three keys to accelerating enterprise collaboration

© 2007 JustSystems Inc.

Three Keys to Accelerating Document Three Keys to Accelerating Document Collaboration, Review, and ApprovalCollaboration, Review, and Approval

Paul Wlodarczyk

VP, Solutions and Services

May 22, 2007


• Insert Facts from Gartner / Forrester about increasing volume of unstructured content – doubling year over year

Issue: Document Volumes Issue: Document Volumes IncreasingIncreasing


Poll: Which of these document types do you create collaboratively?• Regulatory filings• Policies / procedures• Proposals / Statements of work• Contracts• Requirements / specifications• Advisories / alerts• Technical Publications• Datasheets

Collaborative Collaborative Authoring and ReviewAuthoring and Review


• Coordinate / assembling input from multiple authors

• Coordinate comments / revisions from multiple reviewers

• Re-use pre-approved content • Lock-down “master” contact• Straight-through processing (STP)

vs. exception workflow • Audit trail – who changed it, who

approved it, who read it, etc.

Requirements for Requirements for Collaborative Authoring and ReviewCollaborative Authoring and Review


Authoring and Review:

• Word processing with track changes

• Acrobat Reader with comments

• E-mail for workflow, routing, notification

• Some database-centered collaboration (e.g. requirements management)

Common Approaches Common Approaches to Collaboration Technologyto Collaboration Technology


Content Reuse:• Copy / paste• Templates for common

content (boilerplate)• Password protecting

template content• Some integration of MS

Word with Databases (e.g. requirements management, proposal management)

• More often: Document control for finished works (but not for source content)

Common Approaches Common Approaches to Collaboration Technologyto Collaboration Technology


Response ManagerIntegrates SME responses

into a single Proposal document

Example 1: Proposal Response Proposals are perhaps the most common example of collaborative authoring and review. Today most proposals are created and managed as single documents that are created and reviewed in an iterative process.

1111Response Team

Receives RFP

Response ManagerSends RFP to various experts for authoring

portions of the response

Subject Matter ExpertsCraft their portions of the response.

Content reused through Copy / Paste, or re-written.

22

44

33

55

Response ManagerSends Proposal out for Review and Approval

Reviewers / Approval AuthoritiesComment or Sign-off.

Several iterations required for sign-off

66

Response Manager

Coordinates feedback

from reviewers, maintains

masterProposal

document

77

88Response Manager

Sends Proposal toProspective Customer


Example 2: Datasheets Datasheets contain a combination of marketing and technical information, such as specifications, schematic drawings, and logic diagrams. Oftne these are copied / pasted from other documents.

Tech Pubs EditorReviews Format, Style,

Grammar

Publish to Web, CD, Print

Archive

EngineeringDrawings / CAD

DesignSpecifications

MarketingInput

Product ManagerReviews

Technical Accuracy

Application EngineerCreates Datasheet

by copying / pasting from Engineering Artifacts

Document ControlArchives Approved

Datasheet

1122 33

44

55

Product DevelopmentTech Pubs

Doc Control

Publishing


Example 3: Policy Authoring Policies are challenging because almost all authoring is in the form of a revision. Publishing updates is a challenge because of obsolete hardcopy in distribution.

1111Policy ManagerReceives policy change request

Policy ManagerCopies latest text from system of record and sends change to policy analyst

Policy AnalystMakes draft changes, sends to Legal and HR for Review

22

33

Legal

HR

Legal and HRWrangle content changes, reach agreement on final content

44

Policy AnalystSubmits approved changes to publishing team

55

Publish updated manual to Web, CD, Print

66

Publishing

Publishing SpecialistCopies change to update master document in desktoppublishing system

HR reviews and approves / rejects changes to master documents

77

88

Managers and Employees refer to updated policies and procedures (hopefully…).

99

Policies


Can’t be tracked or controlled • Can’t reuse document components• Copy / Paste introduces version

control issues• Implementing “virtual” or

“compound documents” in office applications or desktop publishing requires complex approaches (e.g. burst / merge)

• No good solution for conditional text, so it is performed manually

• Can’t produce an audit trail (who changed, approved, read, etc.)

Quality Limitations of Quality Limitations of “Whole Document” Collaboration“Whole Document” Collaboration


Slow and variable• Can’t process in parallel• Extra time used because

content that already exists is rewritten

• Extra time spend re-formatting information from one system to use in another

• Reviewing whole documents takes longer than just new / changed content

Cycle Time Limitations of Cycle Time Limitations of “whole document” Collaboration“whole document” Collaboration


Wasteful • Extra effort spent on

reviewing / editing / localizing previously processed content, not just the changes

• Significant time spent on formatting – can be substantial

Costs of Costs of “whole document” Collaboration“whole document” Collaboration


1. Leverage XML to make content current, authentic, and agile – to move into different formats as required

2. Review and manage content objects (e.g. topics), not finished documents

3. Use workflow and content management to lock-down master content, and to make the approval process manageable – and measurable

3 Keys to 3 Keys to Accelerating CollaborationAccelerating Collaboration


Response ManagerAssembles master Proposal Document by reference to SME topics

Example 1: Proposal Response Topic-oriented content management and workflow make all the difference.

1111Response Team

Receives RFP

Response ManagerSends RFP sections to

various experts for authoring portions of

the response

Subject Matter ExpertsCraft their portions of the response as XML topics. Content reused through content management. SME responses stored in CMS for future reuse.

22

44

33

Response ManagerSends Proposal Topics for Review and Approval as they are completed

Reviewers / Approval AuthoritiesComment or Sign-off on the topics they are responsible for. Several iterations may be required for sign-off.

66

Response ManagerMonitors progress through workflow. Notified when final topic is approved – then proposal is complete.

77

88

Response ManagerSends Proposal toProspective Customer

ContentManagement

WorkflowWorkflow WorkflowWorkflow

55


ContentManagement

Example 2: DatasheetsReal-time generation of accurate datasheets requires workflow and content management. XML content reuse and rendering eliminates manual steps that introduce errors, cost, and cycle time.

Product ManagerReviews / Approves

content changes

Application Engineerassembles datasheetwith references to

validated engineering content

Demand PublishCD, Print from

Latest PDF

11 22Tech Pubs Editor

Reviews changes for style, Releases for Publishing

33

5a5aWorkflowWorkflow

EngineeringData

44

Automated publishingtools format / transformapproved XML and artinto web pages, PDF

Push new contentto Web

5b5b

Product Development

Tech PubsPublishing

XML Publishing

XML Publishing

Specifications MarketingInput

As content topics are created / approved, they are stored in the CMS. Some content is referenced from other enterprise systems.

Drawings / models


Example 3: PoliciesTopic-oriented collaboration and publishing combined with electronic distribution enables 100% assurance of latest policy information and provides a mechanism for tracking compliance.

1111

Policy Analyst, HR and LegalCollaborate through workflow on the revision. A complete audit trail is maintained of changes. Approval is to content, not documents

22

Workflow Triggers a publishing process once the final approval is entered in the system

ContentManagement

WorkflowWorkflow

33

Policy Managerreceives policy change request, Initiates a policy revision workflow with Legal, HR, and a Policy Analyst

LegalHRAnalyst

Automated publishingtools format / transformapproved XML into web pages, PDF

XML Publishing

XML Publishing

Auto-publish latest manual content to Web. CD and Print versions are updated periodically, but only if required.

44

Managers and Employees refer to updated policies and procedures on the web site. Hardcopy updates are minimized and only maintained as necessary. Workflow systems can track Read / Update Notification Acknowledgements for Compliance Tracking.

55

WorkflowWorkflow


The powerful combination of:1. XML authoring and publishing2. Topic-oriented authoring and reviewing 3. XML Content Management and workflow

Can: – improve cycle time, – reduce costs, – and improve quality

for collaborative authoring and review. It can also make the process manageable and measurable – critical for compliance applications.

Recap: Benefits of Topic Recap: Benefits of Topic Oriented CollaborationOriented Collaboration


Collaboration Audit 1. Review existing Process, Content, People, and

Technology2. Redesign the process to be optimal

• Leverage topic-oriented content• Remove rework and redundant activities• Automate formatting tasks• Automate routing and notification tasks

3. Determine best-fit for collaboration technologies given the existing process, content, and people.

4. Document the ROI.5. Organize for change.

How can I get started?How can I get started?


What collaboration What collaboration technologies can JustSystems provide?technologies can JustSystems provide?

XMetaL Enterprise Solutions – Topic oriented authoring (XMetaL)– Topic-oriented content contribution (XMAX)– Topic-oriented review (XMAX and custom solutions)– Content management and workflow integrationXFY Enterprise Edition 1.5– Content integration for XML content, XML databases,

and web services– Enterprise mash-ups– Custom solutions for integrating content into business

processes


Poll: Current Collaboration Projects

“I am involved in a collaboration project this year that could benefit from a collaboration audit or collaboration technology.”

• Based upon what I heard today, would consider a new project to change our approach to collaboration.

• Currently planning a collaboration project.• Currently implementing a collaboration project.• No collaboration projects planned in the near

future.