Measuring the success of ECM

When it comes to measurements, industry is full of them - but IT is not. Or rather it is at a very technical level, but not at the business level.

For ECM implementations in particular, the nearest we usually get to measurements are in dodgy ROI calculations that are appended to even more dubious business cases. There should be much more granular measurements undertaken to justify and to hone ECM technology into the machine for change that it can and should be.

What I mean by this is that to run an ECM system effectively we should be constantly monitoring:

• The processes that the ECM system drives
• Systems usage
• Time taken to search and access
• Time taken from check out to check in again
• Who is using the system and when (and in some cases why)
• Which files are used, and which sit dormant

It's all data that is available within the system, yet few (very few) make use of it - it would be good if ECM vendors could learn from business application vendors - and provide simple dashboards and metrics templates.

Why? Why bother with all this? Because then we have control of the ECM system, and we can measure expected and required usage, against actual. Allowing us to modify and continually improve the system over time. Rather than allowing it to become an expensive online storage system - with mountains of redudancy, duplication and waste that so many become.

Centralized or Distributed?

I was trawling through some old presentations the other day - when I came across a couple that were given at crisis points in major ECM implementations. What struck me about these was the focus on the architecture of the ECM system. In particular whether it should be centralized or distributed (most of my clients have been very large and often global in nature). The pro's and con's of federated ECM - the issues of replication etc are well understood. But what I think is less understood is the impact that this architectural approach has on ECM as a practice.

By default centralizing or conversely distributing the content management impacts the way that the content is managed - for example if we centralize then we see the following common attributes:

• Centrally controlled and organized
• Complex and far reaching processes across the organization
• Sequential activities
  
• Explicit and definitive content/records
• System managed by an expert
• Performance may be slow
• Reliance on corporate (HQ) expertise

Whereas when we distribute the content in a federated architecture we see:

• Control at local level
• Simple processes optimized for local needs
• Parallel activities
  
• Distributed and fragmented content/records
  
• Various levels of expertise
• Fast performance at local instances
• Local understanding of local needs

The decision to distribute or centralize ECM though (in my experience) is almost always decided based on two criteria - technical considerations and distrust/trust.

The technical considerations are obvious really - sometimes federating just doesn't work or becomes too costly to support - likewise centralizing can impact performance etc - but the trust/distrust thing is usually dependent simply on the culture of the firm.

In the new BPM course we stress the need to undertake full As Is and model thoroughly the To Be situations. Looking back on many of my past consulting engagements it has been all too obvious that insufficient study of needs and potential solutions was undertaken, and in nearly every case way too little understanding of the current situation was grasped.

My point (if I have one) is that when making major architectural decisions - we should always be cognizant of the business and cultural aspects that these decisions will impact..........

A day without Skype

You don't know what you've got till it's gone - as the song goes. And I for one truly missed Skype this past day or so. At CMS Watch we use Skype a lot - in fact judging by the shakes we all experienced when Skype was down, we have become pretty dependent on it.

Sure you get cheap/free phone calls - and that's nice - but its the IM we use the most.

I resisted IM for a long time - figuring it was a passing fad (show's what I know) but it's our typical way of communicating between our different work locations, and now I use it every day.

I think the appeal of IM though is not just in the ease of use to chat - but in the fact that you can see who is online and their status. Actually I think that is what I missed the most - not feeling a connection between my colleagues and myself. As a homeworker that's important - and frankly I find it comforting just to know people are there and busy - maybe I am terminally insecure, but I do think that IM's success is as much to do with bringing a human touch (I know you are there) to computing.

My little Skype list of friends and colleagues with green status saying they are on line tells me that all is well, and I missed it very much...

I'm back....

It's been a while.....not sure why really - but wasn't really sure of the relevance of the blog anymore - and I have been blogging a lot at the CMS Watch site - but there is so much going on in the industry in general I thought it was time for a return :-)

I have said it so many times its become a mantra - but ECM without BPM is a lame duck. Of course the counter is not I have said it so many times its becoming a mantra - that ECM demands BPM - without it ECMnecessarily the case - BPM can happily exist without ECM - but viewing the process as central to the project is the issue. Sadly few consider the process to be the central concern in an ECM project - result, lots of nice technology running on servers - nobody using it.

So - BPM (always my pet topic) - the training course is nearing completion and is now officially launched. A couple of weeks back I ran a train the trainer session in Washington and it gave me a chance to see the course in it's entirety (seeing the wood from the trees and all that) - I think I can honestly say we have done a great job. The course for those interested is designed for the consultants (internal or external) that will work on business change projects (for example any ECM project) - its highly practical and covers a lot of ground - students are going to have a tough but worthwhile time! The online version is pretty smooth, but if you want the message from the horses mouth then you need to sign up for one of the classroom sessions.

Secondly I am off to Kuala Lumpur to speak and run a workshop at the ECM Event there in a week or so's time. I'm really looking forward to this for a number of reasons:-

1: I always love to find out what ECM means in a new country - how it is interpreted and used there - teaching is as much a learning experience for me in these situations as it is for the attendees. I will be blogging about that at a later point.

2: Running workshops is a great opportunity for me to interact with users and buyers of technology.

3: I have never been to Malaysia before - but love the far east region

If you are in the region take a look at the conference and as always say hello (to repeat I am not as unapproachable as I look.....)

Work is starting soon on V2 of the ECM Suites Report - feedback from V1 most welcome - we got some wonderful testimonials from readers of V1 but there is always room for improvement - what worked for you and what didn't??

Longer - more focused blog entries in the coming week or so - but for now ciao :-)

BPM and ECM again.....

Its now sort of official so I can talk about it here - I am currently developing a training scheme on the topic of BPM (Business Process Management). Business Process change and workflow have long been my first love (work wise at least!) and so this is something I am enjoying very much.

It is in the handling of business processes - that ECM projects stand or fall. As I have said often, the failure rate for ECM is staggeringly high - and the reasons for this are manifold. Poor selection techniques, under budgeting etc etc - but at core its the business processes. ECM exists to help you manage information and information is always related to a business process. Yet as we know all too often ECM systems often become expensive static vaults.

In researching for the training course, I am frankly shocked at the level of consulting and analysis skills in the marketplace. When I myself was doing this kind of work in the mid to late 90's every business analyst knew how to accurately capture requirements, model processes etc etc. But so many of those skills seem to have fallen into redundancy in the past 10 years.

My hope is that this course in some small way can provide some hardcore skills training to the marketplace - and though its certainly important to talk about BPM technologies (and the course does) its more important ultimately to talk about the skills to manage processes - these are as much ECM as BPM in nature.

A Buzzing UK event

I have just returned for a short but very intense visit to London. I was there primarily to speak at Internet World, but had the good fortune to see a lot of things at the show, and talk to many people.
I am writing this up whilst its still fresh in my mind (on the plane) and this trip has left me full of somewhat conflicting thoughts. Top of mind was the conclusion (not just based on this quick visit) that the UK is currently in the early throws of a technology boom, and it looks set to last. What European people were taking for granted at the show, struck me as a level of buzz, interest, excitement and confidence that I have not seen in a long while. And frankly it was in stark contrast to what I have been seeing in the US over the past couple of years.....
Another observation was that the UK tech start up's are looking to expand into Europe and Asia (and in that order) - yet just a few years back the US would have been the first place outside of home that they would have targeted.
Yet another sideways observation was the level of interest in the vibrant and open French Presidential debate held this week - Brits interested in French politics ?!?! - First time in my lifetime for sure...
I am English and live in and love the US. So I am happy to see such vibrancy and Joie de Vivre in Europe, yet equally pained to exchange my lowly Dollar for strong Sterling.
Its not based on much but there seems to be a growing distance between Europe and the US, and it is to the US's detriment - the Europe I see a few times each year, just gets stronger and more vital each time - a long way from the 'Old Europe' I hear described to me by others.