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Today’s companies have to deal with huge volumes of data, and transforming all that information into actual results has become a must. One way to achieve this is through Big Data analysis, an approach aimed at discovering hidden patterns, unknown correlations, and other useful insights for better decision-making, as we discussed before. To conduct Big Data analysis, there is a essential step in data collection. For many organizations, the challenge lies in how to perform this. For others, the problem is how to add data to high-value documents. In other words, the question is about controlling the information flow. Consider, for example, three people working on a proposal. If modifications and data insertion are not well managed and recorded, the document creation process, besides taking much more time and being disorganized, can result in a missed opportunity. So how to handle document co-authorship and creation in a more organized and controlled manner? To answer this question, let’s begin by pondering on the following:
The challenge of controlling information flow
There are several popular systems developed for document and file sharing. However, while they successfully accomplish the mission of making information available to as many people as the file or document author needs, they still fall short in the co-authorship process.
According to the AIIM 2018 State of the Industry study, half of the surveyed organizations were actively researching or evaluating new content integration tools. For 49%, the mission was to find better collaboration platforms.
Here, we’d like to make a parenthesis. By “collaboration,” we mean the act of working in real-time with your team anywhere in the world, with full visibility and control over what changes are being made to processes and documents.
Therefore, when we talk about controlling how information flows in our business, we basically refer to:
- Assigning tasks to team members
- Controlling actions taken in processes and documents (e.g., information changes, document editing, etc.)
- Creating workflows
- Implementing security measures to ensure that only authorized team members have access to specific content
- Implementing security measures to ensure that only authorized members can work as co-authors
The ability to co-author is implicit when talking about collaboration, which, in turn, relates to controlling the flow of information. The next question is:
How do we effectively achieve better control over the information flow?
We need to emphazide that co-authorship is not just about file sharing. It goes a step further and also involves working in a single source repository within which all content is managed.
Think of this repository as a database containing all the objects and information, such as tables, macros, and forms, that your documents will need. All these objects are stored and accessible to those who will work in various stages of document creation.
To achieve this, companies have to invest in a robust Document Management solution. Some points to consider are:
- Ensure total information security by using a system that allows the management of authorized individuals interacting with documents through profile creation and permission assignment.
- When integrating with file editing tools, look for a solution that blocks functions such as Save, Save As, Print-Screen, Printing, and others.
- For co-authorship, it is essential to configure and control documents’ versioning, revision, and approval. This can be done by creating specific flows for any event related to a document. With defined permissions, only authorized users can add comments and tag other users, ensuring much smoother communication in a highly collaborative environment (remembering that controlling the flow of information also means controlling document movement).
- To effectively control the flow of information, documents must be managed without complexity. This is why document management software should enable the creation of independent management for each type of document.
AIIM suggests following three steps to control the flow of information (source):
Analyze your process
Any process improvement initiative should start with a complete understanding of the current process. Begin by asking questions such as:
- How do authors collaborate today?
- How do information flow, and what are the gaps and bottlenecks in the process?
- What is the desired outcome, and how does it differ from how things are currently done?
As AIIM clarifies, this type of process analysis is necessary to determine system requirements and to clarify gaps in the current process that need improvement.
Standardize content
Organizations that standardize content and make it available in an authoring database take a giant step in simplifying content creation across the company. Working with standardized documents can be very challenging if the company uses fragmented repositories.
Remember that standardized content not only saves time, effort, and money in the document creation process but also ensures greater quality and integrity of content.
Empower content authors
Traditional document controllers focus on the process, not necessarily on the content. This approach can lead to less-than-ideal outcomes. By defining users as content controllers, the company also ensures process improvement.
In conclusion
Especially for companies dealing with highly complex and high-value documents, there are many benefits to the strategic approach of co-authorship. As we have tried to demonstrate, to enjoy these benefits, it is essential to control the flow of information.
In addition to ensuring that content is kept up-to-date throughout the company, there is certainty that document accesses are logged and controlled. For companies adhering to standards such as ISO 9001, providing documents securely and with control is crucial.
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