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Samenwerking DCW en Docuwork verzekert medewerkers van werk

Using simple tools to deal with File Clutter on Mac OS X

Dealing with file clutter remains a challenge for all of us that like to increase their personal productivity and review, filter, sort and file new documents or downloads as effective and efficient as possible, but at the same time make sure we are able to retrieve them in at least the same time.

Sticking with Finder

Personally, I've tried many solution to deal with file clutter. I went from "heavy-weight" file management solution like Yojimbo, Together or DevonThink to more "light-weight" ones such as Shovebox. None of them really did the job for me as I've either seen to slow performance, have been over oder underwhelmed by the the available features, but most of the time I just missed the Mac OS X Finder, which I think is still the best file management available.

The simple and minimalistic, but efficient solution

Hence I wanted a minimalistic, Finder-based document management approach that complied with the GTD methodology and delivered the greatest possible integration with Mac OS X. Finder was the choice, however, what I missed in Finder, and that was really the only thing I missed, was the ability to tag files. So my solution to deal with file clutter involves Tags from GravityApps to apply tags to all my documents (Tags goes way beyond this, by the way). In addition I was looking to make the entire process as keyboard centric as possible, especially the part where I move the documents in the appropriate folder. LaunchBar, a Quicksilver equivalent, does a great job for me in that respect. Watch my screencast above to get a glimpse of my simple solution in action.

You will also see how I organise my documents and especially dealing with reference material, being the GTDer I am, in the video.

Collaborative document management for the rest of us

(EDIT: new post about account options added on Nov 5, 2009)

Over and over again I have experienced the frustrations of not knowing whether a file I've received in email is the latest version; not knowing how a document changed from one version to the next, or who has worked on the document during its development; not being able to include team members from another company; wasting time in finding a document because someone stored it in a different folder.

In my previous jobs (stints at PwC and Wolters Kluwer in the Auditing/Accounting/SOX, Media, and Software Development industries) our teams relied on four ways to send documents around and collaborate on their development:

1. Email/IM
2. Host on a network share or document management system (SharePoint, Documentum, DropBox)
3. Shared on a collaborative editing site (e.g. Google Docs)
4. Send via courier

But it turns out that all four mechanisms introduce a host of frustrations and is, frankly, a schlepp.

And the larger your team, the harder the collaboration becomes.

When a team collaborates on a document they typically have the following needs:

1. Everyone on the team should have insight into the development of the document
2. You can find the latest version (or a prior version) of a document and know how it differs from other versions
3. It should not matter what the document type is (i.e. you can collaborate on a document of ANY format)
4. If the team members are from different companies, sharing must be secure
5. Store the document in a place where it can be subsequently found

So we set out to create a new type of document management system which addresses all these problems. 

It was important for us to create a system which we can use ourselves, which doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and which lets the user just get on with it without having to worry about admin tasks.

In short, Workstax:

• tracks any document as a team works on it
• can show you how the document changed over time
• enables secure participation for team members who may be from different companies
• has a flexible "filing" system - conversation threads and tagging instead of folders
• has powerful and accurate search
• shows a news feed of activity in your teams so you remain informed
• requires no installation or administration - it is fully web based and hosted in the cloud with bank-grade security

 

Document Management for SMB using IBM Lotus Quickr

IBM Lotus Quickr is very capable of performing as a document management solution for SMBs. Stable, quick, customizable and with lots of integration options, its default setup has only one (potential) pitfall. Which one? Keep on reading...

Background

So, what do I know about document management? Not enough to teach about it, but enough to have my opinion. I've been using various document management systems during my whole professional life: while I worked as Design Engineer and Project Manager in Saab Bofors Dynamic I used Continuus for document management and Doors and Slate for requirement management. Here, in COMPUTING systems, we have an elaborate document management system based on IBM Lotus Domino Document Manager. Furthermore, we are developing a solution that combines business process modelling with Scan / OCR and archiving functionality.

Document Management Systems

What is the purpose of the document management systems (DMS)? Simply put:

• to allow access control,
• to simplify document search,
• to allow groups to work on the same document, while preventing conflicts arising from two or more people trying to alter a document at the same time,
• to provide means of versioning, meaning that system keeps older versions of the document, and
• to allow formal review and approval of documents.

Quickr is actually very good in each of these points. It is not perfect (e.g. one cannot save drafts, only versions of a document; review and approval functionality is rudimentary) but more than adequate for the needs of an SMB looking for a simple solution to start managing documents. And, in case you wonder: No, shared folders are not considered to be a document management system!

How does a typical SMB manage documents?

The simple answer is - it does not. In more than five years I've been doing document management for living, I am still to meet a customer that has any sort of document management implemented. Now, before you jump on me for saying this, have in mind that I am talking about Bosnia and Herzegovina, where such a rudimentary thing as e-mail is still a mystery for many companies. I am sure that situation is better elsewhere, but I am also sure that too many companies use shared folders on local PCs or server (if they have one) for storing all company documents. Without proper access control, without versioning and, most often, without backup.

What does a typical user want?

Typical user wants as little change as possible to the workflow and applications. Typical user does not want to learn how to perform existing tasks in a new way. This poses a challenge to document management systems as there is a whole lot of functionality that needs to be implemented with as little disruption to user as possible.

One way of doing this is by providing a set of connectors that allows users to perform document management actions from within standard office applications that he uses for daily work, e.g. word and spreadsheet editors, file managers. Quickr provides a set of connectors (called aptly Quickr Connectors) and they work very well. Quickr has connectors for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Windows Explorer; IBM Lotus Notes, IBM Lotus Sametime and IBM Symphony, thus covering typical range of office applications found in every SMB.

Show me an example!

Consider a simple use case: user navigates to a document using file manager, opens the document to do some changes and then saves it. Here is how it is done in Quickr:

1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to Quickr place, folder and document - just as you would do if the file was on your local hard drive or somewhere on the network.

2. Double-click on the file. Quickr will show a dialogue asking whether to check-out document for editing. If you want to edit the document, choose to check out. If you only want to read the document, open it without checking out (this is like opening a read only copy).

3. Choose to check out the document so you can edit it. The document opens in the default editor, Lotus Symphony in this case.

Edit the document as usual. Notice the Quickr Connectors toolbar - once you are done with editing simply click on Check in. Your document will be saved to Quickr server and checked in, meaning that your recent edits will be made available to other members of the Quickr place.
Also, you can save the document but leave it checked-out, so you can continue editing it later. While the document is checked-out, only you will have access to it and see the latest changes. Other members will be able to read (the latest checked-in version of) the document, but they will not be able to do any changes.

Wrap-up

As you can see, using Quickr as DMS (in its simplest form) does not require the end user to change much of its usual work routine. Documents are still found and opened through Windows Explorer, edited in default application and saved to DMS by a simple click on an icon (albeit, not the usual one).

Next time we'll start exploring more advanced features such as document versions and approval and how they can be used in a typical SMB.

Digital Document Management

This is not directly related to photography, but I had the pleasure of offering a workshop on digital document management hosted by MIT Libraries. I started digitizing documents and managing them digitally 3 years ago, when computers became powerful enough and inexpensive document scanners became available. This work was also inspired by how photographers manage lots of images, both in physical negatives and digital image files. In fact, documents are quite a bit easier than images because you can perform full text search. 

 
The slides presented here are basically the same as what I used in the workshop, but some of the copyrighted materials are removed and a graphic cover page and "commercial links" added.
 

Document Management and Enterprise Architecture

Years ago, we heard the mantra that paper was going to go away and we were entering the age of the paperless society.

But this vision has not come fully to fruition.

Public CIO Magazine, August/September 2008, reports that “everyone figured the electronic processes were going to wipe out paper, but that never happened. One possible reason is that printers kept getting faster and cheaper.” (Ralph Gammon, editor and publisher of the Document Imaging Report).

Paper is plentiful in the public sector as well.

Despite the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, “which requires the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report to congress on the paperwork burden imposed on the public, the feds are allowing the overall burden to grow.”

“The OMB’s latest report, Information Collection Budget, FY 2007, reports the burden increased from 8.24 billion hours in fiscal ’05 to 9.92 billion hours in ’06, a rise of more than 8 percent.” This amounts to an average of 39 hours in 2006 for the average adult in the U.S. to complete government paperwork.

Why is the government not cutting back on paper in lieu of digital solutions when communicating with the public?

“We realize that not everyone has access to a computer and not everyone is technology savvy. So we end up using paper as the lowest common denominator to communicate with a lot of external people.”

Over time, as technology continues to permeate our society, the necessity for paper solutions for the masses will decrease.

Even now with federal tax submissions (which account for roughly 78% of the total paperwork burden on the public), electronic submissions are available and being used by more and more taxpayers:

“Electronic Tax Filing begain in 1986, with the transmission of 25,000 refund-only individual income tax returns, [and]…as of October 19, 2004, more than 63 million individual returns had been filed electronically - 42 million from tax professionals!” (http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=120353,00.html)

In enterprise planning for electronic document solutions for our organizations, we need to work towards ever more sophisticated solutions for the creation, storage, handling, search and retrieval, retention, and disposition, collaboration, and security of information. These solutions should provide for a feature rich electronic document environment including: document management, version control and workflow, record management, imaging and optical character recognition, and overall content management.

Through implementation of electronic document management solutions, we can continue move our enterprises toward enhanced worker productivity, reduced burden on our customers/partners/stakeholders, cost savings, better access to information and hence better decision making capability, and compliance with mandates such as the Paperwork Reduction Act, Government Paperwork Elimination Act, Federal Records Act, and Freedom of Information Act.