DOCUMENT Fall/Winter 2013

HOW DESIGN THINKING PUTS THE CUSTOMER IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT GET A “YES” ON YOUR WORKFLOW SOFTWARE PROJECT P.24 SIX-STEP GUIDE TO GATHER EMAIL ADDRESSES P.32

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18 路 realbusiness Spring 2012 Edition

volume 20 issue 3

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Features

24 Powerball How to draw that elusive “yes” on your workflow software project

By George Dunn

Say Tomato, You Say Tomahto 18 IThe Practical Business Semantic of Search in SharePoint 2013

By Seth Earley

Something?

28 Forgetting Don’t let audits overlook your records management processes because it can hurt where it counts the most.

By Marilyn Bier

Departments

Columns

05 What’s New 06 Masthead 06 Most Social 08 Editor’s View 10 Contributors

People and 12 Mandates, Recordkeeping: The Human Factor Matters

By Bob Larrivee

a Different 14 Tapping Channel with Near

Field Communication (NFC)

By David Martina

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Design Thinking Puts the Customer Back in the Driver’s Seat

By Clay Richardson

Go Knocking the 30 Don’t “Direct” in Direct Mail Direct mail proves to be resilient, but change is on the horizon.

By David Davis

Keepers 32 Finder’s Your six-step guide to effectively gather email addresses

By Richard Rosen and Michele Karrlsson Willis

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Top Stories of 2013

Features

What’s New What 5-Day Mail Delivery Means for You

The Pains or Gains of Social Media Is Up to You: Understanding the Risks

By Todd Haycock www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ What-5Day-Mail-Delivery-Means-forYou--1337.aspx

By Brian Christensen www.documentmedia.com/Main/ articles/The-Pains-or-Gains-of-SocialMedia-Is-Up-to-You-Un-1348.aspx

It’s a Digital-First World: Five Trends Reshaping Records Management As You Know It

By Cheryl McKinnon www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ Its-a-DigitalFirst-World-Five-TrendsReshaping-Rec-1346.aspx

Cloud Printing Users: Be Aware of Easy Printing Anytime, Anywhere

By Sharon McNee www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ Cloud-Printing-Users-Be-Aware-of-EasyPrinting-Any-1358.aspx

More Is Better: Transactional Communication Is Still a Mixed Bag

By Matt Swain www.documentmedia.com/Main/ content-library/More-Is-BetterTransactional-Communication-IsStil-1350.aspx

Think You Don’t Need the Forms Management Function? Think Again.

By Ray Killam www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ Think-You-Dont-Need-the-FormsManagement-Function-1340.aspx

10 Must-Have Features for an Enterprise Content Management Solution

What Is an Electronic Document Management Life Cycle?

By Jonathan Lincoln www.documentmedia.com/Main/ articles/10-MustHave-Features-for-anEnterprise-Content-Man-1344.aspx

By Bob Larrivee www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ What-Is-an-Electronic-DocumentManagement-Life-Cyc-1304.aspx

State of the Market: Transactional Printing

7 Trends You Want Your MPS Partner to Know

By David Davis www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ State-of-the-Market-TransactionalPrinting--1332.aspx

By Ken Stewart www.documentmedia.com/Main/ articles/7-Trends-You-Want-Your-MPSPartner-to-Know-1336.aspx

DOCUMENTmedia.com fall/winter.2013

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president

Chad Griepentrog

publisher

Ken Waddell

editor Allison Lloyd

[ allison.l@rbpub.com ]

contributors

advertising

Marilyn Bier David Davis George Dunn Seth Earley Bob Larrivee David Martina Clay Richardson Richard Rosen Michele Karrlsson Willis Ken Waddell

[ ken.w@rbpub.com ]

[ 608.442.5064 ]

circulation director

[ rachel@rbpub.com ]

marketing

creative director

DOCUMENT (ISSN 1081-4078) is published on a weekly basis via its online portal and produces special print editions by RB Publishing Inc., 2901 International Lane, Madison, WI 53704-3128. All material in this magazine is copyrighted Š 2013 by RB Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to DOCUMENT magazine, RB Publishing Inc. or its staff becomes the property of RB Publishing Inc. The articles in this magazine represent the views of the authors and not those of RB Publishing Inc. or DOCUMENT. RB Publishing Inc. and/or DOCUMENT expressly disclaim any liability for the products or services sold or otherwise endorsed by advertisers or authors included in this magazine.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: DOCUMENT is the essential publication for executives, directors and managers involved with the management, strategy, creation and delivery of communications in B2C environments. Free to qualified recipients; subscribe at www.documentmedia.com/subscribe.

REPRINTS: For high-quality reprints, please contact our exclusive reprint provider, ReprintPros, 949-702-5390, www.ReprintPros.com.

Rachel Chapman Cierra Bauer Kelli Cooke

2901 International Drive Madison WI 53704-3128 p: 608-241-8777 f: 608-241-8666 email: rbpub@rbpub.com

MOST SOCIAL ARTICLES

MOST TWEETED Paper or Electronic: Why the Promise of Electronic Forms Is Still a Work in Progress http://www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/Paper-or-Electronic-Whythe-Promise-of-Electronic-1352.aspx

MOST READ ON LINKEDIN The Print to Mail Industry Is Dead, and Al Gore Invented the Internet! http://www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/The-Print-to-MailIndustry-Is-Dead-and-Al-Gore-Inv-1351.aspx

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MOST READ ON DOCUMENTMEDIA.COM Cloud Printing Users: Be Aware of Easy Printing Anytime, Anywhere http://www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/ Cloud-Printing-Users-Be-Aware-of-EasyPrinting-Any-1358.aspx

EDITOR’S VIEW

ARE YOU SQUEEZING IT RIGHT OUT OF THE BUSINESS? @DOCUMENTmedia

by Allison Lloyd

ime seems to be up for IT. 2013 ushered in a growing pile of grievances laid at IT’s door, spurred on by bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives and the intensifying push towards mobile. Business owners, frustrated with the often complex and slowmoving processes that have long been the domain of IT, are taking back the power of control. This shift in ownership will only continue into 2014, with Forrester principal analyst, Brian Hopkins, reporting that the business ownership of process and intelligence will continue to be prevalent in order for enterprises to “operate in a more intelligent fashion.”

So, is IT being squeezed out of the equation? The answer might be, “Maybe?” Both Gartner and Forrester both predict that IT will need to rethink where they fit in the new pace of business, with analysts pointing to its emerging role as a service broker. Businesses consistently report that cloud and mobile strategies are the top two technology concerns in the coming year, allowing IT to prove their mettle in meeting these demands.

Even with increasing ownership, business leaders are still scrambling to redesign their current strategies to address the cloud and mobile engagement while IT struggles to provide solutions that are fast and scalable. This is a tenuous relationship, filled with many hurdles. Understanding the challenges for

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the business and IT, we are introducing a new conference, CONNECT IT, in 2014, to be featured at the DOCUMENT Strategy Forum. This program, built by thought leaders Seth Earley, of Earley & Associates and the author of this issue’s feature on page 18, and Joe Shepley of Doculabs, is dedicated to bridging this gap and to offer strategic solutions to market.

See you in 2014!

110 MILLION DOCUMENTS A MONTH CAN’T BE WRONG. *BECAUSE THEY WERE GENERATED WITH APPLICATIONS THAT WERE TESTED WITH PALOMA PRINT PERFECT.

CONTRIBUTORS

Seth Earley Mr. Earley has been in the technology field for 25-plus years. He has developed search, content and knowledge strategies for global organizations and has developed underlying taxonomies for a diverse roster of Fortune 1000 companies. He also serves as a co-conference chair for the CONNECT IT Conference, an event for business and IT leaders focused on content and document management systems and strategy.

George Dunn Mr. Dunn is the founder and president of CRE8 Independent Consultants and is a worldwide recognized consultant, speaker, instructor, contributing editor and author on business process innovation and improvement, paperless technologies and complex computer system replacement planning. He has over 25 years of experience in the advanced technology and process improvement industry.

Clay Richardson Print Perfect cuts document time to market and improves document accuracy, which saves money.

Our automated document testing system can validate every page of your output to ensure it is produced as expected. This validation can be completed faster and more accurately than manual document testing processes, which are time-consuming, costly, and inaccurate.

To learn how Print Perfect can save your company time and money while improving document accuracy contact us today at: 262.618.4125 or palomaprintproducts.com

Mr. Richardson serves enterprise architecture professionals at Forrester Research and is a leading expert on business process management (BPM) software, services and methodologies. He has many years of experience in business process improvement projects, BPM platforms and solutions selection, systems analysis and design and project management for enterprise software implementations.

Richard Rosen Mr. Rosen is the chief executive officer of The RH Rosen Group, a firm that provides solutions to help businesses improve processes and customer communications. Prior to forming The RH Rosen Group, he held leadership roles at Neopost, Hasler and Pitney Bowes in the areas of product marketing and strategic management.

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COLUMN

MANDATES, PEOPLE AND RECORDKEEPING: THE HUMAN FACTOR MATTERS

by Bob Larrivee

n August 24, 2012, President Obama issued a memorandum regarding the management of government records, citing the need for reformation of the policies, practices and framework that would bring about a more modern way to manage government records.

The joint memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Archives and Records Administration to the heads of executive departments and agencies and independent agencies cites that “records are the foundation of open government, supporting the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration.

Well-managed records can be used to assess the impact of programs, to improve business processes, and to share knowledge across the Government. Records protect the rights and interests of people, and hold officials accountable for their actions. Permanent records document our nation’s history.”

In part one of the memorandum, it outlines the two goals of the directive for federal agencies to achieve. The first is the requirement to eliminate paper use and the move to electronic recordkeeping wherever possible, including email, which is to be maintained in an “accessible” electronic format. It is expected that by December of 2013 all agencies will have developed and begun to implement a plan to move in this direction, with some indications that consideration will be given to digitizing current permanent records like those found in paper and micrographic formats.

The one thing that really stood out for me in all of this is the second of the two goals, which describes areas of accountability and responsibility. This section mandates that there must be designated personnel with specific credentials who will be responsible to ensure everything is carried out appropriately. However, it is the instruction following this, titled “Agencies Must Establish Records Management

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Training,” that really hit home for me. Here it cites that “by December 31, 2014, all Federal agencies must establish a method to inform all employees of their records management responsibilities in law and policy, and develop suitable records management training for appropriate staff.”

This is the most significant element for me because all of the policies, practices, and technologies you can think to use will not deliver the expected results unless everyone is informed, trained and engaged in the program. If the human factor is not included in the equation, there is higher chance and risk of failure. In my view, this memorandum clearly demonstrates the need and benefit of not only moving to a more modern way of managing records and information but also the role of the individual contributor in order to succeed. This does not mean every employee has to be an expert in records management, but it does show how important it is that they are aware and trained to participate appropriately at every level. This is an example of what commercial businesses should also consider, whether in healthcare, finance, legal or any other business practice. I encourage you to read through this memorandum. It is a brief one but holds a lot of important information and valuable insight I think is appropriate for all. *The conclusion of this column will appear in January on our website at www. documentmedia.com. O

BOB LARRIVEE is an internationally recognized thought leader with over 30 years of experience in document imaging, content management, records management, the application of advanced technologies and process improvement and is the recipient of the Cenadem - Brazil ECM Pioneer Award. He is director of the AIIM Learning Center where he works to identify, develop and deliver specialized training in best practices, technology and methodologies. Mr. Larrivee can be reached at blarrivee@aiim.org.

Full column: www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/Mandates-People-and-Recordkeeping-%20The-Human-Factor-1364.aspx

COLUMN

TAPPING A DIFFERENT CHANNEL WITH NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION (NFC)

by David Martina

ap your phone on a near field communication (NFC) tag, and instant, rich, multimedia content is at your disposal. Tap two NFC-enabled smartphones together, and financial transactions can be conducted instantly; or by using apps like Google Wallet or PayPal, purchases can be accomplished entirely by smartphone. NFC is slowly gaining public acceptance despite the limited number of smartphones that are currently NFC-enabled. Berg Insight predicts over 700 million NFC devices will be shipped by 2016. So, will the convenience and speed of this technology drive a universal acceptance on par with the quick response (QR) code, or is it merely a transitional technology leading to the next best thing?

If NFC sounds a lot like QR codes in terms of capabilities, it is not without reason. Both technologies provide a way to bridge the physical world with the digital. Both provide data storage and can initiate rich, multimedia marketing experiences. The key differences are cost, flexibility and ease of use. Cost is an obvious differentiator, as QR codes are virtually cost-free and can be used and recreated as often as needed whereas high-end read/write NFC tags can become quite expensive for large campaigns. Most current uses for NFC employ less expensive passive NFC tags. QR codes are static graphics and cannot be reprogrammed without being recreated. Hence, keeping product packaging current with QR codes presents logistic issues. On the other hand, when a NFC tag needs to be updated, in most cases, it can be reprogrammed using an NFC write-capable device. When it comes to ease of use, NFC tags easily outperform QR codes. Using a QR code requires taking a picture of the code and using an onboard smartphone application to interpret it. NFC is based on proximity radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. So when a suitable device enters the perimeter defined by the tag’s RF signal, the device instantly responds appropriately. To avoid overlapping fields, many

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tags require physical contact between the reader and the tag, i.e., a tap.

While nowhere near as ubiquitous as the QR code, more and more companies are adopting NFC technology for a multitude of reasons.

Lexus created quite a marketing stir last year when they released a NFC-enabled advertisement in half a million copies of WIRED magazine. Sony has embedded NFC technology in cameras, laptops and smart watches. Samsung is putting them in laser printers, and merchants in Tokyo are using them for coupon distribution. In Europe and Russia, NFC is becoming widely used for ticketing, payments and universal identification. Adidas embedded a NFC chip in a running shoe that enables the purchase, registers the shoe to its owner and even works with an app to track the owner’s use of the shoe. The Château Le Pin winery in France uses NFC tags to verify the vintage of its famous and costly wine with a simple tap. As time goes on, we’re going to see more and more unique and innovative uses of the NFC tag.

As with QR codes, getting the tag out in front of the audience and having them tap/ scan is only half the battle. Clearly, the mentality of the typical smartphone user is not tuned to waiting and to delayed gratification, so the resultant content must be instant, relevant, interactive, informative and engaging.

I don’t believe the NFC tag will completely replace the QR code and other printed, static data symbols. For most purposes, the QR code provides plenty of bang for no cost. However, when a more sophisticated sales and marketing effort requires an interactive means of bridging the physical and digital worlds to push marketing content and enable the complete sales cycle, the NFC tag should be given serious consideration. O

DAVID MARTINA is the vice president of systems integration for NEPS, LLC of Salem, New Hampshire, a firm that provides solutions for the automation of document-intensive business processes. To contact Mr. Martina, email david.martina@NEPS.com.

Full column: www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/Tapping-a-Different-Channel-with-Near-Field-Commun-1357.aspx

APPLICATION ARTICLE

The Dirty Secrets of Document Migration Migration isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.

In fact, it can be a dirty business. Anyone who has been involved in a large-scale project to transition between software or hardware systems of any kind might have experienced the frustration of missed deadlines, cost overruns, and backsliding. When it comes to an organization’s library of business communications, migrating thousands of mission-critical documents can be one of the messiest projects it undertakes. The process can be overwhelmingly complex.

Corporate documents tend to be a loosely-managed collection of items created by a large number of authors over a long period of time. It isn’t uncommon for companies to lack a clear picture of which documents are current, which are obsolete, and which versions are actually in use during the normal course of business. This uncertainty leads to an effort to convert everything in the fear that a critical document might be overlooked.

A good portion of the migration effort might be wasted, but nobody knows which part!

Standard conversion utilities can do some mechanical translation work, but leave a lot of details to be handled manually.

Each individual document has attributes such as text, images, formatting, dependencies, and business rules. Normal conversion routines can emit long lists of exceptions and unconnected artifacts that must be individually evaluated by human beings.

Even documents reported as successfully converted require manual verification. Because of the disparity of the source data, un-flagged errors can still occur.

Challenges of migrating away from Word Companies attempting to migrate from an environment where a good portion of their documents were constructed in Microsoft Word into one that uses a radically different approach seem to have the most trouble. The two systems will likely have little in common. The rigidity that makes the new system so efficient is precisely what makes it difficult to handle the flexible documents that were built in Word. And all the in-house experience with Word is of little value. Users must be trained in an entirely new technology.

When evaluating possible products for a new document system, managers should be asking as many questions about the migration process as they ask about features and benefits. Product features don’t count for much if it will take forever to fully implement the solution.

Using migration capabilities as a differentiating factor Difficult document system conversions carry a high business cost. Lengthy migration projects impede the organization’s ability to achieve necessary business transformations and system modernization. What is not always made clear in pre-sale discussions is that the migration of legacy documents traditionally requires manual extraction of data, formatting, and business rules. Lacking a proven and stable migration process that includes comprehensive testing and tracking, most projects are fraught with unknown risks. Finding a vendor that can demonstrate a stable document migration workflow and produce references for past efforts should be built into the vendor selection process.

Xpertdoc Technologies Inc. is a software company providing document output and customer communications solutions. To find out more about Xpertdoc’s complete audit for document migration, visit www.xpertdoc.com/en/services/customer-communications-audit.

For more news and information about improving your customer communications, sign up for the free Xpertdoc newsletter: www.xpertdoc.com/en/resources/newsletters.

For more information about Xpertdoc, call us at +1 866-961-9111 or +1 450-961-9111, email us at info@Xpertdoc.com or visit our website at www.Xpertdoc.com

COLUMN

DESIGN THINKING PUTS THE CUSTOMER BACK IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

by Clay Richardson

usiness architects and business process professionals have traditionally focused on designing durable business processes that can stand the test of time. However, new technology disruptors, such as mobile and social, are forcing teams to rethink business and process design from an outside-in perspective. To deliver next-generation business process solutions, business architects and business process professionals will need to shift from systems thinking paradigms that emphasize process modeling to design thinking paradigms that emphasize creativity and customer experience.

To make this shift, business architects and business process professionals must embrace design thinking as a foundation for engaging with stakeholders to scope, design and deliver customer-centric business process management (BPM) programs and projects. Forrester defines design thinking as “a collection of practices that helps teams better identify with customer experiences and shift from logical problem solving to creative experimentation.�

Instead of focusing on surface adoption of new customer experience methods and techniques, design thinking forces BPM teams to think about process problems from a completely different perspective. This allows teams to be more effective in their interactions with executives, line-of-business owners and stakeholders when focused on improving and optimizing for customer experience.

Although design thinking includes a broad portfolio of practices, methods and processes, Forrester has identified four essential practices to help BPM teams achieve greater success when focused on customer-centric processes and projects. Making the shift to design thinking requires BPM teams to establish practices that design for specific interactions, provide context for completing tasks, develop empathy for customers and apply abductive reasoning skills.

Establishing key design thinking practices is just the beginning.

Adopting the thinking alone will only take you so far. To apply these

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practices, teams must build new skills, infuse key design practices with existing process improvement practices and re-evaluate how existing BPM software supports this new paradigm. Taking the leap from design thinking to design doing means BPM teams need to optimize the experience, not the process model. BPM teams need to begin thinking about screen design in the same way they used to think about high-level business processes. This also means capturing user stories that connect back to emotional drivers for how a user feels when completing a given task or process. Customer journey maps can be used to better understand context and develop empathy, in addition to zeroing in on key process activities and interaction points that need to be optimized for convenience.

Teams should also tap basic guide-rails for experience design from BPM and dynamic content management. Traditionally, BPM suites vendors have offered very little support for designing interactive experiences. Most vendors provide simple form design tools, with limited support for creating sophisticated screen flows and bringing in contextual information to guide user interactions. However, given the shift in focus for BPM programs, leading vendors, such as Appian, K2, Pegasystems and IBM, are beginning to provide better functionality that connects experience design and process design.

Finally, BPM teams need to add a layer of design skills across all process roles. Many teams falsely believe that bringing on a user interface designer for the BPM program is all they need to do to embed new design skills.

However, the reality is that successful teams see experience design as a responsibility across all essential BPM roles, including the vice president or director, business and process architect and process developers. O

CLAY RICHARDSON is a principal analyst at Forrester Research serving enterprise architecture and business architecture professionals. To contact Mr. Richardson, visit www.forrester.com/ home#/Clay-Richardson.

Full column: www.documentmedia.com/Main/Articles/Design-Thinking-Puts-the-Customer-Back-in-the-Driv-1356.aspx

APPLICATION ARTICLE

New Year’s Resolutions for 2014 – The ECM Edition With 2014 quickly approaching, your thoughts may be turning to sleigh rides, holiday parties and, of course, New Year’s resolutions. But while New Year’s resolutions are usually reserved for losing weight and quitting smoking, there are some hard but necessary fixes that can be made in your work processes as well.

In the document and data management space, we found not one but three main areas that plague many Enterprise Content Management (ECM) implementations. So to help you with your 2014 New Year’s resolutions, here are the top three ECM issues to address in the coming year: 1. Incompatibility Lots of ECM implementations start out small, meant to address a single process in one department, but then grow organically within the organization as the utility of the software is proven and needs arise elsewhere, or, in many cases, during the M&A process. However, when this occurs, the planning and forethought required to have a system that is compatible enterprise-wide is absent, and you are left with an ECM solution that can’t properly integrate with critical business systems such as ERP, email, Sharepoint, etc. Additionally, the solution may not be scalable for the needs of the entire enterprise, or is incompatible with corporate hardware or software standards.

Solution: Look for an ECM solution that can integrate your content with other applications easily. Examples of these Enterprise applications include CAD, ERP, and GIS, as well as industry specific applications such as SIS, EMR, Higher Education systems and home grown applications. Also focus on an ECM solution that will enable you to integrate with productivity tools such as Microsoft Office and SharePoint, for example. This integration allows your users who spend time in these applications to stay in those tools without having to learn any new software. This type of integration enables access to the documents that your users are looking for with the click of a button.

2. Automation and Expense Many projects involving software and IT can quickly run over original cost estimates. However, ECM expenses can be magnified if an implementation goes awry because the concept of ECM is based on process improvements and efficiencies.

Therefore, ECM investments are often justified by cost savings they will provide. If an implementation is not achieving the predicted efficiencies in terms of automation, workflow improvements, and actionable data advances, then the cost of that implementation goes beyond the hardware and software costs to opportunity costs, or the expense of not gaining efficiencies where predicted.

Solution: Start with replacing your ECM hardware and software with cloud-based software. This allows you to avoid the high capital expenditure of installing and maintaining software and hardware, while giving you access to frequent application updates. Additionally, a cloud-based solution often enables you to add or remove modules, enabling you to customize your solution as you learn what works and does not work within your organization, as you move towards peak efficiency.

3. Outdated Technology One of the main issues with ECM investments is that the solutions are just plain out of date. These systems may have been installed years ago or even just months ago, but are already unable to handle new and emerging compliance and regulatory requirements, changes in data types and formats, etc. And even if the software is capable of complying with records management, retention, policy and procedures acknowledgement, etc., it is often difficult, expensive, and time consuming to make these frequent changes.

Solution: The solution for out of date systems is two-fold. First, as described above, look for a cloud-based solution to allow for automatic updates of your application when the provider does regular refreshes. This process means you will almost always have the latest available toolset and advances at your fingertips.

Second, look for an ECM system that is flexible. The nature of document management means that the inputs and processing procedures are in constant flux. If you need to hardcode changes, you will quickly run up your IT and support costs.

By choosing a system that is highly flexible and configurable, especially when combined with cloud delivery, your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) will be much lower than with an installed system that requires frequent IT support and intervention.

The New Year brings new beginnings, for you and your ECM systems. Start the year off right with a coordinated plan for tackling your biggest document management issues.

For help creating or sticking to your ECM resolutions, contact TransCentra at 1-866-747-2877 or visit http://ecm.transcentra.com.

By John Kincade, Vice President of Sales, TransCentra

For more information about TransCentra, call us at 1-866-747-2877 visit our website at http://ecm.transcentra.com.

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With each new generation, there are new problems. Power typically comes along with complexity—complexity at the level of administration, design, development, deployment and the day-to-day managing of the non-technical aspects of the environment. Change management, user adoption and governance, the glue that holds the other pieces together, are the Achilles’ heel of just about any technology.

Every generation is meant to solve problems, but the nature of the beast is that it begets more problems. Therein lies the dilemma: One can only take advantage of new capabilities if one is not too far behind the learning curve. If there is no maturity around content curation (i.e., the “content hygiene” of applying some metadata, either automatically or through a defined process, and checking quality), then there really is no point in trying to take advantage of the term store, managed navigation or content types.

What does this have to do with semantics and search? First, let’s start with a definition. What are semantics? Or do we say, “What is semantic”? Simply put, it is the study of meaning. When people talk about semantic technology, this refers to programs

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that can interpret the things that humans are good at and computers are bad at: meaning, nuance and context. Computers are good at the things that humans are not: long lists of information, large numbers and calculations—all of which can be dealt with through pure logic. In contrast, computers struggle with language and interpretation that relies on subtle differences in context or usage.

Human knowledge and the subsequent language used to communicate such knowledge is ambiguous and messy. Take the term diamond. It could refer to jewellery or sports. If I am searching for “Mercury,” is it the planet, the element or the car?

We see this problem in business every day. People use different terms to describe the same things and the same terms to describe different things. They also use vague terms like searching for a “solution” or in looking for an “agreement” or “deliverable.”

Legal agreements are all about reducing ambiguity, and of course, the legal industry thrives on the inability to do so.

The majority of organizations that have problems with search have them not because the search engine is inherently flawed. Search engines do what they are told—they look for word occurrences. Humans and human language is the bigger problem.

Yet, Microsoft found a way around this problem:

GROUPING OF SEARCH RESULTS

QUERY PROCESSING

There is the ability to make queries subject to all sorts of pre-processing manipulations, which can effectively identify the user, understand the term, interpret that term based on a use case and associate terms that are auto-discovered. We can use query rules to change the nature of a term (to align more closely with what the user is asking for). This effectively means that the search engine can recognize the problem that the user is trying to solve and can present results, depending on who they are and what tasks they are going to accomplish.

Define the terms, and add structure and context to the ambiguous, messy information. Add some order and intelligence, and this worked perfectly—for those organizations mature enough to understand these approaches and the process, discipline, accountability and feedback mechanisms to apply them correctly and consistently.

However, most organizations do not have their acts together when it comes to the core foundation for these processes: enterprise taxonomy and information architecture.

In fact, a recent survey of practitioners and executives from the industry community (283 responses comprised of enterprises of various sizes) found that over two-thirds

Sometimes, different kinds of information should be grouped as a block to make related information come up in a search. In this way, we can have a video URL come up along with a summary of the video, or, perhaps, related documents, like a proposal and a case study, can come up and be ranked together for easy access—like being handed a file with multiple documents. However, this file is dynamic and what goes into it can be driven by various use cases, content models and even by different roles.

CONTENT PREVIEW AND INTERACTION

One really interesting way of interacting with information is when you don’t have to download and open a document but can see what is in it just by highlighting it. This nifty little feature is called document preview. Beyond this ability, you can do things in the document like edit, save, forward, share, collaborate and more—right from the search results.

of respondents (68%) rated their organizations as “unmanaged or limited” in terms of their maturity in enterprise taxonomy. The point is that without the core of intelligent classification, it is not possible to be successful in content organization, and therefore, search will not be as effective as it could be.

As previously suggested, each generation attempts to solve shortcomings of the prior solution (or actually the problems caused by the prior solution), and SharePoint 2013

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does an admirable job of correcting for the sins of the organization and its prior incarnations (both version predecessors and implementations). For example, imagine that you don’t have metadata, and the user is looking for content that pertains to the company’s Deluxe Widget. In this case, we’ll search for Acme’s Deluxe Widget. There are many documents that contain “Deluxe” and many that contain “Widget,” but if the three terms are together, then one can be assured that this is product information.

The SharePoint 2013 environment has the ability to develop vocabularies, which are authority files (containing names for auto-classification or entity extraction), and allow facets to be derived based on term occurrences and rules. There are a couple of other powerful approaches, including query processing, result blocks and content preview that add to this capability.

Each of these by themselves seems simple— almost trivial. However, just as simple building blocks can be assembled into complex constructs, these (and a few others) search components can be combined with various rules and sources to create something called a search-based application (SBA). SBAs can’t do things completely by magic, and in fact, they have been around for many years.

However, for the first time, extremely powerful ap-

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plications can be developed at a much lower price point than in prior generations of search tools, like FAST. The search architecture has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. In addition, many powerful functions have been introduced and are extremely useful for enterprises developing next-generation search applications. From connectors that allow crawling of structured and unstructured data sources, to promoted results, query transform rules and configurable ranking algorithms, it is possible to develop intelligence that will compensate for the problems of poorly curated content.

In SBAs, users don’t search for content just through a generic white box. Rather, the application integrates a search engine, data source connectors, document processing and a search index enhancement to provide the right content when it is needed in the context of a task or work process. In other words, content is integrated into the user experience and woven into business processes.

SharePoint 2013 is a platform for developing semantic search and search-based applications. These applications represent the next stage in being able to tune search results very specifically for end users, giving people what they need and in the context of what they are trying to accomplish. SBAs, using semantic relationships in SharePoint 2013, require the ability

FOR THE FIRST TIME, EXTREMELY POWERFUL SEARCH-BASED APPLICATIONS (SBA) CAN BE DEVELOPED AT A MUCH LOWER PRICE POINT. SBAS CAN BE DEFINED BY HAVING SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS:

1 2 3 4

The use of a search engine to dynamically drive the information processing interaction Triggering of information retrieval through key term or phrase query that returns additional parameters used to pull information from other sources The use of search engine connectors to bring data from its sources Processing of user search terms either before the query is sent to the engine (pre-processing) or after the results are returned (post-processing)

to model people and processes. This can result in very intelligent search engines that understand the organization and the needs of various user types to return content in the context of their goals. The search tool can be developed to think like the user. To embed the users’ vocabularies, terminology, knowledge of complex relationships and, really, the fabric of enterprise information and processes into the core search engine, we are capturing the mental model of the user and embedding it in search processes that will anticipate what users need and gives them what they want. This is the next-generation of enterprise information management. There are many organizations building “Centers of Excellence” to bring best practices to different parts of the enterprise. These act as internal consulting practices that help with design, adoption and op-

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Enhancement of the index (by adding more metadata, changing that metadata or removing metadata) Combining, ranking and formatting result sets Integrating information from disparate or similar sources Performing document processing (previewing content, segmenting content or recombining content) Allowing for interaction with content or data

erationalization. However, it is important to get these groups on a solid footing. An enterprise search and content maturity model assessment can help identify the areas in greatest need for remediation and where the most valuable outcome can follow from an intervention. By applying best practices that fully leverage the capabilities of SharePoint as a search application platform, organizations can achieve a very powerful result, which breeds a habit of success. O

SETH EARLEY is the CEO of Earley & Associates and serves as a co-conference chair for the CONNECT IT Conference, featured at the DOCUMENT Strategy Forum, May 13-15, 2014 in Greenwich, CT. For more information on his conference, visit www.documentstrategyforum.com.

Full article: www.documentmedia.com/main/articles/The-Practical-Business-Semantic-of-Search-in-Share-1370.aspx

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POWERBALL HOW TO DRAW THAT ELUSIVE “YES” ON YOUR WORKFLOW SOFTWARE PROJECT

BY GEORGE DUNN

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hat is the return on investment (ROI) analysis that will result in the purchase of workflow software? Given the ability of workflow, especially when combined with enterprise content management (ECM) and digital signature, purchase of this technology should be a no-brainer. So, what’s the issue?

We find that the top two reasons a workflow ROI analysis does not result in a purchase is be-

cause operational executives do not understand why workflow technology is needed and exactly how workflow technology will improve their area.

Regardless how attractive a ROI is, if these two questions are not answered, the project will end up in the unfunded pile—especially in today’s world where organizations have limited dollars and competing priorities. So, what’s the secret?

In our experience, there are seven steps to getting a workflow project approved.

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DOCUMENT (FLOWCHART) THE PROCESSES SELECTED TO SHOW VISUALLY HOW IT WORKS TODAY. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a well-documented baseline will tell the whole story. Develop a baseline of the “as is” process to show how the process works, step-by-step, today. Once the baseline is confirmed, document issues with the current process and ideas for improvement. Reach out to the customers of the process, internal and external, and identify how the process services them (voice of the customer).

FORGET ABOUT SELLING THE TECHNOLOGY, AND FOCUS ON THE PROCESS.

You will first need to target the poorly working processes—ones that need improvement. Examples include processes with customer dissatisfaction, lengthy service or product completion time, unsatisfactory quality, rework, communication issues, quality control issues, employee turnover, failed systems, safety issues, lawsuits, audit penalties or regulatory issues. To identify processes that need improvement, conduct a high-level process inventory. Then, rank processes by customer satisfaction (internal/external); efficiency; quality; litigation risk; audit risk; and industry innovation requirements.

IDENTIFY PROCESSES MOST IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT. If there are processes that are related (e.g., human resources) that are running centralized and decentralized, concatenate those processes into one enterprise process. Otherwise, for specific operational processes identified, call them out directly.

Present the process analysis, ranking and selection to the operational executive, and gain agreement to move to the next step: baseline and redesign.

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DETERMINE THE DIRECTION (GOAL) OF THE PROCESS REDESIGN AND LEVEL OF CHANGE REQUIRED (DRAMATIC, MODERATE OR INCREMENTAL).

For example, if the process value chain does not meet the need of the customer (the customer wants it in 24 hours for five dollars, but the organization produces it in 48 hours for eight dollars), dramatic change is needed. However, if the process is deployed by competitors and is worthwhile and not used internally, moderate change may be needed (e.g., move from paper billing to e-billing). Lastly, if the process needs to be tuned to meet internal needs of the organization, incremental change may be required (e.g., better communication, efficiency, measurement, etc.). It is important that a process redesign has a clear direction; otherwise like a ship without a rudder, it will most likely never make it to its intended destination.

Full article: www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/How-To-Draw-That-Elusive-Yes-On-Your-Workflow-Softw-1365.aspx

POWERBALL

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fits. Indicate how the labor saved can be used in customer service or other areas of the organization. If possible, show how labor savings can be absorbed through natural attrition (retirement). Indirect cost should include allocation of organizational costs (information technology, space, etc.). Remember to add the benefits savings applicable from avoidance of audit penalties, litigation settlements and regulatory fines. Also, include customer service benefits (labor savings from avoiding customer process issues in the first place) and vendor benefits (savings from more efficient communication and utilization of invoice discounts). Include any benefits applicable to increased revenues (e.g., better service, lower cost).

Once all benefits are known, calculate the cost of the workflow solution. Costs should include software, hardware, installation, project planning, vendor support and internal support. Any additional costs to run the system should also be included (capture, indexing). When calculating the ROI, apply a net present value calculation (NPV), if required. Try to keep the ROI calculation as simple as possible. In the footnote to the ROI, show how the transaction waiting time is reduced (e.g., five days to one day), how knowledge of the organization can be protected through automated workflow patterns and how process measurements can be established through workflow reporting.

REDESIGN THE PROCESS “FUTURE STATE” STEP BY STEP TO SHOW HOW PROCEDURAL AND WORKFLOW TECHNOLOGY CHANGES WILL IMPROVE THE PROCESS. Although there are no exact rules to a redesign, we typically use procedural changes to improve the process quality, deploy technology changes to improve process efficiency, eliminate or add steps to achieve dramatic or moderate process change and re-sequence steps to achieve moderate or incremental process changes. Present the redesign to the operational executive/managers, and gain agreement to move to the next step of ROI calculation.

DEVELOP A WELLDOCUMENTED ROI. This should be simple and tied to the baseline and redesign flowcharts. Calculate the difference in cost between the current process and the redesigned process. To show such values, determine the cost (direct and indirect) associated with each step in the process. Direct labor cost should include bene-

7

DELIVER A HARD-HITTING, AWARD-WINNING PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS.

This should include a 30-second verbal version, two-minute written version and a 10-minute presentation version. The 30-second version should capture the imagination of any operational executive.

The two-minute version should show the process: name, issue, direction, change, intervention, redesign benefit, change cost and ROI. The 10-minute presentation version should include all of the previously mentioned items and include the examples from the baseline flowchart of the “as is” process and redesigned “future state.” O

GEORGE DUNN is president of CRE8 Independent Consultants and is a recognized consultant, speaker and author on workflow, business process improvement and paperless technologies. Contact Mr. Dunn at consulting@cre8inc.com.

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Full article: www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/Don’t-Let-Audits-Overlook-Your-Records-Management-1366.aspx

Forgetting Something?

By Marilyn Bier

Don’t let audits overlook your records management processes because it can hurt where it counts the most.

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ecords management programs are often neglected when internal auditors conduct their annual risk assessments. Consequently, many organizations are left more vulnerable to regulatory penalties, steep legal costs and faulty business decisions. To mitigate these risks, an organization must have a sound information governance program—a strategic framework comprising standards, processes, roles and metrics that hold the organization accountable for managing information in ways that align with its goals.

Driving the urgency for sound information governance—and, thereby, the urgency for measuring its success through audits—is the explosion in electronically stored information (ESI). According to StoredIQ, companies with annual revenues of at least a billion dollars typically spend between 2.5 million dollars and four million dollars a year on legal discovery of electronic files alone.

A records retention policy that prescribes when to dispose of records can help manage discovery costs and limit corporate liability. For example, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay 15 million dollars to settle a civil action brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to produce tens of thousands of emails requested during the SEC investigations from 2000 to 2005.

Adding to the challenges that stem from the explosive growth in records are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) requirements for the production of ESI, as UBS Warburg learned when it was fined 29.2 million dollars for failing to produce all relevant ESI. In Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 217 F.R.D. 309, 312 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), what began as an employment discrimination action in federal court escalated after the defendant produced only 100 emails in response to the plaintiff’s request to produce “all documents concerning any communication by or between UBS employees concerning Plaintiff.” The plaintiff learned that UBS Warburg had not searched its back-up tapes containing archived emails, which provoked a long battle that resulted not only in monetary sanctions against UBS Warburg but also an “adverse inference” instruction at trial.

These few examples represent dozens, if not hundreds, of instances of the repercussions of poor information governance. It is incumbent, then, on internal auditors to be able to assure an organization that its recordkeeping processes are consistent across all business units and that records are secured consistently with its regulatory and policy requirements. O

MARILYN BIER is the executive director for ARMA International, a not-for-profit professional association and the authority on managing records and information. Additional information on the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles is available at www.arma.org/r2/generally-accepted-br-recordkeeping-principles.

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B

y most estimates, direct marketing accounts for more than half of all advertising expenditures in the US. Despite the rapid adoption of electronic forms of direct marketing, print media continues to capture the majority of direct marketing ad dollars. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) estimates that print media accounted for about two-thirds of direct marketing expenditures in 2012.

Although direct mail has proven to be resilient and effective, mail volume in North America has been hammered over the past half-decade, beginning with the 2007 recession.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), total United States Postal Service (USPS) mail volume declined by about 20%, from 213 billion pieces in fiscal year 2006 to 171 billion pieces in fiscal year 2010. Long-term forecasts conducted for the Post Office expect mail volume

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to decline by an additional 150 billion pieces by 2020.

INTERQUEST conducted in-depth telephone interviews with 47 North American direct mail providers in the first half of 2013. Collectively, these companies produced well over one-quarter of the USPS’s Standard Mail volume for fiscal year 2012. The key trends these companies see in the direct mail market are familiar themes of late: an increase in segmentation and personalization, leading to shorter print runs; and an increase in multi-channel or cross-media marketing. The challenges they cite paint a picture of a market in transition, as they struggle with postal issues, making the transition from conventional direct mail to targeted direct mail providers and brutal price pressure in a consolidated market.

These changes are dramatically impacting how direct mail is produced. Currently, well over half of direct mail pieces

Full article: www.documentmedia.com/Main/articles/Direct-Mail-Proves-to-Be-Resilient-But-Change-Is-o-1360.aspx

KNOCKING are produced by overprinting preprinted shells using digital toner and inkjet equipment. In the future, respondents see this method tailing off dramatically in favor of single-pass digital printing using toner and inkjet presses.

The vast majority of respondents we surveyed offer multi-channel services to their clients, but this activity represents a relatively small portion of their revenue. They believe this will change rapidly in a relatively short period of time but see many hurdles to clear. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents say their biggest challenge in multi-channel marketing is educating customers on its effectiveness and proper use. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of the respondents say that their biggest challenge is effectively coordinating the delivery of different media, and the same percentage indicates that the biggest challenge in multi-channel marketing is finding employees with the necessary skills.

Direct mail volume has stabilized and direct mail remains a key marketing tool. It will never again, however, reach pre-recession levels, as electronic alternatives continue to grow and marketing becomes increasingly targeted and personalized. The transition will be tough for many direct mail providers, as they will be fighting head winds from consolidation while simultaneously retooling their services and personnel. Our survey finds that many direct mail printers are making this transition successfully and are growing revenue faster than volume. Common to most of these success stories is the foresight and wherewithal to leverage the direct element in direct mail. O

DAVID DAVIS is a director for INTERQUEST. Contact Mr. Davis for the full report by visiting www.inter-quest.com.

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FINDER’S

KEEPERS YOUR SIX-STEP GUIDE TO EFFECTIVELY GATHER EMAIL ADDRESSES

By Richard Rosen and Michele Karrlsson Willis

E

mail addresses remain the cornerstone of electronic communications. Therefore, gathering these addresses and then, the effective, responsible use of them is key to successfully making email a part of your multi-channel

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communications strategy.

Companies struggle to obtain valid email addresses from their clients. The secret to success for any email-gathering endeavor will be to gather customer information at all touch points.

These six steps can help you to get started.

ASSIGN A CHAMPION, AND BUILD A STRATEGY Firstly, understand how and where email addresses will be saved.

Then, develop targets, milestones and responsibilities to get the email gathering done. Lastly, segment the customer/member base by dividing them into workable groups, and approach each one differently. If a customer has an email address on file, always ask to confirm that it’s correct, but do not ask them to repeat it. Think about how you deal with new customers and whether email address gathering is happening at the beginning of your relationship.

123 4 5 6 CENTRALIZE YOUR DATA Create the platform for storing email addresses and preference management. Most likely, you have email addresses in multiple locations, including employee files. Without being too invasive and to avoid turning email gathering into a major project, it is sometimes best to create a separate database, which links to all of the related systems through a middleware layer known as enterprise content management (ECM).

123 4 5 6 VALIDATE THOSE EMAIL ADDRESSES AND GATHER DELIVERY PREFERENCE Every email address should be validated when it is collected. This can be done in various ways, such as sending an automated email soon after an email address has been collected. This will allow you to determine if that email address is valid based on whether it bounces or not.

If the email address bounces, contact the customer via another medium to update the address. Also, put validation in place at the point of input so that any obvious errors can be caught programmatically, such as “.cm” instead of “.com” or a warning that no @ sign is present.

Once you have that email address, it’s a good idea to gather customer delivery preferences. This can be accomplished very simply and at low cost by putting in place an automated electronic consent process, allowing customers to opt-in for paperless delivery.

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LEVERAGE EVERY CUSTOMER TOUCH POINT Here are some of the touch points you should take advantage of to ensure email addresses are collected and verified: call centers, website/portal, in-store (where applicable), customer service agents, online payments, social media, new customers and print communication. People are wary about how email addresses will be used, so make sure that at each touch point you are clear about what the customers can expect if they supply their email address.

123 4 5 6 PROACTIVELY CONTACT THE CUSTOMER In some businesses, just relying on touch points may take too long to achieve email-gathering goals. One innovative option is texting the customer and asking for an email address. This strategy requires a mobile number to be captured in the database, which, of course, has significant value in of itself.

123 4 5 6 MONITOR AND ADAPT Remember, this is a process, not a once-off event. The champion will need to see what is working and what is not, what can be tweaked and what should be discarded. Standard company practice should call for the gathering of email address for new and existing customers at each touch point. Constant improvements and adjustments will be required to reach the different groups of customers who interact with your company in different ways. Then, of course, once you have those email addresses, don’t overdo it.

Be judicious in your use of email as part of your multi-channel communications plan. Gather up those email addresses, and communicate with customers by their preferred delivery channel (paper, portal, email), continuing to move more to electronic channels as best fits the individual customer and your business needs. O

123 4 5 6 RICHARD ROSEN is the CEO of The RH Rosen Group. Contact Mr. Rosen at RichR@RHRosenGroup.com.

MICHELE KARRLSSON-WILLIS is the head of client strategy at Striata. Contact Ms. Willis at michele.willis@usa.striata.com.

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Full article: www.documentmedia.com/main/articles/Your-Six-Step-Guide-to-Effectively-Gather-Email-Ad-1367.aspx