Unlocking New Career Paths: How Content Operations Skills Can Empower Technical Communicators

Skyline view of Paris with Eiffel Tower in background.

Number 5 in our Skills for Modern Technical Communication series: Content Operations

Before we dive into the technical details, I’d like to capture the essence content operations in verse with a little poem I wrote:

In workflows deep and systems bright,
Where content flows from day to night,
Through strategies and tools we weave,
The stories users will receive.

CJ Walker

Content Operations (ContentOps) has emerged as a crucial discipline in modern technical communication, offering exciting career opportunities for technical writers looking to expand their impact.

But what exactly is ContentOps, and how can technical communicators leverage their existing skills to step into this growing field?

ContentOps: A Short History

The roots of ContentOps) go back to the early days of technical documentation and enterprise content management in the 1980s and 1990s. Organisations focused mostly on document management systems and single-source publishing for technical documentation.

The rise of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s brought new challenges as organisations struggled to adapt their content processes to digital channels. Content Management Systems (CMS) emerged as crucial tools, but they initially focused more on web publishing than comprehensive content operations.

The social media revolution of the mid-2000s and the mobile explosion of the early 2010s created another new set of challenges. Organisations suddenly needed to manage content across multiple platforms, formats, and channels, while maintaining consistency and quality.

The term “Content Operations” gained prominence around 2016-2017, as organisations recognised that content strategy alone wasn’t enough.
Companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Adobe were among the early adopters who demonstrated the value of treating content operations as a distinct discipline, separate from but complementary to content strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated the need for it as organisations rapidly shifted to digital-first operations.

Content Management’s operational focus has become increasingly important as organisations face new challenges and opportunities from modern content developments such as Omnichannel, personalisation at scale, global delivery requirements, regulatory compliance, and of course, AI and automation integration.

But What Is ContentOps?

ContentOps is the set of processes, people, and technologies that plan, create, manage, and analyse content at scale.

For technical communicators, it represents an evolution of traditional documentation management, encompassing everything from content creation and workflow management to governance and measurement.

So What Does Content Operations Do?

Content Operations (ContentOps) serves as the engine room of content creation and management, transforming content strategy from vision into practical reality. At its core, ContentOps provides the systematic approach needed to deliver consistent, high-quality content at scale.

It can be broken down into four parts:

1. Strategic Implementation

ContentOps bridges the gap between strategy and execution by translating high-level content strategies into concrete, actionable workflows. It establishes clear processes for managing content throughout its lifecycle, ensuring that content production aligns with business objectives. Through careful planning and implementation, ContentOps creates scalable, repeatable systems that can grow with an organisation’s needs.

2. Operational Excellence

  • In day-to-day operations, ContentOps streamlines content creation and approval processes.
  • It maintains quality control and brand consistency across all content outputs while coordinating cross-functional teams.
  • By implementing efficient content management systems, ContentOps enables smooth collaboration and clear communication between all stakeholders.

3. Performance Optimisation

  • ContentOps takes a data-driven approach to content management by continuously monitoring content effectiveness and ROI through a systematic approach.
  • Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) helps organisations identify areas for improvement and optimise their content processes.

4. Risk Management

  • ContentOps plays a crucial role in risk management in today’s complex regulatory environment,
  • It ensures compliance with regulations and standards while maintaining robust content security and version control.
  • It helps organisations navigate legal and regulatory requirements through careful management of digital rights and permissions, along with comprehensive audit trails.

Unlike content strategy, which provides the roadmap, ContentOps delivers the vehicle and drives the journey. It’s the practical framework that ensures your content strategy succeeds in the real world, dealing with real challenges and constraints.

The Key Components of ContentOps

A successful ContentOps implementation relies on five interconnected components. Each plays a vital role in creating an efficient, scalable ContentOps plan:

1. Workflows and Processes

Well-defined workflows create the foundation for consistent, efficient content operations, establishing clear paths from creation to publication:

  • Standardized content creation procedures
  • Clear review and approval pathways
  • Publication and distribution protocols
  • Content maintenance cycles

2. People and Roles

Success depends on having the right people in clearly defined roles, with established pathways for growth and collaboration:

  • Defined responsibilities and accountability
  • Cross-functional team structures
  • Clear reporting relationships
  • Skill development pathways

3. Technology Infrastructure

The right tools and systems enable efficient content creation, management, and measurement across the organization:

  • Content management systems
  • Collaboration tools
  • Quality control mechanisms
  • Analytics platforms

4. Measurement Framework

Effective measurement helps track success, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate value to stakeholders:

  • Performance metrics
  • Success indicators
  • Progress tracking
  • ROI assessment

5. Governance Structure

A strong governance framework ensures consistency, quality, and compliance across all content operations:

  • Guidelines and standards
  • Quality control processes
  • Compliance protocols
  • Risk management procedures

These components work together to ensure content operations remain aligned with organizational goals while maintaining necessary controls and standards.

How ContentOps Components Work Together

The true power of ContentOps emerges when all components work in harmony throughout the content lifecycle. This integration creates a seamless flow from content conception to delivery and optimisation. Content moves efficiently from conception to delivery, while maintaining quality and meeting organisational objectives.

The Content Lifecycle

  1. Initiative Start
  2. Creation Phase
  3. Review and Approval
  4. Publication and Distribution
  5. Monitoring and Optimisation

Why Technical Communicators Are Well-Positioned for ContentOps

Technical writers already possess many of the foundational skills needed for ContentOps:

  • Deep understanding of content creation and management
  • Experience with documentation tools and systems
  • Ability to collaborate with subject matter experts
  • Knowledge of content standards and quality control

Moving into ContentOps can significantly advance your career, offering opportunities for leadership roles and increased strategic influence within organisations. As companies increasingly recognise the value of structured content operations, technical communicators who develop ContentOps expertise often find themselves driving organisational change and commanding higher salaries. This transition can also open doors to roles such as Content Operations Manager, Documentation Strategist, or Global Content Lead.

Core Skills to Develop

While technical communicators already have many transferable skills, succeeding in ContentOps requires developing some additional capabilities.

Here are the key areas that we look for at Firehead that build your ContentOps expertise:

Technical Skills

  • Basic programming concepts for automation
  • API documentation methods
  • Structured content frameworks
  • Analytics and data interpretation
  • Modern content management systems

Process Management

  • Agile documentation practices
  • Workflow optimisation
  • Change management
  • Cross-functional team leadership
  • Project management fundamentals

Strategic Thinking

  • Content modeling
  • Information architecture
  • Performance metrics analysis
  • Global content strategy
  • User experience design

Real-World Success Stories

Understanding the theory is important, but seeing ContentOps in action helps illustrate its transformative potential. Here are two examples of how technical writing teams have successfully implemented ContentOps:

API Documentation at Stripe

Stripe’s technical writing team transformed their documentation process by implementing automated ContentOps pipelines. They achieved a 90% reduction in documentation errors and significantly improved developer experience by linking documentation directly to code changes.

Red Hat’s Community Approach

Red Hat’s technical writers successfully bridged the gap between internal teams and open-source contributors through a community-driven ContentOps framework, demonstrating how traditional technical writing skills can scale to manage global content operations.

Getting Started in ContentOps

These success stories demonstrate how technical communicators can leverage ContentOps to drive significant improvements in documentation processes. But how can you begin this journey yourself? Here are some practical steps to help you transition into ContentOps:

  1. Start with your current role:
    • Identify opportunities to improve existing workflows
    • Implement small-scale automation
    • Document and measure content processes
  2. Build relevant skills:
    • Learn the principles of project management
    • Learn basic scripting for automation
    • Study content strategy fundamentals
  3. Gain practical experience:
    • Volunteer for content improvement initiatives
    • Lead documentation process improvements
    • Experiment with content automation tools

The Future in ContentOps

As you begin your journey into ContentOps, it’s important to understand where the field is heading. Here are some key trends and opportunities that will shape the future of content operations:

  • AI-assisted technical writing
  • Documentation-as-code practices
  • Extended reality documentation
  • Automated quality control
  • Global content delivery

Your technical communication background already provides a strong foundation for moving into ContentOps. Start small, focus on practical improvements, and gradually expand your influence across the content lifecycle.

If you’re interested in learning more, Firehead has a great course: An Introduction to Content Operations by Rahel Bailie, an expert in the field of ContentOps. She takes you through everything you need to know to set up a content operations plan for your organisation – you’ll come away with your own working model. Rahel’s approach is a great starting point for content strategists to understand and work with content operations as well.

Your perspective and experiences matter in this new and evolving evolving field. We’d love to hear about your ContentOps journey in the comments below.

Next week, we’ll build on these foundations as we explore the content lifecycle. Subscribe to our blog to ensure you don’t miss it!

Join us at The Firehead Academy for lots of free resources and first news about our upcoming courses!

Firehead. Visionaries of potential.

CJ Walker

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