Get Ready to Capture Your Content

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1 An AIIM Checklist Helping you manage and use information assets. Get Ready to Capture Your Content Produced by AIIM Training By Bob Larrivee, Director/Industry Advisor, AIIM 1 aiim.org I

2 Capture is an essential part of any enterprise content management (ECM) environment that not only impacts your ability to find information but also how you will work with it. The capture tools you select and how you capture information will have impact on business processes as well, and as such, you will need to take that into consideration when you explore your options. There are two elements to capture that you need to consider. First, anything born digital Word documents, spread sheets, presentations, and even social media needs to stay that way. You want to, if at all possible, prevent born-digital information from being presented in hard copy or print form. Some benefits you are likely to gain as a result of developing, implementing, and refining your capture strategy are: n Reduced filing/storage costs n Reduced distribution costs n Protection/control of information n Improved access to information n Help with regulatory compliance n Improved customer service Not only does this lower your costs related to paper paper, toner, filing, and time to manage or move it through the organization you also gain the benefit of auditability of chain of custody, version control, and enhanced security features not typically found in the paper world. What I have seen over the years is that a paper copy is generated for reasons like the requirement of a signature. Today, with few exceptions, digital and electronic signatures are acceptable and binding; eliminating the need for hard copy. In these cases, you must look at the way information moves through the organization and determine the point of capture. The question to ask is at what point and under what conditions do you capture this information and place it into your repositories, making it available to those who have the need and authorization to access it. The second element of capture is the more familiar association with this term and focuses on the conversion of physical information into digital form. Of course what many think I am talking about here is imaging. This is when you scan documents, digitize them, and bring them into the ECM environment where they are stored, managed, and made available for access. In fact, this aspect of capture goes beyond paper and includes the ability to capture all forms of physical information; including photography, audio, and video. When discussing this aspect of capture, you must take into consideration the type and purpose of this information. For example, in banking you might place a speciality check scanner in the teller window. Doing this, the teller can now capture the image of the check, initiate funds transfer as the MICR characters are read from the check (initiating contact between the banks and appropriate bank accounts), and the action of proofing is conducted when the teller enters the amount. Once this action is complete, under the rules of Check21, the check can then be destroyed. This can all now take place by the customer using a smartphone and uploading the image to their bank where it is processed by the customer and recognition technologies. The second scenario focused on physical information that s not paper-based might be insurance claims. In this case, the use of digital cameras or even mobile devices with audio and video capture capabilities are used to document damages, save them in digital form, and upload to the claims center for processing. The combination of audio and video provides a powerful tool that enables the field adjuster to enhance and expedite the process, which in turn delivers results and payment to the client faster. Where once there was a paper-intense process that took days or weeks to complete, customers get results and can potentially begin to pull their lives back together within hours. While all of this sounds simple, and to the end user should appear to be, it takes time, planning, and effort. A checklist is provided to ensure that your organization s approach to capture is not just a haphazard approach with less than stellar results. Capture can be broken into four key areas: information, people, process, and technology. 1

3 Information Identify your information types: Conduct an information audit to document what you have, why it exists, and the business value it holds for the organization. Many organizations create and manage information for little to no business reason and could purge much of what is stored. People Assess organizational readiness: n What type of information do you have? (Digitally born, paper, or other physical) n What is the information? Correspondence? Contracts? Intellectual Property? n Is there a need for this information to be physical? If so, what are the reasons? n What is the source of this information? n What is the business value of this information? n Is the user community ready for change as capture impacts process? n Does the user community understand the change related to capture and the reason for this change? n What type of training will be required to align the user with new ways of capture? n How will the user community be impacted by these changes both professionally and personally? n What types of resistance might there be and how will you address it? Develop a communication program that aligns with and supports organizational change. While you may not think so, any change made to the way information is captured and managed will impact the employee population. As such, your strategy should include change management as part of the overall project to align and focus the organization in a positive, results oriented way. 2

4 Process Know the flow: Map and validate current processes, improve the process, and then automate where possible. Changes in capture will impact process and how employees and customers interact with your information. By understanding how information interrelates with process you can design your processes to be more streamlined for maximum results. Technology n What processes are associated with this information and are they mapped accurately? n How does information enter and exit the process? n At what point in the process should/could this information be captured and by whom? n Is there an opportunity to move the capture of information upstream in the process? n What impact will a change in this process have on adjacent processes? Technology is a tool, not the complete solution. Assess your needs and requirements before making a technology decision. Integration will work well for born-digital information but other devices like scanners, copiers, and mobile devices might be better suited for non-paper based information. The decision of who and where will help assess the appropriate technology selections. Questions you want to ask as part of your assessment include: n Will you capture digitally born information directly? (Word, spread sheets, presentations, , and social media) n What devices will be required for physical information? (Scanners, digital copiers, mobile devices?) n Who will perform the capture function? (Employees, customers, both) n Where will capture occur? (Local, remote, centralized, or decentralized) n Will automation be used? (Recognition, workflow, systems integration) 3

5 Once you have a better understanding of your needs and requirements from a business perspective, you are now ready to investigate the technology options available to meet those needs. Some of the elements to look for when selecting a capture solution include but are not limited to: Scanner Categories: n Workgroup: ppm n Departmental: ppm n Mid-volume production ppm n Production: 120 plus n Large format: for over-sized documents n Check scanners: Will read the MICR number on a check, speeding processing Scanner features and things to consider: Sheetfed or flatbed. For high throughput, a sheetfed scanner with an automatic document feeder is the way to go. For situations with fragile or documents in poor shape, a flatbed scanner may be necessary. Specialty scanners for fragile books/documents as well large formats (engineering drawings, etc.) are also available. n Resolution. 100 to 1600 dpi. Greater resolution means more storage and bandwidth requirements, even with compression. 300 dpi is good enough for solid recognition results. n Color, black and white, or grayscale. Grayscale is often the compromise here, as it s good for OCR and allows graphics to be read. Color is an option, but the improvement in clarity can be offset by the decrease in throughput speed and file size. n Duplex or simplex. If many double-sided forms, consider purchasing a duplex scanner which scans both sides at once. n Duty cycle. How long will the scanner last? n Consumables. Belts and rollers wear out. Are they user replaceable or is a service call required? You don t want your scanner sitting idle while waiting for a service technician to replace a light bulb. n Warranty. Should the scanner break, how long will it take to get another? Image Enhancement n Deskew n Despeckle n Crop n Rotate n Blank page and double feed detection 4

6 Recognition Recognition - For indexing: n OCR (optical character recognition): recognizes machine-printed characters n Zonal: used where only specific fields on a form are required n Full-text: free form document conversion allowing search on all words in the document n ICR (intelligent character recognition): for hand-printed characters n OMR: (optical mark recognition): recognizes check boxes, filled-in bubbles, etc. n Barcodes: read and extract information from a pre-printed bar code Index - Indexing is NOT optional. No other way to find documents. n Barcodes allow auto-indexing n Zone OCR also automatic n Ingest from other applications , word processing, etc. n Auto-classification and Auto-categorization to streamline the process of storage within a classification scheme Conclusion Developing a capture strategy is important and in order to develop your strategy, detailed requirements gathering is essential. This is not an easy task and takes a lot of time, planning, and focus. In order to develop your requirements identify: n What content and information you have stored n Where the information resides n Who owns this information n When and where should it be captured n How should it be captured and who will perform the capture function Once you have gathered your requirements, developed a strategy, and implemented your plan, you should take time and periodically assess whether it is still relevant and how it can be improved. In this light, there is room for improvement in all you do for your organization and yourself. 5

7 About AIIM s Capture Training Program Capture, done right, has a proven return on investment. On average, respondents using scanning and capture consider that it improves the speed of response to customers, suppliers, citizens, or staff by 6-times or more. 70% estimate an improvement of at least 3-times, and nearly a third (29%) see an improvement of 10-times or more.* What are you waiting for? Get started with AIIM training to learn how to provide faster access to your information, reduce your storage costs, speed response time to your customers, and more. World-Class Professional Development and Training The course is designed for anyone who is involved in the assessment and implementation of capture initiatives. The Program covers global best practices for implementing capture, complementary technologies, and leveraging industry best practices. Education Around the Clock... Or In Person Learn at your own pace and at your own convenience by taking the courses online. Available 24/7; learn as you have time. Classroom instruction both public courses and private courses delivered to you is also available. Ready? Become More Efficient. Start Today. Want us to contact you? us at Training@aiim.org *Source: The Paper-Free Office - dream or reality 6

8 About AIIM AIIM ( has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for nearly 70 years. The association s mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud, and big data. Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education, and certification programs to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with programs and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators, and consultants. About the Author Bob Larrivee joined AIIM in 2007 as an Industry Advisor and Director of the Training Center where he works to identify, develop, and deliver specialized training in best practices, technology, and methodologies. Bob is an internationally recognized thought leader with over thirty years of experience in document imaging, content management, records management, and the application of advanced technologies and process improvement. He has also received the Cenadem - Brazil ECM Pioneer Award. Bob is an AIIM Certified Information Professional (CIP), has earned AIIM designations in ECM, ERM, BPM, EMM, E2.0, SharePoint, Capture, IOA, is a CompTIA Certified Document Imaging Architech+ (CDIA+), and a State of Florida Certified Instructor. Bob is a published poet, photographer, and musician. Prior to joining AIIM, Bob held positions within the vendor community, as a consultant, and as a reseller. He entered the emerging technologies industry with Wang Laboratories where he focused on imaging, workflow, digital annotation, and voice recognition systems. AIIM 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring, MD AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals 7