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Commonly Asked Questions By Robert Blatt, MIT, LIT
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1.
What is the difference between document imaging and document
management? |
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1. What
is the difference between document imaging and document management? Document Imaging is the conversion of hardcopy
documents into a digital format followed by the indexing of this information
for later retrieval. Document
management is an all-encompassing term that is used throughout the industry
to describe all the relevant technologies including: Document Imaging, Workflow, Document
Services, COLD/ERM, Forms and Forms Processing, OCR/ICR, etc. There is a good description of each of
these technologies included within the AIIM Implementation Guidelines
Document, Version 2, on the AIIM site at: http: standards.aim.org, This
document is available at no charge and has been developed by the
Implementation Guidelines Standards Committee, as part of the AIIM standards
program. 2. We
have finished building our system and have done some testing. Should we spend a lot of time reviewing
various rollout approaches, or just “start the system up”? The system rollout planning should always be
carefully planned. If you are
starting to use multiple technologies, such as document imaging and workflow,
it is always recommended to start the document imaging portion first,
stabilize that portion of the environment, and then startup the workflow
components. Additionally, you should
consider the impact to current work and user workloads prior to scheduling
these activities. Before you start
these implementations, you should also review and carefully consider whether
you begin scanning, or processing all work as of a certain date, and what the
impact would be if you found a programming or system “bug” forcing you to
take the new technology out of production until fixed, or resolved. Finally, you should consider the impact on
your users when, not if, “bugs” or problems are encountered. The users will be going through serious
change management as they begin using these technologies, and if they are
unable to use the system, even for only a few days, they may not have work to
perform if you don’t consider a “roll-back” strategy. You should always consider a Phased
roll-out and always take into account the emotional impact on the users, as
they begin changing the way they perform their work. 3. When
looking at the AIIM Implementation Guidelines, it is recommended that a
“business process analysis” be completed. We already understand our business
process, so what is the purpose of the new “process baseline” documentation? As you pointed out, almost every organization
has an in-depth understanding of the tasks associated with their business
processes. The purpose of the
“process baseline” documentation is to fully document all aspects of each
portion of the business being evaluated.
This evaluation should include all aspects of the work activities,
including when documents are received, how they are handled (i.e., opened,
sorted, stamped, stapled, folder creation, etc.), how the information is
distributed (i.e., delivery, further sorting, preparation for work, copying,
etc.), and how the information is shared, tracked, and managed (i.e., copies,
personal notes, manual logging and other logs, etc.). Once the “process baseline” documentation
is complete, the organization can capture the associated time required to manually
prepare and process the work, and evaluate what technologies would be of
value and benefit, along with being able to evaluate actual costs for
specific work activities. At that
point, not only will the organization have a clear picture of exactly what
technology is desired, but also have a clear understanding of the
organizational expectations and associated technology costs, and anticipated
return on the investment. 4. Our
organization is planning to install document management technologies. How would industry standards be of benefit
to our efforts, and are they of any benefit to our end-users? Many people ask this very same question. The first thing I would like to point out
is that there is more information available, other than simply
standards. The AIIM standards program
has developed a fairly extensive collection of technical reports and
guidelines, along with technology standards.
These Industry standards, guidelines, and technical reports have been
created to assist in stabilizing specific portions of the document management
industry. Industry experts,
end-users, and product suppliers developed these standards, guidelines, and
technical reports as a team following AIIM/ANSI rules associated with the
standards program. Following this
structured methodology ensures that these documents have been prepared and
reviewed by a group of people representing that portion of the industry and
further reviewed by the AIIM Standards Board. The value of these standards cannot be overstated. Another positive aspect of these documents
is that they benefit organizations considering, planning, and/or implementing
these technologies; as the information is vendor neutral and contains sufficient
detail allowing organizations to understand the relevant portion of the
technology, how it works, and how to utilize it within their project
structures. End users gain
significant value from the guidelines and technical reports, as these
documents provide detailed information on topics such as implementation
planning, scanning/indexing preparation, organization change issues and
procedures, etc. These documents are
a compilation of numerous years of actual project experience from industry
experts and end-users enabling end-users to better prepare and plan their
projects. 5. We
have been evaluating various products/solutions, and would like to know the
basic difference between routing and workflow. The vendors seem to use these terms interchangeably. Please Explain. You are correct. We have heard many people try to use the terms “routing” and
“workflow” interchangeably, confusing many end-users and organizations
reviewing, or considering these technologies. Workflow is defined by the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC)
as: “The
automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which documents,
information, or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action,
according to a set of procedural rules” The WfMC has further defined a workflow system
as: “A
system that defines, creates and manages the execution of workflows through
the use of software, running on one or more workflow engines, which is able
to interpret the process definition, interact with workflow participants and,
where required, invoke the use of IT tools and applications”. The definition of routing can be considered
the transfer or exchange of information between 2 or more users or steps
within a process, or task. The
important difference is that all workflow technologies include some level of
information, or process/activity, routing, but routing does not ever include
process management (workflow). 6. We
just purchased a document imaging solution and are planning to install
it. How many indexers will we need to
support all 3 scanning stations? There is no magic formula or answer to this
extremely important question. When
evaluating the implementation of document imaging, it is important to
review/consider not only the volume of documents being received, but also how
that information will be indexed, allowing for later retrieval and use. At a minimum, you should always consider
indexing at least 2 fields for every document. The purpose of indexing 2 fields is that this approach further
enables users to find the information they are trying to locate. Having 3 scanning stations would probably
indicate a fairly high level of daily information that requires to be
scanned. Before attempting to
manually index all documents, I would encourage that you consider using
“patch codes”, “barcodes”, or OCR technologies to automate the identification
of as many incoming documents as possible.
After that, I would recommend that you consider in what time frame the
scanned documents need to become available, how many fields you need to
index, and how much time it will take for your indexing team to not only
index each document, but also to verify the information as being accurate. 7. After
looking at product brochures from various vendors, we are seeing some vendors
recommend using regular magnetic storage, and other recommend using optical
storage technologies. How do we know
which technology to use for our information archives? This is difficult question to answer. A few vendors have developed some products
that are represented to emulate read-once technologies using magnetic disk
for data storage. These technologies
have not been tested in the industry, nor have they been out long enough for
anyone to be able to answer questions such as: Ø
Will the courts (and
other regulatory agencies) accept/allow information stored with these
technologies rather than optical/microfilm/microfiche for
information/documents required to be stored and managed on write-once storage
technologies? Ø Will the vendors be able to sell enough products for them to continue manufacturing and selling these products? When evaluating whether your organization
requires optical storage technology vs. magnetic storage, you should consider
several factors including: Ø
Are there any
regulatory issues requiring information (such as public records) to be
maintained in write-once format, or will you be required to always store the
originals in a file area? Some people
are saving the originals because they don’t want to use write-once, resulting
in duplication of information. Also
don’t forget that if your organization receives a subpoena for information,
you need to check both areas for information being requested. Ø With the cost of optical storage being very low, longevity being much greater than magnetics, and the prevalence of these products, is there a technical or business need that needs to be taken into account? There is some discussion on this topic in the
AIIM ARP1-2002 Implementation Guidelines document available on the web page
for the AIIM Standards committees that may be of further value http://standards.aiim.org. 8.
We have been using document imaging and workflow for
almost 5 months with some magnetic storage for certain documents and optical
storage for others through the use of a HSM product. How long should we keep the original
documents, before we begin destroying them? Document storage in the original formats is
recommended until your organization is fully confident that the document
imaging portion of the system is stable, the information is being properly
indexed and stored, all information is available, and various legal steps
have been taken to ensure the ability to certify documents from the system as
being authenticate reproductions of the original. Also, don’t forget to create a best business practices document
that describes how you can demonstrate that the information is accurate,
comes from a reliable source, and that the technology being employed, and
used, is reliable is nature. Some organization hold onto the hard-copy
information for 1 year or so, and others less time. The specific time for your organization will be based on your
comfort levels. These technologies
are very stable. The issues that
always come into play are the times that it takes for the system to have
“roll-out” issues addressed/resolved and the time for the users to become
familiar with the new technology during the scanning, indexing, and data
verification phases. 9. We reviewed the AIIM implementation
guidelines and would like to know exactly what is the purpose of the
“business practices” document. We
already have user manuals related to how to use the document imaging and
workflow products. The purpose of this document is to document
how your business is using the selected technologies, what steps have been
taken to ensure information accuracy, and how you have ensured system
reliability and the appropriate level of security to prevent unauthorized
access, or information tampering.
These documents are not user manuals, but rather identify both user
procedures and existing user manuals; along with organizational guidelines
and “mandates”. This document should
also include information related to the certification process for information
being requested, and how the organization is able to re-produce authentic
reproductions of the original document.
Reference to current laws, or regulations, along with legal review,
ensuring your organizations compliance with these laws or regulations should
also be included. There is a national and international effort underway to develop a technical report on this very issue. This project is working under the AIIM Standards “umbrella”, specifically the C22 Evidentiary committee and ISO TC 171. The document number is ISO 15801 and is in process. If you contact either the C22 committee chair, or Ms Betsy Fanning at AIIM, you will be able to get more information on this work effort. |
