Technology Update

Tactical Requirements for Document Management Implementations

The requirements of a Document Management system (DMS) are related to functions and processes used by different business application of an organization.  When documenting tactical requirements it is important to ascertain various factors of document management implementations.  Some of them are

Training Requirements
It is important to train the document management end users so that the deployed product can be used.  Well planned, adequate training is a must for DMS users so that the DMS product, such as the DocuLex Archive Studio, does not add an additional headache to the users, but it rather helps for effective performance of the organization functions and business process workflow.  Defining the training requirements depends upon business requirements and the nature of the solution. Training should cover the following type of user

• General user — Adequate training is needed to ensure that the user is able to complete his work using the document management tool;
• Key Admin user — These users are the people who can further be used for more training to new users and have rights to give permissions to any general user.
• System administrator — Training the technical team so that they can manage the operation of the DMS solution with less support from the DMS reseller or manufacturer.

Some of the additional details that might incur cost while training are accommodation, travel expenses, computers for training, training room, professional trainer, etc.  It is important to plan these details before planning any training strategy.  Most, if not all of the training can occur online, saving travel expenses, facility business interruption and multi-location training sessions.

System Changeover / Migration
System changeover may include the business requirements for migrating from an existing document management system to the new document management system.  It is important that an enterprise, where the requirement exists, defines its system changeover and data migration requirements.  This may be relevant where an existing document is to be decommissioned as part of the implementation of the DMS solution.  There are a number of scenarios that might apply:

• There is no system changeover or data migration, which is the simplest scenario.
• An existing document system is to be decommissioned concurrent with or subsequent to the implementation of a DMS solution.
• Old Document system needs to be maintained as part of a system that provides a wider range of functionality, or integrates with a new system.  Hence, it is not to be decommissioned.

Prior to data migration, confirm that there is a database association between the meta data and the document file, including the path.   You might be surprise how many proprietary systems are out there.
If an existing document system is to be decommissioned, then it is important to consider its system changeover strategies and requirements.  There are a number of strategy options:

• Direct cutover;
• Parallel operations; and
• Phased changeover.

Planning for Managing Change
The implementation of document management system will bring about changes in the way the organization handles internal documents.  It is best to realize some of these Changes, so that the organizations can plan. Some of these changes are:

• For DMS solution to work effectively each documents need to be uniquely identified.  So while creating new documents or updating new documents, the users might have to add additional information in the DMS system such as version number etc.  This information will act as a metadata that can be used to store, retrieve and fetch data.
• The users might be using an existing filing system, network storage or some local database to locate documents.  All such users should be educated and their documents migrated to new DMS software.
• With the implementation of the DMS system, the way organizations use and store document will be different.  Such changes should be communicated clearly to all the new users and help provided till they become comfortable with new system.
• The organization will be storing files in the DMS repository.  It is important to get access to all users and restrict the access based on user’s profile or community.  Ultimately the DMS should not impact the day to day operations.
• Depending upon roles/needs remote access of DMS should be enabled for users from any location in a secured way.  SSL certificates along with community permissions are the most appropriate security measure utilized with Archive Studio.

These are but a few aspects of issues that need to be analyzed and requirements defined.  The requirements may be varied, and much depends on the nature of the enterprise, its philosophy toward information management, and the extent to which it gives (or plans to give) effect to managing information as an asset.  If there is no demonstrated commitment from management at the strategic and tactical levels of the organization, then those issues also need to be addressed.

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Tagged dms, document management, implementation, migration, requirements, training

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Tactical Requirements for Document Management Implementations

The requirements of a Document Management system (DMS) are related to functions and processes used by different business application of an organization.  When documenting tactical requirements it is important to ascertain various factors of document management implementations.  Some of them are

Training Requirements
It is important to train the document management end users so that the deployed product can be used.  Well planned, adequate training is a must for DMS users so that the DMS product, such as the DocuLex Archive Studio, does not add an additional headache to the users, but it rather helps for effective performance of the organization functions and business process workflow.  Defining the training requirements depends upon business requirements and the nature of the solution. Training should cover the following type of user

• General user — Adequate training is needed to ensure that the user is able to complete his work using the document management tool;
• Key Admin user — These users are the people who can further be used for more training to new users and have rights to give permissions to any general user.
• System administrator — Training the technical team so that they can manage the operation of the DMS solution with less support from the DMS reseller or manufacturer.

Some of the additional details that might incur cost while training are accommodation, travel expenses, computers for training, training room, professional trainer, etc.  It is important to plan these details before planning any training strategy.  Most, if not all of the training can occur online, saving travel expenses, facility business interruption and multi-location training sessions.

System Changeover / Migration
System changeover may include the business requirements for migrating from an existing document management system to the new document management system.  It is important that an enterprise, where the requirement exists, defines its system changeover and data migration requirements.  This may be relevant where an existing document is to be decommissioned as part of the implementation of the DMS solution.  There are a number of scenarios that might apply:

• There is no system changeover or data migration, which is the simplest scenario.
• An existing document system is to be decommissioned concurrent with or subsequent to the implementation of a DMS solution.
• Old Document system needs to be maintained as part of a system that provides a wider range of functionality, or integrates with a new system.  Hence, it is not to be decommissioned.

Prior to data migration, confirm that there is a database association between the meta data and the document file, including the path.   You might be surprise how many proprietary systems are out there.
If an existing document system is to be decommissioned, then it is important to consider its system changeover strategies and requirements.  There are a number of strategy options:

• Direct cutover;
• Parallel operations; and
• Phased changeover.

Planning for Managing Change
The implementation of document management system will bring about changes in the way the organization handles internal documents.  It is best to realize some of these Changes, so that the organizations can plan. Some of these changes are:

• For DMS solution to work effectively each documents need to be uniquely identified.  So while creating new documents or updating new documents, the users might have to add additional information in the DMS system such as version number etc.  This information will act as a metadata that can be used to store, retrieve and fetch data.
• The users might be using an existing filing system, network storage or some local database to locate documents.  All such users should be educated and their documents migrated to new DMS software.
• With the implementation of the DMS system, the way organizations use and store document will be different.  Such changes should be communicated clearly to all the new users and help provided till they become comfortable with new system.
• The organization will be storing files in the DMS repository.  It is important to get access to all users and restrict the access based on user’s profile or community.  Ultimately the DMS should not impact the day to day operations.
• Depending upon roles/needs remote access of DMS should be enabled for users from any location in a secured way.  SSL certificates along with community permissions are the most appropriate security measure utilized with Archive Studio.

These are but a few aspects of issues that need to be analyzed and requirements defined.  The requirements may be varied, and much depends on the nature of the enterprise, its philosophy toward information management, and the extent to which it gives (or plans to give) effect to managing information as an asset.  If there is no demonstrated commitment from management at the strategic and tactical levels of the organization, then those issues also need to be addressed.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tagged dms, document management, implementation, migration, requirements, training

Related Posts