How Common People Optimized Content Operations for the American College of Surgeons

2,500-plus pages shipped, and thousands of dollars of overage charges avoided.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a global organization dedicated to improving the quality of care for surgical patients by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. With members across 84 countries, ACS is a critical provider of continuing education and training for surgeons.

Healthcare Education

ACS’s website was outdated, overloaded with unnecessary content and design debt. The project was in danger of missing crucial deadlines and exceeding budget limits. Complicating matters, the chosen CMS was unfamiliar to the team, there were no dedicated copywriters, and the globally distributed team faced synchronization challenges. Common People was subcontracted to refine and improve the content supply chain efficiency.

1. Mapping Existing Workflow and Identifying Bottlenecks: Common People analyzed the manual processes slowing down content creation. They mapped the existing workflows and identified key areas to streamline.
2. Implementing a Binary Workflow: This approach allowed team members, regardless of their writing expertise, to contribute effectively by following a refined voice and brand guide. Documentation on correctly implementing content in the CMS based on the design system was provided.
3. Developing a Review Process: Both content specialists and non-specialists, such as designers and developers, were involved in the review process using a newly created review rubric. This rubric transformed the review from a subjective to an objective process, ensuring adherence to brand guidelines and accuracy.
4. Utilizing Airtable for Organization: The team used Airtable to organize content audits and manage URLs, ensuring no content was lost during the transition. Pages were categorized to be dropped, kept, or improved, facilitating seamless redirection and consolidation.
5. Batch Review Process: Recommended for expediting the review time and alleviating the pressure on stakeholders, ensuring meaningful feedback.
6. Manual Content Input and Final Review: Given the novelty of the CMS, the team opted for manual content input sessions. This allowed for a manual review seamlessly integrated into the process, ensuring high-quality output.

Despite initial delays and complexities, the refined processes allowed ACS to implement 2500+ pages efficiently and launch the website only two months after the planned date. The project not only met its revised deadline but also saved thousands of dollars in potential overage charges and countless hours of manual work. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with ACS praising the streamlined operations and reduced content production times.