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System 5: Course Creation & Knowledge Production ("The Content Engine")

Role: The Central Nervous System for all company knowledge.

1. System Purpose​

To serve as the central nervous system for all company knowledge, ensuring raw information is transformed into standardized, modular "Atomic Knowledge Units" that can be efficiently reused, maintained, and delivered across multiple formats (online courses, in-person presentations, internal support knowledge base, external web content). It guarantees consistency, reduces tribal knowledge, and accelerates content creation and updates.

2. Key Components​

  1. Content Intake & Prioritization: Mechanism for submitting raw content (legacy PPTs, new research, expert brain-dumps) and a process for deciding what gets processed next.
  2. Knowledge Normalization & Tagging: The process of breaking down raw content into Atomic Knowledge Units and applying a standardized metadata taxonomy.
  3. Atomic Knowledge Repository (The Brain): Centralized storage and management of all standardized knowledge units (MS Loop).
  4. Content Conversion Pipelines: Workflows for transforming Atomic Knowledge Units into specific output formats.
    • Online Course Pipeline: Generates VOD scripts, interactive exercises, and lesson structures.
    • Presentation Pipeline: Generates slide decks and presenter notes for in-person delivery.
    • Internal KB Pipeline: Structures knowledge for agent access and searchability.
    • (Future) External Web Content Pipeline: Generates articles for the public website.
  5. Version Control & Updates: Mechanism to track changes, review updates, and propagate them across all dependent outputs.
  6. Publishing & Distribution Workflows: Processes to deliver final content to end-users (LMS for online courses, shared drives for presentations, HubSpot KB for support).

3. Tools Used (Within Current Stack)​

  • Intake & Prioritization: Microsoft Planner (Task tracking for content creation/refinement), Microsoft Teams (Initial content submission via channel posts).
  • Knowledge Normalization & Tagging: Microsoft Loop (for creating and storing Atomic Knowledge Units), Microsoft Word (initial drafting for complex narratives before modularization).
  • Atomic Knowledge Repository: Microsoft Loop (Primary storage), SharePoint/OneDrive (Storage for raw assets: images, videos, original PPTs, audio files).
  • Content Conversion Pipelines:
    • Online Course Pipeline: Thinkific (Course Builder/Video Host), Microsoft Word (script writing), PowerPoint (visual assets).
    • Presentation Pipeline: Microsoft PowerPoint (Primary tool for slide creation, pulling content from Loop components).
    • Internal KB Pipeline: HubSpot Service Hub KB (publishing platform, linked to Loop components).
  • Version Control & Updates: Microsoft Loop (built-in version history for components), Microsoft Planner (tasks for review/approval cycles).
  • Publishing & Distribution: HubSpot Service Hub KB, SharePoint/OneDrive (for sharing presentation files, VOD assets).

4. High-Level Workflow (Step-by-Step)​

  1. Content Ingestion (Planner/Teams):
    • New content identified (e.g., "Legacy PPT: Malware Cleanup").
    • Task created in Planner: "Modularize Malware Cleanup PPT."
    • Raw PPT uploaded to a designated SharePoint "Raw Content" folder.
  2. Analysis & Modularization (Loop/Word):
    • Content Creator reviews raw material.
    • Identifies core concepts, procedures, definitions, and assets.
    • Breaks down content into "Atomic Knowledge Units" (AKUs).
    • Creates new Loop pages/components for each AKU.
    • Applies standardized Taxonomy Tags to each AKU (Domain, User Intent, Complexity, Status).
  3. Review & Verification (Loop/Planner):
    • AKUs are reviewed by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and content lead.
    • Planner tasks assigned for "SME Review: [AKU Name]".
    • Feedback incorporated, AKU status updated to "Verified."
  4. Content Assembly & Pipeline Generation:
    • For Online Courses:
      • Content Creator assembles relevant AKUs into a new Loop page representing a "Lesson."
      • Writes a video script based on the AKUs.
      • Uploads video and text assets directly to Thinkific Course Builder.
      • Configures quizzes and downloadables in Thinkific.
    • For In-Person Presentations:
      • Content Creator assembles relevant AKUs into a new Loop page representing a "Presentation Module."
      • Creates a PowerPoint deck, pasting/linking Loop components into slides.
      • Adds presenter notes/facilitator guides in PowerPoint.
      • Publishes finalized PPT to SharePoint "Approved Presentations" folder.
    • For Internal KB Articles:
      • Content Creator assembles relevant AKUs into a new Loop page representing a "KB Article Draft."
      • Publishes/syncs this content directly to the HubSpot Service Hub KB.
  5. Publishing & Distribution:
    • Final content assets distributed to their respective platforms (HubSpot KB, SharePoint for presentations, LMS for courses).
  6. Maintenance & Feedback Loop (Loop/Planner/Teams):
    • Regular audits of AKUs for accuracy and relevance.
    • Feedback from support agents (via Teams/HubSpot) or course participants (via LMS feedback) triggers review tasks in Planner for specific AKUs.
    • Updates to an AKU in Loop automatically propagate to all linked instances (Courses, Presentations, KB articles).

5. Detailed SOPs​

SOP: Creating an Atomic Knowledge Unit (AKU) from Raw Content​

  • Goal: To convert unstructured information into a modular, tagged, and reusable knowledge component in Microsoft Loop.
  • Roles: Content Creator, SME Reviewer.
  • Steps:
    1. Receive Assignment: Content Creator receives a Planner task "Modularize [Content Source Name]".
    2. Access Raw Content: Open the designated raw content file (e.g., PPT, Word doc) from SharePoint/OneDrive.
    3. Identify Atomic Concepts: Read through the content and identify distinct, self-contained pieces of information. These could be:
      • Definitions (e.g., "What is Phishing?")
      • Procedures (e.g., "How to Identify a Phishing Email," "Steps for Malware Removal")
      • Concepts (e.g., "Firewall Basics," "Cloud Computing Overview")
      • Troubleshooting Steps (e.g., "Why won't my Wi-Fi connect?")
      • Assets (e.g., Images, Diagrams, Code Snippets – link to these, don't embed large files directly in Loop).
    4. Create New Loop Page/Component:
      • Navigate to the designated "Atomic Knowledge Units" workspace in Microsoft Loop.
      • For each identified concept, create a new Loop page (if it's a major topic) or a Loop component within an existing relevant page.
      • Give the Loop page/component a clear, concise, and descriptive title.
    5. Populate Loop Component:
      • Copy/paste or rephrase the content from the raw source into the Loop component.
      • Ensure clarity, conciseness, and neutrality (avoiding specific course-only language).
      • Break down long paragraphs into bullet points or numbered lists where appropriate.
      • Embed images/diagrams from SharePoint/OneDrive where necessary, ensuring they are also tagged.
    6. Apply Taxonomy Tags:
      • For each AKU, add the following tags (as properties or within the content if Loop properties aren't sufficient/available):
        • Domain: (e.g., #Security, #Mobile, #Web, #Hardware, #Software)
        • User Intent: (e.g., #Fix, #Setup, #Learn, #Diagnose, #Prevent)
        • Complexity: (e.g., #L1Beginner, #L2Intermediate, #L3Expert)
        • Status: (Initially #Draft)
        • Keywords: Add additional relevant keywords for searchability.
    7. Link Dependencies: If an AKU builds on another (e.g., "Phishing Remediation" depends on "What is Phishing?"), link to the prerequisite AKU in Loop.
    8. Assign for Review: Update the Planner task status to "Ready for SME Review" and assign to the relevant Subject Matter Expert.
    9. SME Review & Approval: SME reviews the AKU for accuracy, clarity, and completeness. Provides feedback directly in Loop comments or via Teams.
    10. Finalization: Content Creator addresses feedback, and SME changes the AKU Status to #Verified.

6. Documents to be Created​

  • Content Engine Master Plan (This Document)
  • Content Taxonomy & Tagging Guide
  • SOP: Atomic Knowledge Unit Creation (As above)
  • SOP: Online Course Production
  • SOP: Presentation Deck Production
  • SOP: Internal KB Article Publishing
  • SOP: Content Review & Update Cycle
  • Content Inventory Spreadsheet

7. Required Flowcharts​

  • Overall Content Lifecycle Flowchart
  • Atomic Knowledge Unit Creation Flowchart
  • Content Update & Version Control Flowchart

8. Dependencies on Other Systems​

9. MVP Version vs. Scaled Version​

  • MVP (Phase 1):
    • Focus on modularizing the most critical "launch-ready" legacy PPTs into AKUs.
    • Prioritize Internal KB and one initial Online Course for output.
    • Manual linking and copying for content assembly.
    • Basic tagging (Domain, User Intent, Status).
    • Review cycles managed directly in Planner/Teams.
  • Scaled Version (Phase 2+):
    • Full library of AKUs covering all topics.
    • Automated (or semi-automated) assembly tools for generating course outlines, presentation drafts, etc.
    • Advanced tagging (Complexity, Audience, Prerequisites).
    • Integration with LMS for automated course publishing.
    • Potentially custom tools for direct Loop-to-PPT/Word export.
    • Sophisticated analytics on content usage and effectiveness.