Document: The Knowledge Vessel

"But the real home-run comes when the processes of the company become integrated into that environment. Once you're able to easily find the right versions, and collaborate effectively with them, you can automate processes, such as contract approval, and get HUGE efficiencies from that. That is what happens with implementation of systems like these; once you get them in, you begin to see the value opportunities, and the doors begin to open and change the organization in dramatic ways."

That is not to say it is a trivial effort. Steve explained: "We start with a ‘sandbox environment,' where developers can try things out and make sure it meets the needs. And there is also oversight; we encourage customers to appoint a ‘document management/knowledge management czar.' If it's a small company, and they don't feel they can devote a person to that role, we can act as the czar for them. But there has to be communication; there's often a gap between what management thinks is being done, and what is actually being done," laughed Steve.

All this stuff is great, I agreed, but if it creates difficult change in the organization, it's kind of all for naught. Greg had some thoughts on that. "A lot of document management systems rely on a folder system that people have to adhere to. And there are folders for sales, and for contracts and for marketing and on and on, and it becomes chaotic. We think it's better to put all documents into a centralized location, and tag them. There is a slight change of behavior required, but it's much easier than navigating through a file structure and trying to figure out which folder to put it in," he said.

Change is inevitable when creating and integrating document management into a business process. Steve said, "Our edict is: follow the document, not the person. And that's a hard habit to break: What does Sally do? What does Bill do? We don't want to look at it from that perspective. We want to know: What documents come into the organization? When do they come in? What tasks need to be performed when those documents arrive? And then finally, who is qualified to perform those activities? It's an important way to look at it, rather than the business workflow queue kind of concept."

"It doesn't have to happen all at one time, with a big pill you have to swallow," added Greg. "It can happen in ways that allow you to drive your organization in the way you want to go, but gently. Once you implement a system, it can quickly become apparent by whom and where these processes are NOT being followed, too. So it allows insight into the behavior of the organization. Without it, it's a free-for-all! You don't know what's happening. You can identify individuals and groups that are not following the process well; it allows for a constructive correction. That's part of business process management."

"Yes. It happens all the time," said Steve. "We call it ‘land and expand.'"

And as for user reluctance...? "We do find some companies where the users feel they shouldn't have to do anything, they shouldn't have to tag documents, etc. But there's also the implication that they're doing themselves a favor... they're making it easier to find something later when they need it. Keep in mind," Greg continued, "there are plenty of vertical markets when it's not a ‘nice-to-have'... it's a requirement to be in compliance. Following the procedure is part of doing business."

There will probably never be a substitute for the water cooler or for "prairie dogging" (that's where you stick your head up from your cubicle and ask the people around you for help, BTW). But process automation sure makes it a lot easier. Please read on.