Plan your data organization
Before intensive use of your application, you should plan your data organization in the repository.
Take the information that follows only as a general idea about the basic steps you should consider before intensive use of your application.
A good analysis of your organization and the understanding of the application can help you find the best way to solve your problems. OpenKM is not a closed application; it offers more than a couple of features focused on document management. OpenKM is a flexible application and can be used in several ways. It's a good idea to spend some time understanding your organization, your business logic and the processes involved and how the OpenKM features can work together in your day-to-day, helping your organization become more efficient and save money.
Some questions you should ask yourself about your organization:
- Where are your information and documents?
- What kind of documents do you have?
- Are your documents in electronic format or not?
- What document formats do you have? PDF, MS Office, OpenOffice, etc.
- How are you currently finding the document? How would you like to find it, and which terms do you consider relevant?
- Who can access the information and in which way?
- Do you need a workflow process?
What are the objectives of the previous questions?
- List in a table all the distinct types of information you have (invoices, budgets, legal papers, etc.).
- Identify the document formats (PDF, DOC, etc.).
- Identify non-digitized information that should be processed (scanned). The digitization process can be basic.
- Identify for each type of information (document type) which information is relevant (metadata). For example, invoices usually have an invoice number, a date range, and a customer, among others. The metadata will help users retrieve the information quickly and efficiently.
- Identify the security measures that must be applied for each document type: who can read, write, or delete information. Also, your security needs will help you set the level of application logging you need. OpenKM provides a full audit of any user action that can be configured in a more or less restrictive way.
- Identify workflows and the people involved in them.
The goal is to create a plan with a calendar and milestones.
What are the goals you are looking for with the implementation of the application? Usually they could be:
- Set some order in my organization. The application forces users to work in a certain way, which benefits your company because it helps you set rules that all users must follow.
- Consolidate the intellectual capital. By consolidating all your company's knowledge in a single place, you have the company knowledge available to share among your users and can set rules on it.
- Help comply with legal regulations.
Try to set a specification in a single document answering these questions and others. It will help you plan how to organize the information.
Good practice
- Consider OpenKM as a project that affects all your departments and usually your customers.
- Choose the leaders.
- Carry out a gradual implementation of the project. You can start with a department, a group of users, or a specific business process. Think of the implementation as a virus in your company. A good leader should demonstrate the benefits of the new system and show them to the other users. Users usually perceive any news in the company as something negative; if they see the application as something that helps their work (efficient search, saving time, solving real problems, etc.), they will be the first to be interested in using it. One of the major goals of OpenKM is an intuitive UI, which helps in this process (after two weeks, users feel comfortable using the application).
- Think simply; the best solution is usually the easiest way to solve problems.
- Listen to your users and try to get them involved in the project.
- Periodically review your plan; try to refine it and identify possible problems.
