needed documentation about agile metrics, agile work, and agile tools.

 

Mentorship and Training

As a contractor, I knew my time with the Agile Coaching Team would eventually come to an end. It was important to share my expertise with the team so they would have the knowledge and skills required to continue evolving their content strategy, delivering valuable content, and maintaining the redesigned website.

 

To help the team improve their content skills, I did the following:

 

• I collaborated closely with the agile coach who was responsible for the success of the team’s content initiatives. I mentored him while we developed the team’s content strategy, which helped him learn the methodologies and best practices used by content strategists.
• I delivered presentations to the team’s content council about content strategy, content operations, and information architecture so they understood the fundamentals of creating, organizing, and maintaining exceptional content.
• I worked with the content council to help them establish content processes and evolve their content operations.
• To help the team maintain the new design of the website, I created a graphics library with resources and templates. I also filmed nine in-depth video tutorials so that team members could learn how to edit Confluence layouts and update the site graphics. 

 

The Impact

I followed up with the Agile Coaching Team eight months after completing my contract, and they reported these results:

 

• The results of the user research I conducted were used to inform the organization’s strategic planning and goal-setting for the upcoming fiscal year.
• New content that was created based on the prioritized content backlog consistently ranks in the Top 10 pages on the team’s website. Their content strategy is successful—it’s helping them deliver valuable, high-impact content.
• The site growth target of 30% was surpassed despite the company’s layoffs and a hiring freeze. The new IA and site redesign increased the year-over-year growth of unique site visitors from 17% to 46%. 
• The new site is helping the team brand and market itself and showcase its services. The professional-looking site design has improved the perceived credibility of the site’s content and elevated the team’s reputation.
• Thanks to my mentorship and knowledge-sharing about content strategy, the team has managed to iterate on their strategy, sustain the creation of impactful content, and refine their content operations—even after my contract ended.