Effective Content Delivery with Node-based Data Storage

Nodes, topics, and modules

Let's start from the very beginning: What does node-based data storage actually involve? Node-based methods of organizing content are referred to using many different terms. You'll sometimes hear this called topic-oriented data storage or modular content management as well. And there are even more ways of describing it.

But it always comes back to the same principle of breaking complex, structured documents down into smaller, self-contained units. The advantage is that these units are managed on a centralized basis but can be reused in many different documents and at various places in a document. Because the units are smaller, they can also be inserted with greater accuracy. Users don't have to dig their way through extensive documents to find information—they get the exact content they need right now.

Good nodes

In other words, the principle is quite simple and consists of breaking complex documents down into small units. But what does a good content unit need to look like so it can be readily used later on?

A good node comes down to five criteria:

1. Is the node coherent, i.e., self-contained in terms of its content?
2. Is the node cohesive; i.e., it doesn't include any linguistic devices that refer beyond the node?
3. Is the node informative, and does it provide users with valuable information in general?
4. Is the node situational and can thus be embedded in relevant contexts in a text?
5. Is the node intertextual; i.e., can it be linked with other nodes to create a larger textual context?

Nodes meeting all these criteria form the basis for a content repository that can be readily put to use. They can be used in a flexible way and easily combined in a wide range of documents in many different types of media.

From the document to the node

Presumably, very few technical writing teams will have the luxury of creating a new node-based content repository from the ground up. Many instead opt to split their documents into modular units. And this works well if you take a step-by-step approach and work according to a plan.

So how can you convert existing documents into content modules? The following approach has proven successful in numerous projects.

1. First, the content in a document is divided up according to its basic communicative function. For example, maintenance procedures are classified as text segments providing instructions, safety guidelines as warning texts, and device overviews as descriptive.
2. Individual nodes can then be specified on this basis—such as components or functions (of the component) in the case of descriptive passages.
3. After this, the context the node belongs to, its docking points, and, for example, the product it belongs to are defined.
4. The fourth step consists of determining the internal structure of a node. In the case of a maintenance procedure, for example, you can establish that it contains elements including maintenance intervals, warning notices, and actions.
5. The fifth and final step is then specifying which nodes are used in which order and in which information product.

Based on this approach, an information architecture comes together that is both flexible and highly standardized. It gives you content repositories that serve as an ideal basis for working with a component content management system (CCMS)—and thereby pave the way for successful content delivery solutions.