Document Automation Basics

The Sackett Group, Inc. (TSG)

Are you considering purchasing a document automation product for the first time?  Researching how to reduce document production costs for your organization and promote standards and consistency? We hope this section clarifies why and how organizations use document automation programs, and naturally, we hope it will inspire you to look into the TSG product line.

Overview

A document automation program is, in essence, software that does the repetitive tasks in creating and editing documents. In organizations where people generate large quantities of documents containing standardized layouts and boilerplate text, the benefits of document automation are considerable. Documents are produced faster, employee time is used more productively, and the business gains plus employee cost savings add up quickly. Moreover, document automation reduces errors by reducing the amount of tedious, time-consuming work in producing documents, and this, in turn, increases staff morale.

Traditionally, the two components at the heart of the program are templates and macros. Templates are model files used to generate documents with particular layout and format settings. Macros are automated word processing routines that perform repetitive functions such as inserting boilerplate text, inserting letterhead, or generating labels.

Over the past 20 years, document automation programs have become more robust in their performance and more varied in their functionality. In some recent software, for example, templates and macros have been superseded by programming functions available on newer development platforms. However, the fundamental needs addressed by document automation remain the same. When considering the purchase of a system for your organization, either as a new or next-generation installation, there are five common document production issues to keep in mind:

  • Performance
  • Consistency
  • Flexibility
  • Standards
  • Integration

Performance

Performance is a result of the speed, efficiency, and reliability of the software program. The better a program performs, the less time it takes organizational staff to produce highly formatted, complex documents.

Aspects of the document automation system that enhance performance include:

  • Powerful software engine and well-integrated program architecture.
  • Program design is based on the daily work experience of people engaged in high-pressure document production, e.g., in law, finance, real estate.
  • Seamless integration with the word processing program (usually MS Word), i.e., the user doesn’t have to leave the word processing program to implement document automation and assembly functions.
  • Familiar, intuitive user interface, i.e., the look and operation of the windows, menus, shortcut keys, etc. mimic software familiar to the user. For most people, this is MS Office.
  • Context-sensitive, web-based help from within the program.
  • Customizations are deployed automatically from a central server.

Standards

In addition to enhancing productivity, document automation programs serve to promote standards of document appearance and accuracy across organizations and/or departments. Individuals tend to have their own style preferences, and an odd assortment of document layouts and text formats will emerge without some central guidance. Even where there is an organizational standard for document appearance, users may not have the word processing skill to replicate it. Moreover, the rate at which information is exchanged and updated nowadays, in almost any profession or business, makes it difficult for an organization to ensure that all personnel are using the most current formatting and boilerplate text.

Aspects of the document automation system that support standards include:

  • Page layout and text formats are applied automatically and have been customized to reflect the organization’s standards.
  • Macros or program functions are used to insert boilerplate text that has been checked for accuracy at a central source in the organization.
  • External standards, such as court requirements or technical specifications, are maintained centrally and applied automatically.

Consistency

In offices where a number of people generate the same kinds of documents - perhaps for the same client - documents need to be consistent in appearance and in the use of the organization’s boilerplate text. The professional, coherent form of an organization's documents suggests professional, coherent work and supports the corporate image and marketing efforts that attract clients.

When legal issues are involved, the need is critical. For example, attorneys and legal assistants working on the same case together can’t be generating documents that contain different headers and footers or clauses that were clearly drawn from other cases. This happens when users rely on copy-and-paste methods to create new documents from pre-existing ones, and it is a common problem.

One other important aspect of the consistency achieved by document automation is that it reduces the cost of training the personnel who produce documents. Because the same document creation, editing, formatting and assembly procedures are used from desk to desk, support staff can identify problems and assist users quickly, and users can support each other in learning new procedures.

Aspects of the document automation system that support consistency include:

  • Document templates, based on formatting and boilerplate text chosen by the client, are accessible to all personnel in an office, department, or organization.
  • Menus, ribbons, or a task pane within MS Word offer easy access to the templates, so that personnel are inclined to use templates to create or edit documents, instead of starting from scratch or copying older documents.
  • Any number of specific templates may be created for the same general type of document, e.g., leases for different properties, and listed on the menu. Users can quickly choose the template they need, rather than trying to adapt one they have used before.
  • The program comes with a large collection of document templates for legal and/or business offices, which are designed to be consistent with standard formatting practice in the industry. The client organization may customize the templates and still maintain consistency in document layouts.
  • A database of boilerplate text and formatting layouts is maintained on a central server and updated centrally. Every user accesses the same and most current version of the text.

Flexibility

Document consistency and standards may be essential to an organization or department, but they should be balanced with flexibility. Individual staff have different ways of working, different schedules, different skills, and different contexts in which they work. Moreover, the content and rhythm of the work itself may change. A document automation system should be adaptable to differences and changes, and should provide tools and options that support people in performing at their highest level.

Aspects of the document automation system that provide flexibility include:

  • A simple and intuitive user interface, which remains the same for the most basic to the most complex functions.
  • Users may apply their individual formatting preferences to a document, without undermining the document standards in the template.
  • Templates can be developed for the entire organization, department, or a group of users. An organization isn’t tied to one set of standards or one layout for all documents.
  • Users have flexibility in how they navigate in the program (through mouse or keyboard) and choices about when to employ the different program functions.
  • With no programming knowledge, system administrators can customize templates and macros, as needed by the organization.
  • Users can automate their own clauses or documents and create their own clause libraries.

Integration

Document automation programs typically integrate with database applications such as CRM (contact relationship manager) and DMS (document management systems), and they keep integration updated when new releases or changes are available.

Integration with Contacts

Contact database integration enables the user to insert information from the contact database directly into document templates (e.g. Letter, Fax) and/or macros (e.g., Labels, Envelopes).

Key aspects of contact management integration include:

  • Integration with multiple contact databases, specifically the one(s) used by your organization.
  • The information in the contact database appears within the document automation program in an easy-to-read, easy-to-search window.
  • Outdated contact information imported from a database may be manually edited in the document or refreshed on-the-fly.

Integration with Document Managers

Document automation programs may also integrate with document management systems (DMS).  These systems centralize storage and retrieval of files and enable users to easily search and find their own documents, as well as those created by other users.

Key aspects of document management integration include:

  • Integration with various document management systems, specifically the one(s) used by your organization.
  • Insertion of a “trailer” that includes the document identification number, any DMS profile information, and options to include draft stamp information such as draft, date, and time.
  • Choice about where the trailer is inserted in the document (end of document, footer, none/remove, etc.).