Document Management - White Paper (ID 5277).pdf Jul. 2014 | Page 32

First Steps
Needs assessment
A needs assessment entails a discussion between managers
and staff and results in a written outline of an organization’s
document handling needs, constraints, and objectives. Different
organizations may require drastically different solutions that best
address their particular circumstance, so it is important to clarify
exactly what issues the solution must solve.

Using the worksheet provided in this section, or creating your
own custom checklist of preferred features, will help build a
consensus for action while identifying all the electronic document
management needs the new system will need to address.
Evaluators can then use the checklist when talking with vendors to
help focus the conversation on how the system will actually fit into
existing IT infrastructure and work processes.

Needs Assessment Outline
Goals and Objectives:
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What do you want a document management system to achieve for your organization?
In what areas of the organization do you expect to use the system?
What are the most pressing problems related to managing your business documents?
With which current business software and networks will the system need to interface?

Organization Needs:
• How many people need to access files?
• Will different employees have different levels of access to various files?
• Do you have a server-based network established, or does your organization operate via
a cloud-based environment, or a hybrid of the two?
• Do you intend to expand/upgrade your computer hardware/servers/scanners?
• What is the estimated volume of incoming paper documents into the organization
weekly?
• What is the estimated volume of incoming electronic documents into the organization
weekly?
• How many new documents are generated weekly inside the organization?
• Will you require audit trails? On which materials?
• What is your current retention policy?
• What are the retention schedules for existing document storage?
Distribution of operations:
• Will the system accommodate electronic correspondence (emails, email attachments,
and faxes) into the repository?
• How many office locations require access to the new system?
• Do employees need to take documents from the office home or on the road?
Paper to Digital:
• What is the volume of existing paper files (# of file cabinets, boxes in storage facilities)
that will transfer to the digital system?
• Which types of existing paper documents will you include/exclude in the system?
EASY DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

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