The AIIM Blog
Keep your finger on the pulse of Intelligent Information Management with industry news, trends, and best practices.
Project Planning and Management
1. Hear the Customer’s Voice Identify the internal and external customers that will give thumbs up or down on your deliverables. Prove that you’ve heard what they’ve said. In meetings, write down important, direct quotes. Subsequently, prove to them that you were listening by demonstrating how you addressed that specific concern. When everyone on the team is noting these types of issues, gather them in a list, prioritize them, and keep it in view of every team member. During technical discussions, particularly those involving user experience issues, refer to items in this list to advance or reduce points of view. Identify when the customer is asking for mutually exclusive solutions and clearly explain why one or the other option can be delivered but not both. No voice should be louder than the customer’s; the project team must hear it clearly and accurately.
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Search engines have come a long way in their ability to help users find desired information among electronic content within an enterprise. Technologies vary, but no matter the search method, all kinds of searches can be enhanced if a taxonomy is also brought into play. Regardless of how content is indexed (simple crawling, concept extraction, use of algorithms, use of rule sets, etc.), taxonomies can enhance the search, by boosting accuracy in retrieval results and by improving the user experience. More specifically, a taxonomy can support search in the following eight ways.
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Making an ECM implementation successful requires planning and attention to detail. The best way to create the right solution is to identify organizational goals and priorities. Learn how to manage a successful implementation in our free guide.
Collaboration | Electronic Records Management (ERM)
If you’re like most companies these days, you’re in the midst of deploying collaboration tools, such as SharePoint, in an attempt to meet users demands for more open communications. At the same time, you’re probably maintaining an array of legacy records management systems, deployed a decade or more ago, which are used to manage a specific subset of data in a very specific way. If you haven’t already noticed, these systems are like oil and water.
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Enterprise 2.0 | Intelligent Information Management (IIM) | Social Media
Consumers use several sources of information before making purchase decisions – they may seek independent opinions, speak to customer service agents, or examine goods physically. And they are accessing information via myriad touch points, including mobile devices, social networks or company websites. Companies recognize this, but consumers consistently rate satisfaction levels for cross-channel experiences as poor, so there is a disconnect. It is hard enough to ensure that a website delivers an excellent user experience. When you factor in the vast number of web-enabled mobile devices, companies face a huge challenge in creating a consistent and personalized experience for every user. Social media adds additional touch points and complexity.
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Digital Signatures | Document Management | Paperless Office
The law is on your side. Digital signatures are as legally binding as a physical, hand-written signature in every circumstance where a signature is required. The E-SIGN law and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act are supported by the federal government and have been adopted by 47 states. It clearly states “(c) If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law” with the purpose “to facilitate and promote commerce and governmental transactions by validating and authorizing the use of electronic records and electronic signatures." Further refinements by the EU, PIPEDA and the FDA recommend making sure the signature is unique to the signer, and that the signer’s identity is linked to the document. When combined with good governance and unalterable file formats, you can easily meet the guidelines for legality.
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When confronted with information management challenges, many organizations operate on a reactive basis—developing ad hoc solutions to specific problems as they arise. And because of this, many document management programs are rife with duplicate capabilities, non-standard approaches, and process inefficiencies. The result is that companies are becoming exposed to unnecessary risks and costs and missing out on opportunities to add business value. It's time to take a step back and view information management as a critical process on par with more traditional business operations. But few organizations have the time or expertise to build an information management program that meets today's needs—and will be ready for whatever the future holds.
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