Here’s the truth that vendors won’t tell you: 7 out of 10 document management projects crash and burn. Not because the technology fails, but because people skip the messy human work of preparation.
The magic isn’t all in the software. A great deal of it is in the checklist.
Before You Start
- Map the territory: Walk the floor. Watch how documents flow now. Notice who touches what, where things get stuck, where people create workarounds. These are the folks who can provide the feedback of essential needs better than the rest of the department(s). These folks will help you avoid missing critical requirements of your new system.
- Name the pain: If you can’t describe what’s broken in a single sentence, you’re not ready to fix it. Once you get the one sentence out, all of your explanations will flow freely and with clarity.
- Pick your battles: Write down three problems you absolutely must solve. Not seven. Not twelve. Three. Best starts are simple, directed priorities.
- Get real about time: Whatever timeline you’re thinking, double it. Then add a month. Then check with us, because we usually complete the project to your satisfaction much more efficiently than our competition.
- Build your crew: Find people who care enough to make this work. Not just IT folks. Get the skeptics involved too. The one worse skeptic, who provides the most objections, could turn into your best asset once the new system is underway.
- Separate needs from wants: The difference will save you thousands. Priorities first, desires second, wish-lists third. It won’t take long to hit them all.
Winning People Over
- Find your champions: Every department has that one person others trust. You need them on your side. This could be someone from earlier on this list, or someone new.
- Get the boss visible: If leadership treats this like a side project, everyone else will too. Just a ‘good job’ pass through the area goes a long way.
- Tell better stories: “This will improve efficiency” puts people to sleep. “This will eliminate the three hours you spend every Friday looking for files” gets attention. What will you be achieving?
- Make it safe to complain: Resistance doesn’t disappear when ignored. It goes underground. Let the resistance come, its easily handled and easy to convert into satisfied conversation later.
- Keep talking: Radio silence breeds rumors. Update people even when there’s nothing exciting to say.
Picking Your System
- Write it down: Create a simple document that says what success looks like.
- Focus on searching: If people can’t find stuff faster than before, nothing else matters. The lack of paper cuts and copier work tends to slide a thrill in too.
- Look for staying power: A cheap system from a company that might not exist next year is no bargain.
- Choose your battles: Perfect customization is a mirage. Sometimes it’s your process that needs to change. Many times your new system will spark ideas for process improvement and easy upgrading of your work duties.
- Think ahead: Will this still work when you’re twice your current size? Make sure you and your vendor are forward-thinking in anything you do or implement.
Moving Your Stuff
- Clean house first: Moving junk to a new system just gives you organized junk. Cull old and duplicate files you no longer need or have passed your normal retention policy dates.
- Fix your naming mess: Now’s the time to decide what “final_FINAL_v3_actualfinal.doc” should really be called. (Hint: It will never be a filename like that again.)
- Keep relationships intact: Documents connect to other documents. Make sure those connections survive the move. Get a list of what unique metadata identifiers link multiple documents together so we can enable single-click auditing for you. (I.E., PO# links a Purchase Order, the Proof of Delivery or BOL, and an actual Vendor’s Invoice.)
- Test the bridges: Make sure your new system plays nice with the other software you depend on. Check database compatibility, interconnection linkage (ODBC, OLEDB, and others) Will you be connecting systems up for better, more seamless operations in the first phase of your new system implementation?
- Check, double-check: Have real users verify their important documents made it across safely. Make sure the QA/QC work will be accounted for as you get started. Things may be more automated after your testing period.
Teaching People to Fish
- Know your audience: The person who uses the system once a month needs different training than the power user. Daily users will need more training, but not overly much.
- Create cheat sheets: No one remembers everything from training. Give them something to refer to later. Short Videos and Cheat sheets are most often used.
- Grow your experts: Find the natural teachers in each department and give them extra attention. Training the Trainers is the most efficient training roll-out.
- Watch the numbers: If a department isn’t using the system, find out why right away.
- Keep the door open: Make it ridiculously easy for people to ask questions and suggest improvements.
The Big Switch
- Plan the details: Know exactly who’s doing what on launch day.
- Start small if scared: Sometimes rolling out to one department first saves massive headaches. Pilot system beginnings are the most popular way to get rolling.
- Have a backup plan: Something will go wrong. Know exactly what you’ll do when it does. Support Levels 1 and 2 should be well known by everyone.
- Overcommunicate: Tell everyone what’s happening, when it’s happening, and where to get help.
- Triple-check everything: The hours before launch are not the time to rush.
After the Dust Settles
- Stay on alert: The first month reveals the problems you couldn’t have predicted.
- Schedule check-ins: Put quarterly system reviews on the calendar now.
- Measure what matters: Track the numbers that connect to your original goals.
- Plan for updates: New versions will come. Have a process for testing before installing.
- Write it all down: Document what you customized and why, before memories fade.
Ways People Mess This Up
- Skimping on training: “They’ll figure it out” is not a training plan.
- Ignoring culture: The best system in the world can’t fix a culture where information is power to be hoarded.
- Rushing requirements: Discovering must-have features during implementation is like finding out you need another bedroom when the roof is already on.
- Moving everything: Some documents deserve a quiet retirement, not a new digital home.
A Real Story
When Central Medical Group rolled out their system, doctors were ignoring it completely. Instead of blaming “resistant physicians,” they found their most tech-comfortable doctor in each specialty, gave them extra training, and had them tweak the workflows. Within three months, usage shot up to 94%. The secret? They stopped treating adoption as an IT problem and started treating it as a peer influence challenge.
Remember, document management isn’t something you install and forget. It’s a living system that needs care and feeding.
The best time to start planning was six months ago. The second best time is today.
Want the printable version of this checklist? Drop me a line.
Know what’s going in with your new Document Management System:
Capture: You will have a capture system up front, loading your new document management system up with new files and data sets.
- Are you scanning paper documents, about how many are expected per scan station per day?
- Are you importing electronic files from a given source or fileshare structure?
- Are you capturing documents directly from email?
- Are any FTP downloads to be used in acquiring external information?
- Will new AI agents be required for document and data capture?
- In setting up your working archives, will virtual file cabinets be set up for each department?
- Will single-click audits need to be created?
- Will any data captured be routed to the initial workflow starting points for any given department?
- Will any 3rd-party databases to be used, that has metadata for documents captured be in use for index labor automation?
- Are workflow automations going into production work in phase 1?
- Are Electronic Web Forms (E-Forms) to be used by the customer in phase 1?
- What will the security requirements be for each department’s user access and data security?
- Will any automated document retention policies need deployment in the new system?
- What will common metadata terms be, in case some documents are used by multiple departments?
- Are new or existing servers being used for application and database servers?
- Has the end-user signed-off on the resources and support services to be included with their new system?
- Will Database Search, Content Searching and A-Intelligent Search tools all be used?
- Will the system be using Document Revisions and Revision publishing be in use?
- Will local, onsite Admins be assisting with the support of this system?
- What document and file formats will be supported?
- Will Microsoft Office Tools be in use, in conjunction with the new system?
- Will 3rd party apps be allowed to print new documents directly into the system?
The more you know, the more complete your checklist will be and serve you to the highest levels of satisfaction.