- the policies and procedures are baked
- taxonomies and file plans have been developed
- the content management system has been customized and is ready to implement
- training has been developed
- even audit questionnaires have been made ready.
Business divisions are happy that will be “compliant” with managing information.
Legal is delighted that it can finally locate documents when it needs them.
Technology is relieved that the system testing went as designed (for the most part).
Consultants on the project are notching it off as a success.
Management is checking one thing off their compliance to-do list.
Yet, the ECM/EDMS manager is deep in thought.
The ECM/EDMS manager knows that this was just phase zero. The real success of the ECM/EDMS will be gauged by the success of the deployment and eventual use of the tools by the end users. Getting users to use the system, maintaining content types, adding new ones, updating templates, updating content workflows, developing new procedures etc. means that the work is just starting. But as history has shown time and again, enterprise content management projects rarely work as designed over the longer term. Millions of dollars have been spent, countless hours used up, months and years gone by, but still triumph eludes large-scale ECM projects. But what is wrong with this picture? Why do so many ECM projects start, ramp up, and eventually get put on the back burner either for lack of adoption or (worst of all) because the system never really added value to the business or satisfied its original intent?
Yes, even today, some ECM/EDMS implementation projects continue to tread the same path, hoping for better luck. Requirements are analyzed at enterprise level, vendor evaluations are conducted, ECM packages are procured, teams are hired, and the system is customized to fit the enterprise-level needs, and, at some point in time, scope is reevaluated to retrofit the timelines. Indeed, this model may work great when a focused requirement, for example, a specific Web content management project is to be implemented. When undertaking a company-wide ECM project, however, the traditional model is not always the most optimal. Consider the case when an organization has several geographically distributed offices, a multitude of IT systems, disparate business processes, and all levels of employee skill sets. Just attempting to get a common set of ECM/EDMS requirements across the enterprise is well nigh impossible, let alone having to implement a standard and consistent set of systems and processes across the entire organization.
Models with a Twist
Large-scale content management implementation requires a great deal of planning and understanding not just of the underlying business processes but also of organizational culture, philosophy, and strong knowledge of how similar enterprise-wide projects have fared. Given the ever-increasing focus on optimization of time, cost, resources, and effort, there are several alternatives that content management architects and program managers can evaluate. The following are variations of typical ECM/EDMS implementation model for consideration.
Risk-based View – Determine high risk areas across the various content/document sources and content/document types within the organization. Focus the energies of the ECM/EDMS implementation on these high risk areas. Consider the classic case of managing employee files. Typically most organizations will have an HR system to manage HR related transactions. However HR still needs to create a large and sometimes complex set of documents; many of which are highly confidential with non-public privation information (NPI) data in them. The underlying HR business processes need a tight set of security and access controls coupled with audit trails, chain of custody, and rigorous workflows. Now add to that various federal, state, and local laws and regulations that govern how these documents (records) should be managed and retained, which further increases the inherent risk to the organization of not having proper controls. By prioritizing such business functions and areas within the organization and then applying ECM/EDMS best practices to them, one can plan for a better risk-reward scenario.
Lines-of-Business View – Instead of taking the big bang, all or nothing, company-wide approach, determine what lines of businesses benefit the most from an ECM/EDMS implementation. Not all divisions within a large and distributed organization are created equal and each line-of-business has its own “management style,” processes and divisional sub-culture. In many cases the systems are siloed within the line-of-business and are rarely integrated. The reality is that most organizations still operate within these organizational boundaries. Given this scenario it makes it worthwhile in some cases to develop a cost-benefit analysis of implementing ECM/EDMS in each of the major lines-of-business and then implementing in only those areas where there is sound justification of doing so. Lines-of-businesses that would enhance their operational efficiencies, better compliance through the ECM/EDMS implementations, etc. are clearly the better candidates. These divisions are also more likely to commit to the required time, cost, and resources during the implementation and then ensuring ongoing conformance by establishing follow up policies, governance processes and procedures, and training for their respective personnel.
Macro Business View – A typical ECM/EDMS implementation addresses a number of aspects such as document imaging, forms processing, content tagging and indexing, user collaboration, document management, Web content management, records management, enterprise search, digital asset management, etc. Some implementations attempt to cram most or even all of these aspects into one implementation. While this may work in smaller implementations, doing the “full menu” at the enterprise level is fraught with all sorts of crevices and pitfalls. With the increasing focus on newer ways of collaborating and exchanging information, there are even more uncertainties around what components need to be implemented. It is well suited for ECM/EDMS architects and planners to really step back, take a look at what the enterprise really needs at a macro- and at a strategic-level, and then implement only those aspects of ECM/EDMS that are truly needed. Avoiding the temptation of “we can squeeze it in” may be well advised in this particular scenario. If needed, the implementation can proceed in discrete phases and iteratively address pieces that complement the overall implementation goal.
User-Focused View – Focus on user collaboration and end user ways of working to determine the ECM/EDMS implementation approach. In a traditional model the implementation focuses more on business requirements and not so much on user processes and interfaces. A different perspective is to focus from the outside-in, i.e., rather than taking the standard information architecture view, leverage the knowledge of working with users to determine how the implementation should be structured. In this approach one starts with understanding:
• how users work
• what the various groups and roles are
• how the work products are managed
• how business processes are executed
• interactions between systems and users
• key usage metrics
• what checks and controls need to be developed.
In a way this approach truly emphasizes the end user adoption of ECM/EDMS implementation by giving users what they have always wanted—a set of information management systems and processes that are geared towards how they work and not a system that is super sophisticated but yet is too rigid and too inflexible towards their needs.
Content/Document Type View – Typically, assessing and inventorying the content types will be one of the first few steps performed in any implementation. Once the list of content and document types is known at the enterprise level, a model that is based on these types can be developed. The content architects working closely with business, legal, and compliance can then make a determination of what subset of content types to implement. As an example: the contract document type might be a high value/high benefit when managed at the enterprise level as frequently contracts may be required across divisions, offices, and perhaps even jurisdictions. The selection of content types can be performed using any number of factors ranging from their impact to the business, to operational efficiencies to compliance and discovery benefits and so on. Once the subset of content types is settled upon (easier said than done) one can start to develop strategies and approach to managing them.
Business Process View – The business process view is based on identifying the input/outputs within key business processes steps and managing the content/documents in accordance with the ECM/EDMS requirements. While this may seem obvious in many cases, sometimes determining content and the relationship between content and process steps and then across various business processes may not be that easy. In many cases the same piece of information may be manipulated across many different processes and finding the source and destination may be non-trivial. In the same vein, sometimes finding business processes to associate with content itself becomes a complicated task. In either case, taking a business process view is a lot more straightforward than other options as most organizations will have a list of business processes available along with associated procedures, manuals, process flows, etc., from which one can quickly glean a good perspective on the universe of information within that organization.
Application/Systems View – In this approach the focus is on particular applications/systems within the organization. One can develop content/document management solution on top of a cluster of system applications. For example; an EDMS system could be built that interfaces with HR and Finance systems to manage the underlying content and documents in these systems, such that they are ECM/EDMS-enabled. This way one has end-to-end control on all data associated with that set of applications. This model may be applicable to organizations that have a few core business applications/systems from which the bulk of the documents are generated and thus enabling these applications with content and document management capabilities really complements both the business, legal, compliance, and operational aspects of information management.
Conclusion
A content/document management implementation need not follow the standard cookie cutter approach. Instead in times of cost cutting and optimization, organizations must start to look outside the ECM/EDMS box for information management approaches that mitigate key risks but without the need for massive amounts of time, funding, and resources.
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The term “capture” covers the combined processes of document scanning, image correction, recognition of text, barcodes, form fields, etc. and finally, output to an appropriate format for subsequent processing or archive storage. For 20 years or more, capture has been the entry point for document store-and-retrieve systems and increasingly for forms processing, workflow and Business Process Management (BPM). Capture may also be applied to faxes, emails, electronic documents, images and messages, but we will restrict our attention in this report to document scanning.
Traditionally, scanning and capture has been considered technically challenging. Achieving high throughput at minimum cost has required specialized machinery and skilled staff, hence the prevalence of service bureaus and outsourcers. There has in the past been some reluctance to invest in capture technology, particularly where manual keying costs have been reduced by low offshore labor rates and cheaper communications, enabling a combination of onshore scanning, with offshore remote keying into corporate legacy systems.
However, more reliable and capable scanners, more automated capture processes, and in particular, the availability of a multifunction scanner/printer (MFP) in almost every office, has led over the last five or six years to a new model of distributed scanning, local to the office staff processing the documents. In some scan-to-archive applications, particularly in professional services or healthcare, a scanner-per-desk policy can be viable.
Key Findings
- Centralized in-house scanning and mailroom scanning are set for considerable growth, compared to outsourced scanning and capture.
- Distributed scanning on MFPs is set for some growth compared to desktop scanning.
- Also set for a considerable increase is automated recognition via OCR, ICR, etc., and automated classification.
- Despite the long term preferred strategies, sales next year of dedicated scanning hardware is set to drop, with MFPs just holding their own. Capture software and modules are the only areas of spending set to rise.
- Knowledge management in the form of improved searchability of business documents is the highest driver for scanning, closely followed by compliance and business process improvement.
- 46 percent of users report return on investment within 12 months, with two-thirds seeing returns within 18 months. These are consistent across many types of content and processes, with invoices, contracts and application forms being the most popular.
- Legal admissibility of scanned documents is still seen as an issue in over a quarter of businesses.
- 30 percent of the sample use outsourced services, citing “No staff management overhead” as the main benefit, along with cost-per-scan.
- Integrating the scanned files back into the internal system is a bigger outsourcing issue than security breaches or lost documents. Quality of indexing is an issue for 30 percent.
- 48 percent of respondents have a centralized, in-house scanning service, citing better indexing and closer integration with the process as the main benefits.
- Meeting demands for fast turnaround is the biggest issue with central scanning operations, followed by logistics and space problems.
- 78 percent of those surveyed have some form of distributed scanning via MFPs, desktop scanners or branch-office scanners. Ownership of the process by line-of-business owners is given as the main advantage, as well as improved utilization of MFPs.
- The biggest drawback of distributed scanning is training staff to index properly and maintain quality of indexing over time.
- While 32 percent of organizations report that the consumption of paper and/or number of photocopies is still increasing, this is equally balanced by those who feel it is decreasing.
- 25 percent of scanned documents are photocopied prior to scanning. Only 31 percent of scanned documents are destroyed after scanning, with a further 32 percent being archived off-site.
- Only 38 percent of paper-originated records are scanned and archived electronically.
- 51 percent of scanned documents are 100 percent “born digital,” i.e., come direct from a printer.
- 37 percent of organizations are scanning over half of their incoming documents. 12 percent scan more than 80 percent. • As regards accurate recognition and capture, on average 6.5 percent of scanned documents are rejected at quality assurance or require intervention.
- Based on the broad definition of distributed scanning to include MFPs, desk-top scanners, branch office scanning and field scanning, 72 percent of the survey sample make some use of it, compared to 48 percent who have some form of centralized scanning operation, and 30 percent who use outsourced services.
People believed that e-archiving (EDMS) is the process of converting documents, paper documents to electronic documents by scanning through scanners and storage through storage media circulation. According to this belief, many Government and private enterprises believes in no doubt that you archive all of their files and paper documents and are ready to enter the digital world and electronic government waged.
The fact that concept – assuming health-contrary- to the modern day full of electronic documents that are already stored on an electronic storage media do not require us to any scan operations, does that mean that it’s archived? If so, since there is no need for content management systems or archiving systems and just saved to the hard drive of your computer and end up.
Of course this is illogical, everything we have done here just store information not archived or so-called Imaging. EDMS is primarily responsible for the registration information of value to an enterprise to manage and keep them as long as possible or even forever. This simply means that the electronic archiving of document conversion and documentation at the end of its documentary legal records cannot prejudice or change in the original content for protection and easy access when needed, it is not enough to scan a document to tell him that archived electronically.
In fact, archiving in accordance with this concept we practice all process in everyday you when you write a letter to anyone what you are dealing here with a can modify and change but once sent this letter to her had become a record cannot modify because it already sent and here we are talking about an archived log retention period shortened or increased and disagree and conservation and its way of storing.
Therefore, the electronic archiving are simply records management process that ensures protection, maintenance and accessibility and begin from the moment of creating the document and ending
with destroyed or legacy is preserved forever, not only in volume or scanning. Log Record can be defined as information that is recorded and maintained and managed by the person or body or establishment either for legal purposes or for its value for business. Records that are no longer on any establishment kept confined to paper only, but now includes a number of information sources that are no longer as important as paper documents and mail halls and instant messages, Web pages and information sent through social networks, all of this information may be recorded in accordance with their importance.
Of course not all registry information must, otherwise it will show us a tremendous amount of records you might not find a place to save. For business to adopt a clear strategy for records management are:
1. Determine what information you have registered and from different sources.
2. Select the necessary categories in which to place those records building.
3. The time taken to keep these records for each classification is selected there is no need to maintain established for records forever without clear justification.
4. Select the required action to destroy records when the retention period expires.
5. Training and education of all staff in established and aware of the importance of the Treaty and what records should be kept.
For this to happen it must be for a special regime established to have records management and document management system not only. Records management system is responsible for maintaining information any establishment, registration and management of electronic archives in accordance with the rules and laws and customs in this area. And records management system is an essential part of content management system, because any record was initially content before walking to a legal record. Use a records management system one of the most important fundamentals of electronic government and electronic Commerce alike because electronic movements be provided by the electronic Government or e-commerce needs to define and determine legality and recorded legally and formally.
Records management system consists of at least the following essential elements:
1. Tools for classifying records: the heartbeat of the records management system, which is a clear classes and categories only needed records established or depending on the nature of the activity. Is here identifying laws and policies that followed and established in archive each of such categories where the system will automatically apply those policies and laws at every register kept on each category and without interference to end-user system.
2. Tools for creating records: including scanning paper documents and link with other systems to retrieve information or movements executed electronically as with resource management systems and so here we are talking about the rest of the components of content management system usually are essential because they are working to create the document before it becomes a record.
3. Operations management tools and depreciation to record: the selected depreciation policies either according to the laws established by public law shall specify the retention period for each record type and proper disposal at the end of that period either destroy electronic record or paper or both or review to keep etc.
4. Confidentiality management tools that enable security and confidentiality policies for records it determines who has the right vision or view a log, and specify handling of confidential and private. This also includes encryption and signing halls and keeping privacy policies with the same document through the system, not only through copyright Right Management Systems Management.
5. Non-electronic records management tools: this need because it may not be necessary to keep the paper assets of non-electronic records are retained in the records and alumni managed alongside electronic archive.
6. Long-term storage: a key element in the electronic archiving system is not sufficient to ensure that records via software only, but we must ensure that no prejudice or change records across the storage devices where there are special storage techniques to ensure that records.
7. Checking and testing: a most important element, which ensures that no fraud is exposed or combustion or any wrongful conduct may have been archived records provide detailed information on the movements of users in the system including system managers or administrators.
The Main benefits for any establishment of possession of the records management system and a clear strategy that can be summarized as follows:
1. Treaty protection, memory protection information.
2. To save the rights of people.
3. Easy access to information and thus increase productivity so that 40 percent of employee time wasted searching for information.
4. Avoid losing any information of relevance may be established or society.
But there are difficulties such as:
1. Accept such kind of staff regulations will face strong opposition, especially in the beginning and here you need training and knowledge transfer for knowing each one why this system is an addition to the provision of appropriate tools that help to use the system integrity being used with common desktop software and easy user interface, etc.
2. Difficulty of accounting information to be registered as complex and non-strutted data and here you need-in addition to the availability of systems-business automation within the established by the automated log archive records automatically when you end the transaction.
3. The difficulty of developing a clear strategy for records management, lack of knowledge and competencies here rely on world standards in this area and the experiences of others but this does not
mean we need Arab standards and experiences.
Finally, preserving our memory is the ability to record information of interest efficiently to stay over time.
