A document is information presented in a form appropriate to the content and purpose. A document is created with a purpose, by someone for someone. But not always the source of the document and / or its addressee will be a person. The modern level is when machines and mechanisms can and should be effectively and practically included in the control loop.
The process, features and speed of movement of a document depends on its form, content and functioning of the "movement environment". From how well document management in the organization is configured, its success, economic indicators and social efficiency depend on it, and this: quality and life of the company.
About documents and workflow
Administration, the form and the procedure for document management by the example of an organization are not regulated by law. There are GOSTs, by-laws and binding recommendations. Regarding accounting documents, papers for processing a loan or medical reports, there are legal norms.
A document is not always strict writing. He can be :
- a form in which specific fields having exact semantic and syntactic content are filled in a certain way;
- a page made in a specific form for a specific application (letter, order, terms of reference, staffing, ...);
- free form (employee’s explanatory note, thanks for labor achievements, resolution on the application, ...).
All three versions of documents can have a paper or electronic presentation and, due to the availability of technical and legal tools, they are absolutely equivalent, although there are still cases where only a paper form is possible.
Despite the absence of legislative regulation of the form and content of the document and the workflow, there is a tough, generally accepted and not discussed practice of creating, moving, storing or destroying documents, which each organization is free to adjust for itself in absolutely any way.
The perfect example of workflow in an organization
It is fundamentally impossible to achieve the ideal:
- in any area of ​​life and work,
- Anytime,
- anywhere in space
as each new approach makes it possible to see new horizons. There is a desire and need to follow them. Workflow is no exception. On the contrary, a revealing and lively example of the dynamic fixation of the process of movement of information.
It is absolutely unimportant how the information is recorded: on paper or in electronic form. Currently, both forms have the same legal meaning, although in some cases the paper version has advantages.
An example of a document flow in an organization that respects itself, its field of activity, respects government agencies, its partners, suppliers and consumers (customers), is not always brought to an electronic system that monitors, considers documents and ensures a cycle of their movement from the moment occurrence (creation) until the moment of deposit or destruction.
By no means in all organizations there is an understanding that many documents can be executed directly by machines and mechanisms without human intervention, just as not all sources (authors) should be only people.
The usual understanding of workflow automation in the vast majority of cases is at the level of a simple “signal idea”, when the program is entrusted with reporting only the occurrence of events.
Internal and external circulation of documents
For a successful organization, both circuits are important. External turnover has a static value, and internal - dynamic.
The better the management of the company understands this circumstance, the more promising an electronic document management system it chooses. Those who want to show an ideal example of the movement of business papers in an organization write their own information system.
Documents can be primary and secondary. The latter always have a history of movement within the organization.
By analyzing the application of knowledge about the document and its use, it is possible to evaluate the functional characteristics of the company, socio-economic indicators and time parameters. This is important for both partners and consumers.
Paper but effective or electronic but acquired
Uniqueness is inherent not only to man, but also to organization. Moreover, each person appreciates his individuality and strives in every way to emphasize it with clothing, behavior, education and so on.
A company acquiring a ready-made information system is an ideal example of a document flow in an organization that deprives her of her own face and forces employees to dress in “other people's clothes”.
It is better to entrust your own employees to work with paper in the old fashioned way than to impose on them a third-party, but modern opinion about the documents and their use. Each employee is an important element of the organization’s functionality, and not a researcher of the effectiveness of other people's ideas and designs of third-party workflow.
Priorities, Dynamics and Functionality
The external contour of the workflow is always limited, unpretentious and characterized by static stability. By and large, he should be given no more importance than he deserves. For example, what is the point of "putting your soul" in relations with the tax, regulatory authorities or partners. You can somehow diversify the process of exchanging information with advertising agencies, but even this, in the end, takes on a static everyday form.
The priority of our own information processing system, an important part of which is always electronic document management, is not in doubt. But always and everyone is sorry for the time and money to create their own system.
A combination of classic “one es” or “galaxy” options that can never do without an ixel and a couple of third-party local economic or accounting programs, coupled with your own website, to have feedback and documents (orders, complaints, suggestions, .. .) from customers and partners - the usual state of affairs, employees are constantly busy with routine, and there is no cost.
The dynamics of the production process can only be ensured by the effective implementation of its own functionality. Only in this capacity is electronic document management in an organization an example worthy of imitation, and in the context of the implementation of one's own business idea, excellent dynamics of production, economic and social indicators.
Regulation on the organization's information system
Any organization is an information system that arises and exists in a similar environment. Documents come from outside the organization, inside you also need to create documents, some of which are regulated and binding.
A simple organization workflow schedule is an example of how everyone usually does it. The provision on the rules of work, the daily routine, and the duties of employees is the usual norm of things, but very few people are developing the "Regulation on the organization’s information system".
From an objective point of view, the leaders of the organization can be guided by anything, write any position and job descriptions. But only on the extent to which the internal regulatory arsenal meets the requirements of reality, the effectiveness and practicality of this rule-making depends.
Regulation on documents and their movement
The enterprise’s document management system is an integral part of the company's information sphere, as a result of which the “Document Management Regulation” is an annex to the “Regulation on the Organization’s Information System”, but it is very important and combines all its components into a single information organism.
If the management intends to create the perfect example of document management in an organization, then it really is engaged in the development of a successful business, with the goal of making a profit and improving the well-being of employees.
A feature of the current state in the field of program development, in particular at the forefront, in the field of distributed information processing (examples of Internet programming), is that it is almost impossible to create a mobile self-adaptive application.
The task of electronic document management in an organization is an example of a simple but indicative one. Here the dynamics are peculiar:
- incoming and outgoing documents;
- algorithms for processing internal and external business papers.
Writing code that can vary in accordance with changes in data and algorithms is very difficult. Costs of time and resources are not available to every organization.
Electronic workflow in dynamics
Organization of document management at the enterprise by the example of the task of the electronic version is relevant, simple, indicative and practical. Complexity is the process of designing code that can dynamically change. Development time is also a problem.
The document flow procedure is noteworthy for the example of an organization owned by the Federal Tax Service, Federal Migration Service, Russian Post, etc. Moreover, it is completely unnecessary to design the system in exact accordance, it is enough to take the structure and content of documents as a basis, and use the general processing logic.
Then the document flow in the organization = example + features of their own business ideas. In a first approximation, the result will not be practical, but as soon as the first implementation of the tasks is put into operation, the cycle of their solution will become irreversible and, with due attention, the result will be achieved.
The creation of an information system capable of processing dynamically changing information is, first of all, the dynamics of the creation process itself.
Until a mechanism has been created to adequately change incoming, outgoing and internal documents, and the code does not receive the possibility of independent change without the participation of a programmer, it will not be possible to talk about the fact of creating an electronic document management system.
However, to come up with and implement your own system to fully support the organization’s information processes is like making its success brilliant and perfect.