New Project Goals – Pipe Dream or Dream Project?

So, it’s happened. You are in charge of a new Document Management project. You have some idea what the end result should look like… and you have a started a list of things you’ll need to get you there… but figuring out exactly “how” is the tricky part. There are several pieces of the puzzle already solved, others that you know how to fit together, but there are even more that will have to be worked through one-by-one.

There are perhaps a few “must have” project objectives, and another three that you assume are simply unattainable “wish list” items. Why? Because you can’t imagine a single vendor could possibly deliver on all six of the desired project objectives.

That may or may not be true. But just maybe this Document Management “Wish List” will be a chance for you and your project partners to employ some creative thinking.

No matter which industry you’re working in, you will likely encounter some Document Management project that is beyond the scope of a simple off-the-shelf package. For example, a project might include documents from multiple data sources, documents created in multiple formats, documents going to completely different destination types, and so forth. When document data needs to be massaged multiple times before printing, a standard Document Management solution may not be the best fit. But a little creative document formatting by your app dev folks coupled with the right mix of vendor products might do the trick.

For example, consider this challenge: a document bundle needs to be assembled and delivered utilizing bar codes and/or Postal Service markings to ensure verifiable delivery. The documents in the package are of various types and from various origins. Your task is to develop a solution that will gather up the package contents and determine when the set of documents is complete.

The next step might be to sort the components by size or type to apply proper bar codes and/or mailing markings. Some parts of the document may only need to be printed, while others may also need to be archived for future project tasks. Finally, you will likely need to incorporate document tracking and reporting in order to comply with corporate auditing standards.   

At the very least, the example described above would require data gathering, verification, sorting, bundling, delivery preparation and auditing. These are rather common activities within a firm that deals with document delivery to internal and/or external recipients on a daily basis. But combining these into an automated, yet flexible, process is the tricky “how” part of the challenge mentioned earlier.

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. offers specialized Document Management project assistance in the form of collaboration, customization, and integrated software implementations. The base software functions that drive most Document Management “Wish List” implementations include verified data receipt, intelligent document bundling, splitting, and formatting. Our software handles these functions as well as programmatic delivery based on various metadata and a complete audit trail that includes reports containing metrics for all points of contact with the documents involved. The ability of the software to handle each of the required tasks in a streamlined workflow, combined with full document tracking, is the foundation to delivering successful results.

In the end, flexible software is not enough. The toughest document challenges require help from a vendor with decades of expertise and the willingness to work hand-in-hand with your team to meet your project objectives. Once you put all your project goals into a collaborative project flow diagram, the impossible may begin to seem possible. If you and your colleagues are involved with a Document Management project that seems attainable only through magic or witchcraft, this might be the time to engage LRS for an initial discovery conversation. Hundreds of man-years of document experience are just a phone call away.