In my experience working as a Consultant in the ECM space I have seen similar trends when it comes to the trigger for ECM initiatives across enterprises.
During the bake off sessions with the User community some of the common statements (not an exhaustive list though) that I have heard come out are:
"I send a hard copy file of my employee claims for approval and I lose track of it."
Read as - "I need an automated workflow."
"I try to access our shared Drive for a document and my system hangs. "
Read as - "I need an efficient Storage".
"I try to upload a document on to our Network Drive and it takes forever."
Read as - "I need a robust central repository. "
"There are loads of documents in the hard copy storage and what I have now is a very trivial Network based File Management system."
Read as - "I need a scalable repository."
"I don’t know what lies in the File system that exists."
Read as - " I need a well defined hierarchical folder structure to be able to locate files easily."
"Data look up is a nightmare especially when there are sudden audits. "
Read as - "I need a robust search engine with well defined meta data."
"Can we ever think of becoming paper-less"
Read as - "I need a digitization solution."
"I have no clue how many versions of any content exists."
Read as - "I need version control. "
"I think we are very happy with the homegrown system that tracks all the files but it would be good if we can build some intelligence around it."
Read as – "I need to evaluate tools in the market."
"I need an option to provide access to external parties."
Read as – "I need a portal. "
"Do you think we could make do by expanding our storage and bandwidth capacity? "
Read as – "I need to understand the significance of having a CM system in place."
"Compliance to federal regulations is the highest priority in our organization today"
Read as - "I need Records Management."
Any of the above traits signal a need for a Content Management System. Invariably the discovery sessions end up being discussions around the above concerns and more.
But then this is just the beginning. The period of gestation is generally longer in the ECM cycle. From the time the problem crops up until the time the system rolls out can run into years in some cases. Generally the ECM system is observed to be adopted in a phased manner.
The Idea Phase
The idea evolves in a specific department in an organization. This idea transforms into a Requirement Specifications for that Department.
The Vendor evaluation Phase
The choice of the right vendor to meet the ECM requirements of a specific organization is a Science by itself. But generally this phase contributes to the gestation period as the whole process in finding the right fit goes through multiple discussion sessions, matrices and reviews.
The Prototype Phase
The ECM embryo then grows into the next phase which is when a department /geography level prototype is rolled out. The success of the Prototype forms the basis for a strong business case.
The Partnering Phase
This is one of the most crucial phases in an ECM roll out program. An enterprise content management system works best when all stake holders of the system use it effectively and support it whole heartedly. The Partnering phase involves selling the concept of the ECM system in the organization and getting different departments and individuals see the utility of such a system. It is important to get the potential business users online and for them to buy into the idea and be willing to support the project through financial sponsorship.Frankly, the word "ENTERPRISE" on business case presentations tends to scare people and give a false sense of grandeur and complexity. The general reaction has been "Talk about Departmental Content Management and not Enterprise Content Management. Talk about local and departmental Taxonomy not Global Taxonomy." As all great journeys have small beginnings it is always advisable to start local and grow global. ECM sometimes is viewed as a woolly mammoth sitting in the middle of an Enterprise architecture. In order to avoid this scenario it is advisable to kick start the ECM roll out with small and achievable goals and to demonstrate the usefulness of the system as a whole to the actual users. Once the end user discovers that she gets some benefits out of the system, user adoption becomes easier and the system grows via the network effect and word of mouth. This is by far the best way to encourage the usage of the system than other centrally mandated diktats.
The Enterprise Roll Out Phase
This phase is pretty much the end of the wait. The prototype is scaled up to meet the requirements of various geographies, functional areas, departments in the organization and the ECM system is rolled out to the whole enterprise.
The Maintenance Phase
This is really when the ECM has evolved and is maturing slowly. The stakeholders start to contribute to the CM system and the latter undergoes a good metamorphosis to emerge as a full grown robust system.
This typically is the evolution pattern observed during a CMS Implementation. Frankly, the whole journey I have found is very challenging and after a while you begin to start expecting things to happen. The beauty is by that time you do have a well defined set of Best practices and Risk & Mitigation plan captured !
