Customer Case Study: CQ Press

keywords: legal publisher, reference publisher, XML early, digital strategy, RSuite CMS

The History

CQ Press, an imprint of SAGE Publications, is the premier publisher of books, directories, periodicals, and electronic products on American government and politics, with an expanding list in international affairs and journalism and mass communication. CQ Press consistently ranks among the top commercial publishers in terms of quality, as evidenced by the numerous awards its products have won over the years.

The Challenge

Over the years, CQ Press has added new content to its directories products, acquired other directory publications, and identified the need to shift from a product-based to a topic-based editorial and publishing format. Its current system was not scalable to support these efforts. CQ Press has long recognized the value of implementing XML early in its publishing workflow. To update its editorial system that manages directories content, it required a content management system (CMS) that maintained XML integrity while offering functionality that streamlined editorial input and review of content. CQ Press’ directories content is highly complex with content that is both hierarchical and relational.

The Solution

After conducting an in-depth analysis of CMS options, RSuite was selected. Accurate business requirements and use cases were achieved by leveraging and then documenting the business knowledge of the editorial staff. To maintain an environment that was familiar to editorial staff, CQ Press staff opted to use the RSuite API to customize the user interface. A Really Strategies project manager oversaw implementation and managed project scope, deadlines, and internal testing. CQ Press documented detailed test cases and conducted thorough end-to-end user testing.

The Results

RSuite streamlines many aspects of CQ Press’ editorial workflow, including content input, review, proofing, and publishing to web and print. The system also facilitates the development of new derivative products, owing to its powerful interface and product-building tools. Implementing RSuite enables CQ Press to transition to a topic-based publishing approach. Additionally, its staff can now enrich content with metadata that facilitates search and discovery. CQ Press also uses RSuite CMS to export content to customer-facing web delivery applications

"The big win implementing RSuite is the flexibility and ease we experience integrating new content into the CMS and providing one CMS for all of our directory content."
--Tracey Ryan, Manager, Systems Development, CQ Press