A document Management system (similar to FileCenter’s document management software) allows organizations to store, search, track and process documents in a centralized and controlled manner.

The system allows B2B companies to effectively manage their in-bound and out-bound documents that are previously unstructured.

Document management that includes eDiscovery software, like Digital WarRoom, helps in the processing of documents into a secure environment in order to conduct a document review.

So where does agile fit into this definition?

Agile methodology revolves around eliminating documents that do not add value to the end-system. Agile and Lean thinking are heavily inclined in favor of value addition; anything that does not add value can be eliminated from the system/process.

Same is applied to the documents management system, any document or documentation process that does not add value to the end-product is eliminated. The faster you dive into trying to be more Agile, the faster you will start seeing the benefits it brings, observes Jason Moccia at the Scrum Alliance.

An agile document management system developer spends minimum time on artifacts that users never see, thus reducing the time required to deliver the system to end-users. The developer uses agile approach to modeling and documentation delivering the documents management system in less time than traditional vendors.

Your document management system should deliver seven benefits while eliminating the documentation-waste.

1. STORE & RETRIEVE WITHOUT STRUGGLING WITH DESKTOP APPLICATIONS

You don’t need fragmented desktop applications to store & retrieve documents. With an agile documents management system in place, you get the tools to store and retrieve a variety of documents using the web browser instead of a stand-alone desktop application (desktop apps are now treated as waste as they accumulate more disk space and add clutter to your system).

Documents can be stored & retrieved in multiple formats such as excel sheets, Access, Word, PDFs, and scanned TIFFs.

2. VERSIONAING & CHANGE AUDIT

Tracking the changes in stored documents is a major issue for B2B suppliers.

Agile versioning & change audit allows user to track document changes, audit the document change record, and roll-back the changes. It is often the case that several people need to work on the same document simultaneously; the documents management system allows integrated check-in and locking of documents.

3. ACCESS CONTROL FOR — USERS & — USER-GROUPS

The documents management solution allows multiple users to work at the same time. Access to documents is allowed with respect to organizational role, organizational group or individual user level. You can save existing contacts in form of an online contacts directory.

4. SEARCH THROUGH METADATA AND CONTENT

Whether you want to search within a document or through the folder name, tag and tag collection, the documents management solution allows searching documents through multiple criteria. Data archiving is also a major utility of an agile system that helps store and retrieve important documents.

5. PRE-POPULATED TEMPLATES FOR DOCUMENTS CREATION

You can populate document templates to accelerate the document drafting process. Common document templates are invoices, leave applications, RFPs, work-flow sheets, and newsletter templates. Both office documents and purpose-drafted documents can be produced using Microsoft Infopath.

6. AUTOMATION OF WORKFLOWS

Automating the workflows remains an important challenge for functional managers. The value-driven documents management system allows automation of work. After a file is up-dated or deleted, the process is triggered for re-assignment or execution of a business process. Microsoft Visio is an effective tool to define workflows.

7. INTER-ORGANIZATION SUPPORT THROUGH SOCIAL PLATFORMS

Wikis, comments, updates, likes and sharing are important functions that an agile document management system delivers. User-collaboration is enhanced through social-oriented features thus connecting departments and strategic business units.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Agility in documents management system or any other application is the removal of process and system waste. An application or system that adds value in the whole system is truly agile. It prevents creation of information and infrastructure silos. Minimizing the number of processes and work-flow procedures before you get the needed information is a primary goal of obtaining an agile document management.

Are your documents, applications and information scattered across the whole IT estate? Get an audit of your documents management system and identify the potential failure points within the system.