The process of creating a content model requires a number of steps. It's not just a matter of analyzing the content; the modeler also needs to take into consideration the domain, users, groups, and the relationships between different classes within the model. To do this, we start with a walkthrough of the domain.
The client and domain experts walk us through the entire project. This is a vital part of the process. We need to get an understanding of the entire system, not just the part that is captured in the final solution. The model that we end up creating may need to interact with other systems and knowing what they are and how they work will inform the shape of the model. A good example is with e-commerce systems, any information captured on a sale will eventually need to be entered into the existing financial system (whether is it automated or manual).
Without an understanding of the bigger picture, we lack the understanding of how the...