by Leo Clark
Documentation leads, production follows. This is the most basic CMII principle. Without a clear, concise and valid design intent, production will be unable to consistently conform. Of course, documentation has become a misnomer. The word "document" brings up images of paper cuts, toner spills, and cluttered desktops full of candidates for recycling. As we try to conceive of an effective "document management" system, we need to expand our definition of "document."
I prefer the term "information set." These include data models and electronic files of all sorts. Managers too often fail to realize that such non-paper information sets need to be managed.
There are two chief goals for a document management system. First is to provide access to the information set that is now effective. Many organizations are having great success at putting these types of systems in place.
The second goal is more elusive. That is, to leverage existing information sets for further development. Document management practices that solely archive obsolete documents do a great disservice. With the old document safely tucked away, all problems are solved? What about reuse?
Your document management system needs important meta-data about each document. In addition to file path, creator/user, effective date, etc., you must be able to identify the software application and its version level for each document.
We have all been involved in the nightmare where we tried to reuse a document that we could not open. Maybe it was created in Autocad v9 and now the company is at version 13. No one has a copy of the old software. We don't have a machine with the correct operating system to load it. We have to migrate to version 10, then 11, then 12, then 13 - - - but we can't find the discs with the software that will perform the migration. Any of this sound familiar?
Software application companies waste decades of person-hours worrying about whether their new version is "backward compatible." That is because they know their customers are not managing their assets correctly. They are willing to spend these resources to maintain a loyal customer base.
But if the customer does jump ship, say from Autocad to PTC, there is no backward compatible consideration. The real question is, "can I move my assets forward so that they are still valuable?"
Forget about backward compatible. Plan for "forward capable." Include application software and levels as part of the meta-data in your Document Control System. Now you know which assets are at the best level and which still need migration. These sorts of metrics can help you plan for and manage your decision to upgrade.
You will need this information regularly. Because software application providers are notorious for upgrades that seem to disappoint - - - but that is a topic for another newsletter.
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