Best Observer Research Foundation Podcasts (2025)

1
Manny Silva: Docs as Tests for Resilient Technical Documentation 36:19

Play Pause

1M ago36:19

36:19

Technical documentation of software products is critical work that needs to accurately inform end users, regardless of how quickly and substantially the software might be changing. Manny Silva has created Docs as Tests, a system that integrates a set of well-developed practices and a collection of engineering tooling, to help technical communicator…

1
Jeff Eaton: Content Observability in Complex Systems 31:37

3M ago31:37

31:37

Modern content systems are complex and abstract, presenting problems for managers who want to understand how their content is performing. At Autogram, Jeff Eaton and Karen McGrane have developed a content observability framework to address this complexity. Their framework evaluates the composition, quality, health, and effectiveness of content prog…

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Jeffrey A. "jam" McGuire: The Value Map Content Framework 40:25

3M ago40:25

40:25

Aligning and orchestrating product content for complex business use cases is much easier when you have a framework to structure and guide your efforts. Jeffrey A. "jam" McGuire and his business partner developed the "value map" framework to structure and organize product marketing information. This helps them to align internal stakeholders on strat…

1
Greg Dunlap: Designing Content Authoring Experiences 31:10

4M ago31:10

31:10

Experience design for readers of online content gets a lot of attention. The authors who create the content and get it ready for publication aren't as well served. In his new book, Designing Content Authoring Experiences, Greg Dunlap addresses this situation, showing content-system creators how to design better interfaces, streamline workflows, and…

1
Sarah Johnson: Moving Content Forward with Content-first Design 29:38

5M ago29:38

29:38

Sarah Johnson asks, "If a digital experience is a conversation with a user, how can you have that conversation if you don't know what the words are?" Sarah addresses the crucial role of content in her new book, "Content-first Design," tackling both the pragmatic aspects of a content-first approach to design as well as how to advocate for content pr…

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Leah Buley and Joe Natoli: The UX Team of One 33:09

6M ago33:09

33:09

Both UX and content professionals routinely find themselves on teams where they are the sole practitioner of their craft. Leah Buley and Joe Natoli recently revised "The UX Team of One" to share their pragmatic take on solo UX practice, deftly balancing the application of human-centered research insights with the need to show the business value of …

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Rob Punselie: Content Jobs to Be Done 31:12

6M ago31:12

31:12

A truly customer-focused content strategy is the cornerstone of good customer experiences. Over the past 25 years, Rob Punselie has developed and honed content discovery research methods based on time-tested usability knowledge and the Jobs to Be Done product-development framework. This approach has helped him consistently deliver to his clients ef…

1
Alan J. Porter: Storytelling for Enterprise Content Strategy 32:22

7M ago32:22

32:22

Storytelling is the oldest content practice. Alan Porter helps enterprises and content practitioners improve their story craft. Alan shows how better stories both convey the unique benefits of a business to their customers and improve cross-functional communication within organizations. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/alan-porter/…

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Joe Gollner: A Multi-layered Definition of "Content" 32:44

8M ago32:44

32:44

As recently as 40 years ago, we didn't have much need for the word "content." But as soon as we started delivering the same information via multiple channels, we needed a way to identify the essential elements of content assemblies and to work with them independent of their various manifestations in information products. So the concept of "content"…

1
Stephanie Pereira: Designing Hyper-localized Content 29:24

8M ago29:24

29:24

Localizing digital product content is challenging on its own. When you add the need to communicate about sensitive financial topics to very specific audiences, the complexity of the work quickly grows. Stephanie Pereira is a content design manager working on the Google Payments product. She deftly balances a range of internal compliance and design …

1
Colleen Jones: AI and The Content Advantage 34:12

9M ago34:12

34:12

Now in its third edition, Colleen Jones's book "The Content Advantage" has become a classic in the content-profession literature. The new edition of the book continues to highlight content intelligence and content effectiveness and adds a new focus on the impact and use of AI in content programs. It also takes a fresh look at the enduring concepts …

1
Chris Bach: The Origins of Decoupled and Composable Web Architectures 36:49

9M ago36:49

36:49

Over the past ten years, Chris Bach has been at the forefront of the transformation of web development. Chris coined the term "Jamstack," which refers to one of the first conceptions of a composable web architecture (the acronym JAM accounts for the JavaScript, APIs, and markdown that make up a simple decoupled web system). He also founded Netlify,…

1
Fran Alexander: Democratizing Taxonomy Practice 32:58

9M ago32:58

32:58

There is always more taxonomy work to be done than there are practitioners to do it. Fran Alexander's solution to this imbalance is to democratize taxonomy practice. Fran's work actually spans the full range of semantic practices, from simple term lists to taxonomies, thesauruses, and ontologies and knowledge graphs. Wherever she's working in this …

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S4 EP5 - We talk about a practice review and research looking at GCSE resits in FE. 24:15

9M ago24:15

24:15

Associate Professor Rebecca Morris of University of Warwick and Debbie Grace University of Warwick and Sandwell College join us to share their practice review and research on GCSE resit English and maths in Further Education. We are also delighted to share a link to Rebecca’s latest publication, co authored with Thomas Perry, A critical guide to ev…

1
Mike Gifford: Accessibility, Sustainability, and Content Management 31:26

9M ago31:26

31:26

Where web accessibility, digital sustainability, content management, open-source software, and web standards intersect, you'll find Mike Gifford. Mike is the open standards and practices lead at Civic Actions, a company that helps governments deliver better digital services. Through his practice, Mike ensures that the content systems they deliver a…

1
Michele Ann Jenkins: Taxonomy as the Foundation of Semantic Architecture 32:03

10M ago32:03

32:03

Through her taxonomy and other information architecture work, Michele Ann Jenkins helps people across the organizations she works with align their mental models and terminology usage. This alignment of concerns and language forms the foundation of the semantic architecture that is so crucial to modern content systems. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/mi…

1
Ilse Jonker and Joyce van Aalten: Content Structure and Meaning 32:02

10M ago32:02

32:02

Modern content projects get the best results when content strategy and conceptual meaning are considered together, and the results can really shine when long-time collaborators do the work. Ilse Jonker and Joyce van Aalten are independent consultants who have teamed up on many content projects over the past dozen years. Ilse focuses on content stra…

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Vinish Garg: Bringing Product Sense to Content and Design 32:00

11M ago32:00

32:00

Vinish Garg takes a holistic and pragmatic view of the role of content and other crafts in digital product design, using an approach he calls "product sense." Content strategy and design are just two of many practices that contribute to the success of any digital product. All digital practitioners justifiably take pride in their individual crafts, …

1
Preston So: The Case for a Universal CMS 31:53

11M ago31:53

31:53

The CMS landscape has evolved a lot over the past couple of decades. Recently, headless CMSs and decoupled content architectures have appeared to address the need for omnichannel content experiences. While their separation of the management of content from its presentation offers many benefits, these systems have left many users dissatisfied and di…

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David Connis: Systems Thinking for Content Designers 30:26

12M ago30:26

30:26

A crucial skill for any content practitioner is the ability to sort out complex work environments and thrive within them. David Connis shows how a systems thinking mindset can help you cope with the upheaval of AI, the messy realities of content work, and other complex design challenges. He teaches a course on systems thinking for content designers…

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Timi Stoop-Alcala: Knowledge Domain Modeling and Content Advocacy 31:46

12M ago31:46

31:46

When the concept of "content" comes up it can be hard to get everyone aligned on exactly what you're talking about. At IKEA, Timi Stoop-Alcala focuses on the "what" of content via the practice of knowledge domain modeling both to deal with the complexity of content and to highlight its importance. Her knowledge-focused, human-centered approach has …

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Hilary Marsh: Digital Councils for Better Content Strategy 30:51

1y ago30:51

30:51

Organizations of all types and sizes struggle with presenting their content so that it both makes sense to readers and aligns with the organization's intentions. Hilary Marsh introduced the concept of the "digital council" to address this issue. Councils can take many forms, depending on the nature of the organization, but the intent always is to g…

1
Cruce Saunders: Content as a Valuable Enterprise Asset 31:28

1y ago31:28

31:28

Content is a precious business asset and should be treated as such in enterprise accounting records. Cruce Saunders has been making the case for content as a financial asset for many years, arguing that much of it should be accounted for like the durable machinery that powers a factory, not like an ephemeral one-time business expense. He still sees…

1
Michael Priestley: Creator of the DITA Structured-Content Standard 31:07

1y ago31:07

31:07

Twenty years ago at IBM, the company's commitment to user-focused content led to the decision to develop a standard way of structuring content so that it could be used in multiple channels. Michael Priestley was uniquely positioned to lead the effort to create the corporate standard that became DITA, the Darwin Information Typing Architecture. http…

1
Jack Molisani: The Impact of AI on Technical Communication 34:29

1y ago34:29

34:29

As the founder of the long-standing LavaCon conference and the principal at a technical content staffing agency, Jack Molisani gets a deeply informed view of the world of technical communication. While he sees the opportunities that generative AI presents, he raises several concerns for technical content strategy practitioners, among them the inacc…

1
Rafaëla Ellensburg: Holistic, Semantic Content Engineering 32:22

1y ago32:22

32:22

Serving personalized content about thousands of products to millions of people requires a sophisticated content operation. At Albert Heijn, the big grocery store chain in the Netherlands, Rafaëla Ellensburg established a content engineering practice that lets the company deliver personalize-able omnichannel content at scale. In the process, she als…

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507: Unlocking Business Succession: The Power of ESOPs with Keith Butcher 24:48

1y ago24:48

24:48

In an interview with Jason Hartman, Keith Butcher, founder of Butcher Joseph, discusses business succession and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). With many business owners approaching retirement, ESOPs offer a tax-efficient way to transition ownership to employees. This model enhances employee retention and loyalty, providing long-term retire…

1
Pavel Samsonov: Content-First Product Design Leadership 34:10

1y ago34:10

34:10

Pavel Samsonov is a UX designer with a deep appreciation of content. His content-first approach to design is driven by his observation that navigating digital experiences is about accessing content, not clicking buttons. Pavel has also cultivated a deep awareness of the semantic environments that he and his colleagues navigate and he uses that awar…

1
Jeffrey MacIntyre: Orchestrating Personalized Content Experiences 31:53

1y ago31:53

31:53

Scalable content personalization systems create huge value for businesses. Like most valuable endeavors, they're really hard to do well. Jeffrey MacIntyre orchestrates the activities - terminology and taxonomy work, metadata strategy, information architecture, and more - that help businesses build content operations that deliver the customer-focuse…

1
Shannon Leahy: The Content Design Job Market 33:26

1y ago33:26

33:26

Content design jobs have become scarcer as the digital world adjusts to the post-pandemic tech economy. Shannon Leahy does her best to make sure that her content colleagues discover the jobs that are available, scouring the internet for job listings and sharing them in her social media feeds. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to …

1
John Williams: Going Headless and MACH Architecture 31:03

1y ago31:03

31:03

The rise of omnichannel content strategy and the emergence of new technical capabilities like cloud computing, API-delivered microservices, and headless software platforms have created entire new content ecosystems. John Williams explores these new ecosystems and modern content and experience architectures on his "Going Headless with John" YouTube …

1
Deborah Carver: Connecting Literature, Composition, Content, and SEO 30:17

1y ago30:17

30:17

Deborah Carver sees direct connections between her academic study of literature and composition and her work as a content strategist, content marketer, and SEO. She also sees similarities between AI engineers and content professionals, both of whom endeavor to create meaning with language. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/deborah-carver/…

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Tuija Riekkinen: Scaling Content and Design Operations 32:53

1y ago32:53

32:53

Tuija Riekkinen brings a unique perspective to scaling both content and design operations, as well as other digital initiatives. She has applied her holistic and pragmatic enterprise product management skills at organizations like IKEA, where she has worked on both their design system and content management system. Tuija is a persuasive advocate of…

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Michael Haggerty-Villa: Design Systems and Content Strategy 32:32

1+ y ago32:32

32:32

Michael Haggerty-Villa's work with content and designs systems spans the history of these practices. From his work at eBay on one of the earliest design systems up until today, he has been at the forefront of both content strategy leadership and design system innovation. This conversation focuses on design systems, but it was inevitable that Michae…

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Gladys Diandoki: Content Design Leadership Built on Strategy and Research 32:30

1+ y ago32:30

32:30

Gladys Diandoki brings a strong research mindset and a consistent focus on strategy to her content work. Her approach results in both solid design results and an increased appreciation for content design among her colleagues and clients. It's not only her clients who benefit from her work. Gladys is also an active leader in the field, speaking regu…

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S4 EP4 - Dayna Hale talks about her interest in mentoring in FE 18:39

1+ y ago18:39

18:39

Dayna Hale is a Workforce Development Practitioner at Walsall College. Dayna joined us to to share her research interests in mentoring in FE.By feresearchpodcast

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Wojtek Aleksander: Inclusive Content Design in Poland 32:09

1+ y ago32:09

32:09

Wojtek Aleksander is a business-focused, inclusive content designer based in Poland. Working in a profession in which English-language educational materials dominate, he addressed the need for Polish-language content guidance by writing "UX Writing: The Power of Language in Digital Products." One big challenge he faces when crafting inclusive conte…

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Barbara Blythe: Content Design Operations at Cisco 30:07

1+ y ago30:07

30:07

Most enterprises and software companies now have design systems, and many have content operations and/or design operations teams. At Cisco, Barbara Blythe works on the content design operations team. She focuses on sharing content guidance across the products she serves, enabling not only content designers but also their UX design and engineering p…

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Nicole Michaelis: Thoughtful Content Design Leadership 36:41

1+ y ago36:41

36:41

Nicole Michaelis brings a thoughtful leadership style and deep and varied experience to her content design work. Like all of us, she is pondering how to best use AI in her practice and wrestling with the impacts of layoffs and other change in the content and design professions. Despite the current challenging business and labor environment, she's h…

1
Terry Roach: Building Ontology-Based Enterprise Operating Models 31:47

1+ y ago31:47

31:47

Terry Roach helps enterprises build a "web of connectedness" that helps them understand what's happening across the span of their business Built on an ontological understanding of business that is expressed in a knowledge graph, his methods and technology help enterprises develop a holistic understanding that can be expressed as an operating manual…

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S4 EP3 - Chris Morris joins us to talk about his interest in research about the uses of lesson observation. 24:20

1+ y ago24:20

24:20

Chris Morris joins us to talk about his interest in research about the uses of lesson observation. Chris is a Workplace Representative, Post-16 Officer Devon District, National Council member for post-16By feresearchpodcast

1
Anna Potapova and Arnaud Frattini: Content Design in China 35:13

1+ y ago35:13

35:13

With more than a billion internet users and half of all global e-commerce transactions, digital business in China is huge. Anna Potapova and Arnaud Frattini work in content roles at Alibaba, the biggest online merchant in China. Lately they have been looking beyond their desks, trying to connect with their peers at other companies and to develop a …

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Sophie Tahran: Org Design for Content-Design Orgs 28:32

1+ y ago28:32

28:32

As the field of content design grows and matures, so too do the organizations in which content designers practice. At Condé Nast, the publisher of iconic brands like The New Yorker, WIRED, and Vogue, Sophie Tahran has built content-design orgs from one-person units to company-spanning teams. Her latest work has been informed by original research th…

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Matt Hayes: Enterprise-Scale Content Design at LinkedIn 28:07

1+ y ago28:07

28:07

Matt Hayes is a staff content designer at LinkedIn, where he focuses on enterprise experience design and works closely with the design system team. The content design team at LinkedIn is known in the industry as a small-but-mighty group that makes an outsized impact on their organization. Among the secrets to their success: democratizating their co…

1
Jorge Arango: Duly Noted 34:50

1+ y ago34:50

34:50

The promise of computers augmenting our minds has been a long time coming. We're beginning to see better tools for extending human cognition, but good guidebooks for using them have been sparse. Jorge Arango's new book, Duly Noted, fills this gap elegantly. It shows you how to extend your mind with connected digital notes that capture your thoughts…

1
Peter Compo: The Emergent Approach to Strategy 33:04

1+ y ago33:04

33:04

Peter Compo says that "the number one thing missing in most strategic plans is a strategy." He's talking about the tendency of executives and managers to draft plans that present lists of goals and include a bullet point for every possible stakeholder in their purview. Peter points out that true strategy involves tough trade-offs and lots of collab…

1
Relly Annett-Baker: Stalwart Advocate for UX Content 31:35

1+ y ago31:35

31:35

Relly Annett-Baker recently said in a LinkedIn post, "The words are an expression of the solution, the last 20%, but we also need to do the 80% that comes before to know wtf to write. " UX writers and content designers spend a lot of their time, arguably too much of it, explaining this core aspect of their work to their colleagues and collaborators…

1
Jason Barnard: Conversations with Google's Knowledge Graph 32:00

1+ y ago32:00

32:00

Like many digital practices, search engine optimization is becoming more conversational. Not long ago, SEOs had to make their best educated guesses about what was working to get their websites to rank better. Now, by focusing on both feeding information to and gleaning feedback from Google's knowledge graph, Jason Barnard helps companies craft cont…

1
506: Navigating the Storm: A CEO's Tale of Business Triumph in Turbulent Times 20:45

1+ y ago20:45

20:45

Jason interviews Johnny Serpilla, former President of Camping World, about his book, "Life is Hard, but I'll be Okay", and his experiences in leadership and business. Johnny emphasizes the importance of approaching life with one heart and mind, the role of gratitude in leadership, and the impact of personal problems on work. Johnny also discusses t…

1
Melinda Belcher: Inspirational Design Leadership 30:55

1+ y ago30:55

30:55

As content design becomes entrenched as a UX design practice, leaders from the craft are beginning to move into design leadership positions. Melinda Belcher's ascent to her current design management role is an instructive and inspirational story of professional development, creative team leadership, and community building. https://ellessmedia.com/c…