To an enthusiastic project sponsor, it can seem like Document Management and Email Management software will sell themselves within a law firm or corporate law department. You might be tempted to install the software on everyone’s desktop and expect everyone to leap into using it.
Why DMS is fabulous
After all, what’s not to love? Document Management offers many benefits to improve the work life of legal practitioners. For example:
- iManage WorkSite and FileSite integrate directly into Microsoft Word and Outlook.
- Documents are created and retrieved directly with the usual ‘open’ and ‘save’ toolbar buttons.
- Emails can be contributed by dragging and dropping many at a time; or, suggested filing locations can be chosen with a single click.
- Collaboration is suddenly the default option as the powerful IDOL search engine gives you google-like thoroughness in searching your colleagues contributions.
- Simply saving your content into the matter-centric folders automatically populates the client, matter, author, and date information that Records Management Administrators have been begging for.
The Dangers to your Project
So, what could go wrong? Surprisingly, some standard features undermine those valuable business goals or hinder the promised ease-of-use. More about those later.
Even more dangerous than software gaffes are the following project definition problems. Document Management should not be left to sell itself as a technology upgrade. It and Email Management require buy-in from all levels of the organization, and it requires a permanent shift in how information is processed. The following Seven Deadly Sins of Information Governance are quoted from an article with that name at the eDiscovery Insight blog. It delves into further detail on each point – click through to learn more.
- Failure to obtain executive buy-in and sponsorship
- Lack of participation from all stakeholders
- No well-defined and documented program scope
- Absence of distinct benchmarks from which to measure success
- Insufficient Marketing
- No long-term execution and management
- Objectives are not realistic and/or ambiguous
Does your Document or Email Management project suffer from any one of those flaws? Contact us at Cersys – we have years of experience in introducing and upgrading technology for law firms or legal departments. We can help your project efforts stay focused on the crucial success factors while deploying the software itself with a minimum of fuss or disruption.