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Demystify Document Strategy Design
Documents, Technology and People
One way to demystify the design of a document strategy is to focus your
efforts on three specific areas of inquiry: documents, technology and
people. These three elements are essentially the "what, how and who" of
your document strategy: what documents are important, how they are
produced and who cares about how they perform in the process.
Documents are, naturally, the subject of your strategy. They are what you
are aiming to improve. In order to increase the strategic value and tactical
effectiveness of your documents, it stands to reason that you should
determine which ones are most important to your organization. Which
"vital few" documents have the most influence on the performance of your
organization? Which relate directly to core functions, important initiatives
and troublesome problems? If you could pick only a handful of target
documents, which would you choose? You don't have to reengineer every
document, only the most essential.
Technology enables the document process. Computers, printers,
databases, networks, and all their associated systems and programs are
the technological means by which documents are created, produced and
processed. These systems can often combine into a confounding mix of
hardware and software. What technology is used to produce your target
documents? What are your current capabilities? What trends in
technology might influence or improve your process in the future?
Gathering this information will provide a technical basis for your strategy
and direct your recommendations regarding equipment purchases,
software upgrades and system changes.
In the end, people are the reason why documents are produced – without
cavemen there would be no cave drawings; without people there would
be no documents. It seems reasonable, therefore, that the people who
populate the document process in your organization are the best people
to describe the process. Who are the people who make up your
“document constituency” – the people who create and produce your
documents and care about how well they perform in the process? From
authors to readers, to production personnel, technical gurus and
executive stakeholders, each have specific, varied, and often unstated,
interest in your document strategy. The needs and interests of your
document constituency are important beacons to guide your strategy.
Documents
• Which “vital few” documents drive essential business functions?
• Which relate to or influence corporate measures and initiatives?
• Which have the highest potential return on your effort?
• Which have the best probability for success?
Technology
• What technologies are used to produce your target documents?
• What are your existing capabilities?
• Are resources underutilized or overworked?
• What new technology is available to improve your processes?
People
• Who are the people that care about how your documents perform?
• Who are authors, readers, producers and stakeholders?
• What are the needs of this “document constituency?”
• How well are those requirements being met?
Issues to Consider
Consider there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of documents within
your organization. Some are more important than others. Some are
obsolete while others have a lifetime of importance. Some documents
drive critical business functions while others live a life of their own
because “we’ve always done it this way.” Regardless, documents are a
pervasive element of everyday work and their sheer numbers can
dampen the spirits of the most enthusiastic document strategist.
Determining your most vital documents will provide a manageable target
for your document strategy.
Technology is also pervasive and complex. Depending on your company,
document processing can involve everything from legacy mainframe
systems to the latest Web-enabled solution. Documents may mutate
between paper and digital incarnations in seemingly random and
incomprehensible ways. Understanding your current document
technology, as well as the range of possibilities presented by new and
developing technology, will lead you to informed decisions and valuable
recommendations.
Perhaps most importantly, people have the biggest and most varied role
in the document process. As such, they should be featured prominently
within the design of your strategy. The population of your document
constituency – authors, readers, producers and stakeholders – are widely
varied but vitally important. Each will approach things differently and have
at times conflicting needs and objectives. Let these people point the way
as you chart the course of your strategy.
Use a Fluid Approach
The approach I describe in “Designing a Document Strategy” will help
demystify the design of a strategy tailored to your particular organization
and set of requirements. The framework, however, is not a linear
process. The interaction between documents, technology and people is
fluid and will overlap, so the design of your strategy should be done using
a similarly fluid approach. In other words, as you learn more about your
documents you will learn more about the technology used to produce
them. As you become familiar with the people who have a stake in your
documents you will begin to understand which documents matter most to
your organization. As you learn more about your current capabilities you
will be better able to ascertain how trends in technology might improve
your process in the future.
Documents are created with technology to be used by people, so it
makes sense that these three factors surface as guiding beacons for a
document strategy. Mapping the course of your plans with these
perspectives will help direct the latitude of your effort and ensure that your
design process is comprehensive yet manageable. As a result, your
directional decisions will be more pointed, practical and profitable
One way to demystify the design of a document strategy is to focus your
efforts on three specific areas of inquiry: documents, technology and
people. These three elements are essentially the "what, how and who" of
your document strategy: what documents are important, how they are
produced and who cares about how they perform in the process.
Documents are, naturally, the subject of your strategy. They are what you
are aiming to improve. In order to increase the strategic value and tactical
effectiveness of your documents, it stands to reason that you should
determine which ones are most important to your organization. Which
"vital few" documents have the most influence on the performance of your
organization? Which relate directly to core functions, important initiatives
and troublesome problems? If you could pick only a handful of target
documents, which would you choose? You don't have to reengineer every
document, only the most essential.
Technology enables the document process. Computers, printers,
databases, networks, and all their associated systems and programs are
the technological means by which documents are created, produced and
processed. These systems can often combine into a confounding mix of
hardware and software. What technology is used to produce your target
documents? What are your current capabilities? What trends in
technology might influence or improve your process in the future?
Gathering this information will provide a technical basis for your strategy
and direct your recommendations regarding equipment purchases,
software upgrades and system changes.
In the end, people are the reason why documents are produced – without
cavemen there would be no cave drawings; without people there would
be no documents. It seems reasonable, therefore, that the people who
populate the document process in your organization are the best people
to describe the process. Who are the people who make up your
“document constituency” – the people who create and produce your
documents and care about how well they perform in the process? From
authors to readers, to production personnel, technical gurus and
executive stakeholders, each have specific, varied, and often unstated,
interest in your document strategy. The needs and interests of your
document constituency are important beacons to guide your strategy.
Documents
• Which “vital few” documents drive essential business functions?
• Which relate to or influence corporate measures and initiatives?
• Which have the highest potential return on your effort?
• Which have the best probability for success?
Technology
• What technologies are used to produce your target documents?
• What are your existing capabilities?
• Are resources underutilized or overworked?
• What new technology is available to improve your processes?
People
• Who are the people that care about how your documents perform?
• Who are authors, readers, producers and stakeholders?
• What are the needs of this “document constituency?”
• How well are those requirements being met?
Issues to Consider
Consider there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of documents within
your organization. Some are more important than others. Some are
obsolete while others have a lifetime of importance. Some documents
drive critical business functions while others live a life of their own
because “we’ve always done it this way.” Regardless, documents are a
pervasive element of everyday work and their sheer numbers can
dampen the spirits of the most enthusiastic document strategist.
Determining your most vital documents will provide a manageable target
for your document strategy.
Technology is also pervasive and complex. Depending on your company,
document processing can involve everything from legacy mainframe
systems to the latest Web-enabled solution. Documents may mutate
between paper and digital incarnations in seemingly random and
incomprehensible ways. Understanding your current document
technology, as well as the range of possibilities presented by new and
developing technology, will lead you to informed decisions and valuable
recommendations.
Perhaps most importantly, people have the biggest and most varied role
in the document process. As such, they should be featured prominently
within the design of your strategy. The population of your document
constituency – authors, readers, producers and stakeholders – are widely
varied but vitally important. Each will approach things differently and have
at times conflicting needs and objectives. Let these people point the way
as you chart the course of your strategy.
Use a Fluid Approach
The approach I describe in “Designing a Document Strategy” will help
demystify the design of a strategy tailored to your particular organization
and set of requirements. The framework, however, is not a linear
process. The interaction between documents, technology and people is
fluid and will overlap, so the design of your strategy should be done using
a similarly fluid approach. In other words, as you learn more about your
documents you will learn more about the technology used to produce
them. As you become familiar with the people who have a stake in your
documents you will begin to understand which documents matter most to
your organization. As you learn more about your current capabilities you
will be better able to ascertain how trends in technology might improve
your process in the future.
Documents are created with technology to be used by people, so it
makes sense that these three factors surface as guiding beacons for a
document strategy. Mapping the course of your plans with these
perspectives will help direct the latitude of your effort and ensure that your
design process is comprehensive yet manageable. As a result, your
directional decisions will be more pointed, practical and profitable
| Craine Communications Group 503.452.9166 |
Most organizations do not consider themselves to be in the
document business. Nevertheless, documents are really a
second venture for nearly all organizations. Whether printed
on paper or viewed online, documents are the chief
mechanism that prompt people to act. Documents provide
the impetus for customers to buy, borrow and pay and are
the foundation of business revenue. Documents are the
tools that help run a business every day and are the means
by which business processes begin and end.
The bottom line is this: pick any vital business activity and
you can bet that documents play a vital role in the process.
As a result, organizations with a document strategy us will
be more likely to have an advantage. The efforts are
imperative in order to mine the value of the information
contained within an enterprise, and reduce the cost and
increase the effectiveness of business processes.
But designing a document strategy is not easy, and as yet,
there has been no clear or available road map to guide
strategic design efforts. Existing approaches tend to be
either purely technical in scope or primarily conceptual in
nature. While jargon and theory can bring to light aspects
that one must understand or consider when designing a
strategy, they do not bring the would-be implementer any
closer to actually doing anything to put theory into practice.
For many, the lament becomes, "I know a document
strategy is important, but how do I develop one?"
document business. Nevertheless, documents are really a
second venture for nearly all organizations. Whether printed
on paper or viewed online, documents are the chief
mechanism that prompt people to act. Documents provide
the impetus for customers to buy, borrow and pay and are
the foundation of business revenue. Documents are the
tools that help run a business every day and are the means
by which business processes begin and end.
The bottom line is this: pick any vital business activity and
you can bet that documents play a vital role in the process.
As a result, organizations with a document strategy us will
be more likely to have an advantage. The efforts are
imperative in order to mine the value of the information
contained within an enterprise, and reduce the cost and
increase the effectiveness of business processes.
But designing a document strategy is not easy, and as yet,
there has been no clear or available road map to guide
strategic design efforts. Existing approaches tend to be
either purely technical in scope or primarily conceptual in
nature. While jargon and theory can bring to light aspects
that one must understand or consider when designing a
strategy, they do not bring the would-be implementer any
closer to actually doing anything to put theory into practice.
For many, the lament becomes, "I know a document
strategy is important, but how do I develop one?"