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Alan Pelz-Sharpe

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Automating manual processes - is it always worth the effort?

17-Jun-2010

Tags: Document Management (ECM), Building Business Case, Governance, Implementation, Selecting Technology

For IT professionals it is taken as a matter of faith that automation improves efficiency, that making paper based documents and processes electronic is, in and of itself, a default benefit.  But experience in the real world paints a more mixed and problematic picture.

Take for example a recent study by University College London into the UK's groundbreaking transition to electronic patient care records for the National Health Service. This initiative has come at a cost so far of $360 million dollars, and (to quote) "will require a high cost and an enormous effort to fulfill it's potential." That's a nice way of saying that the effort to date has largely been a waste of time.

The problems that have dogged this particular initiative are the same problems that arise in almost all similar projects, regardless of the industry sector or budget size. 

• Undertaking a full content audit, and ensuring that all the original data is not only accurate but also consistent, is difficult, time consuming, and costly
• Migrating content from (often disparate) systems is always a major challenge
• If you have not proven the value of the new system, people with stick with the old
• Validating and continuously improving the new process without full buy-in from the old users is near impossible

Though I do have Luddite tendencies, I am not advocating that you should avoid moving manual and paper-based processes to electronic methods. But I am advocating that you do so with your eyes open to the inherent complexity and difficulties.  Build a business case first, and ensure you have a full grasp on the work involved. Electronic processes are not by default any more efficient or cheaper than manual systems. 

And as for the rather cynical attempt of the ECM industry to push the benefits of Green IT, digital data is often no more "green" than paper. Sometimes it's worse. 

One final consideration is that of confidentiality. If you have highly confidential information remember that it is far easier to inadvertently expose that data to a multitude when it's in electronic form, than paper. 

Again to be clear, great cost and efficiency gains can be got from the move from manual to automated processes. But the move is often far bumpier and less clear-cut in terms of benefits than many think.

I spent this past week at the AIIM UK  Roadshow talking to buyers and end users of ECM technology. My mantra was that we often do not recommend to our research subscribers that they invest in more technology. Rather that you understand better what tools and platforms you own already, and make best use of it. It's an unusual proposition from an industry analyst firm, but as we have 100% independence, it's one we're happy to give.  Likewise we have no problem in advising our customers to think twice before diving headfirst into projects that are based on the belief that automation in itself equals improved business.