We have teams creating great content for their users. How can we share their ways of working across Defence?
The content toolkit is a collection of tools for you to create and manage user-centred content. It will help people find your content and rely on it to make better decisions.
Where you'll find the toolkit
We've published the first version of the content toolkit in the Defence Service Manual. It includes:
- a publishing process
- how to audit content
- when to work with content designers
Check out the publishing process
The publishing process helps you create and manage great content - from identifying a need to archiving or deleting content.
Using the step-by-step publishing process in the content toolkit, you can:
- deliver better, trusted content for your users
- involve the right people at the right time
- be confident you are meeting GOV.UK and Defence standards
Find out how to audit your content
A content audit is a way to understand how much content you have, the quality of your content and its value to Defence.
Many teams do not know where to start with a content audit.
Using the audit templates in the content toolkit, you can:
- agree your goals and priorities
- collect the data you need on your content
- make decisions based on evidence
How we build content tools
Content and Transaction Services (CTS) works on ways to get the right information to the right people - wherever and whenever they need it. The content toolkit is part of this vision.
To build new tools, we spend time with people who publish and manage content in Defence. Their challenges and approaches help us shape things that you can reuse.
Before publishing new tools, we ask a few teams to test them. Here are some of the things they have told us:
"It is helpful for us to think: do we need this content?"
"It's great to have a thorough system through which we can consistently push all of our content. This way nothing is overlooked and the user needs are always put front and centre!"
"I like having your template - an actual place to put down information, rather than jotting down notes."
"These tools are easy to use and put user needs at the heart of content publishing. I spent some time working with the content audit tool and it helped me to understand the content. With it I was able to evaluate and plan what I needed to do."
Making improvements and new tools
We're always learning how teams use the tools so we can improve them. Remember to give us your feedback.
You'll find more tools in the content toolkit soon, for example a checklist for writing good content and ways to measure quality.
Get in touch
We're working with many content teams across Defence. If we have not spoken to you yet, please get in touch.
There is more content guidance in the Defence Service Manual.
If you work in Defence, you can also join the content community.
Defence Digital Foundry
We work in the Defence Digital Foundry which provides user-facing digital services, plus enabling tools and platforms to help digital teams across Defence deliver better and faster.
Its mission is to provide strategic advantage and capability for Defence through rapid and effective software delivery.
Blog posts in this series
Definitive guidance for digital services 23 March 2023
Making the MOD an information-driven organisation 6 March 2023