Document Solutions Zone

Who are the players? What are the documents?--CDIA+ specifics

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Yes, it's been a while since we have blogged. We have been VERY BUSY training, training, and doing some more training for the past several months. We are still very busy, but I just flew in from a class last night and had an observation to share concerning the CDIA+ certification.

This last class I just taught had a different demographic than many of the classes I teach. This class had several people with 20+ years experience. If I did not have specific knowledge of the type of content on the exam, I could see how some would wonder why they needed a training class to sit for the CDIA+ exam. However, by the time these students had finished the three-day class, they were certain that they did the right thing by signing up.

You see, years of experience in imaging or document management may or may not prepare you for exam. The exam is not just technical. The CDIA+ candidate must also possess a solid understanding of the players and documents associated with the EDM solution sales and project management life cycles. Not only that, but the candidate must also be familiar with CompTIA's terms as related to these subjects. Now I am a PMP and Project+ certified. I have a solid handle on the project management life cycle inside and outside an IT environment. However, some of the terms used on the CDIA+ exam are slightly different. A keen understanding of these nuances can mean the difference between a passing and failing score on the exam.

Some terms you must understand (by no means exhaustive):

WBS
Risk mitigation plan
Implementation plan
Requirements document
Scope document
RFP
Functional requirement
Functional design
Gantt chart
Cultural change management plan
Change control plan
Change order
SLA
and so on--there are over a dozen more...

The CDIA+ candidate must not only know what these terms refer to, but the candidate must know their purpose, who prepares the documents, who receives the documents, and when in the project life cycle. Does the requirements document go to the the project team, the end users, the project manager, the project leader, the implementation manager, the steering committee, the vendor, or the CTO.--and who prepares the document? What is the document for. Is it a stand-alone document or is it part of a larger deliverable? You get it? There are many little nuances that are significantly beyond the technology.

PDI+ -Printing and Document Imaging certification –how can that help me??

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:02:00 +0000

by Byron B. Aulick

We work very closely with CompTIA, the owners of the new certification for technicians called PDI+. They were looking for a good case study to share with their contemporaries, so I reached out to a training client that became certified last month after taking our online training course. Our client's original intent for the training and certification was to add another certification to their long list of credentials to show-off to their clients. They got way more than they expected!

In short, here is what our client said about PDI+:

All of their technicians are factory trained and have worked there at least one year, some ten years. Management had to ‘encourage’ them into the course, and they completed their training expeditiously. Upon completion, the Service Manager said this (and I quote):

“There is more spring in their step! They have greater confidence.”
Techs are troubleshooting more, whereas before it was repair by repetition
First-time repairs are more complete. Far-less come-backs.
They are not calling in on basic problems as much
Lastly, the boss is handing out cash bonuses due to less call-backs!

We thought we would share that with you because this testimony is real-world, from a real company, that shares in the same struggles as many of you do...

Conducting an EDM Needs Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:40:00 +0000

In the previous article, we discussed selling the EDM needs assessment. We succeeded—it’s sold, now what do we do? In this brief article we will highlight the technical and logistical considerations of conducting an EDM needs assessment. It’s one thing to sell the process; we have to deliver on our promises if we have any chance at selling the entire solution. Remember, the needs assessment has two purposes: designing the optimal solution to meet the customer’s business and functional requirements, and selling that solution. Keep in mind, the solution is NOT just technology—but part of a business solution. More on this later…

Where do we start? The first requirement is to establish your point of contact (POC) and chain of communication. The vendor/consultant project manager must have a single project point of contact on the customer side to coordinate the assessment itinerary. The consultant will need to meet with several representatives from the customer enterprise and must be given access to applicable corporate infrastructure. We always submit two documents to our customer POC. The first document is an itinerary, listing who we need to speak to and for how long. I detail the individual surveys below. The second document we provide is a boiler-plate that the customer POC can use to inform the interviewees of the upcoming meetings. There is nothing worse than having people pulled in a room to answer your questions when they do not understand who you are and the purpose of the meetings. Both these documents are provided to our students as part of our Needs Assessment Tool-kit.

Conducting the surveys:

Typically the customer POC accompanies our consulting team through the interview process. Do not underestimate the significance of this. This person will be THE leading advocate for the solution in the end. They will hear every question, every response, and likely eat lunch with you and have conversations as you tour their facilities and in between meetings. They will hear your thoughts and collaborate with you concerning the preliminary solutions as you brainstorm throughout the interview sessions. Powerful relationship-building happens here.

We always start the actual surveys by debriefing the C-level of the proposed survey agenda and what the final deliverable will include. The tone for the entire assessment is set in this meeting. The consultant also sets expectations for the final deliverable. No surprises!

Our four-level survey tool covers the C-level management, the department level, end-users, and IT. The C-level survey is conducted once and first. The remainder of the surveys are conducted in no particular order. The mid-level survey is conducted with each department head, the records manager, and HR. The end-user survey is conducted per department with a group of representative end-users. Therefore, in a company of 100 employees, an enterprise solution survey might look like this:

C-level –just one survey
Mid-level--HR, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Records Management/Legal, Administrative, Workgroup 1, Workgroup 2, …Workgroup X (if it is a departmental solution, just survey the particular department)
End-user Survey--representative end-user groups from each of the departments
IT--one survey

Beyond the survey, there are other activities to be conducted during the assessment. For an imaging job, obtaining a detailed document count is a high priority. I will defer you to this article to see how that is done in the field. We also want to take a look at their IT infrastructure. Lastly, you’ll want to both observe and get their perspective on their document workflow and business processes. Our assessment survey has a comprehensive worksheet that includes fields for all the information needed to prepare detailed workflow diagrams.

By now you are wondering what questions we ask. I apologize, but that is way beyond the scope of this brief article. In a nut shell, we ask everything under the sun to highlight their challenges, develop solutions to their challenges, develop an accurate ROI for cost-justification, narrow down every conceivable EDM feature, size the solution, develop an implementation strategy, assemble a training plan, and stand up a support infrastructure. As you might conclude, that’s A LOT of questions! For simplicity, we put all the questions in a single digital survey tool that is included with our EDM Needs Assessment training course. I suggest you pre-prepare questions and have a calculated and deliberate survey assembled and available to make the assessment efficient and complete. You do not want to look unprofessional by coming back with a series of follow-up questions when they compensated you for being there on-site and coordinated their staff’s availability with the sole intent of answering your questions.

This article is becoming more than “brief.” You’ll have to wait until next month to go over the development of a solution, and preparation of the deliverable. You won’t want to miss that one.

Until then, go out there and get compensated for your expertise. Your skills have value!

Off to train in Africa--CDIA+ is international

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:29:00 +0000

-by Byron B. Aulick, CDIA+, PDI+, Project+
Senior Instructor

Here is a news flash: CDIA+ certification is NOT limited to here in the US only. I leave Thursday to teach another (fourth one) class in Johannesburg, S. Africa! Believe it or not there are other countries that are open minded in regards to finding better ways to handle paper in the office...

I fly 9 hours to Amsterdam, then 10 hours to Johannesburg. Drive 1 hour to Pretoria, sleep for two days (boy-oh boy do you need it!!) Then teach 23 students, of whom the English language is NOT their first language!

Anyhow -I would also like to tell you of the dedication to training these folks exhibit. You see the simple truth is, work is highly valued. Their country is doing well, but there is still a high unemployment rate. There is no welfare system in S. Africa, so if you don’t work and have money for food -you starve!! Let’s pause and think how that might effect the training class: students take their jobs serious and as a result they take training serious. This is a joy to an instructor -students that pay close attention -wow -what a concept...

All kidding aside, imaging has taken off in many countries outside of the U.S. DataVault also teaches Latin America in Spanish -where they also take this discipline very serious.

When it comes to electronic document management, if the company produces paper (and how many don’t?) there are several choices to choose from that will streamline and make the process entirely more effective -reducing stress and saving money. This is CDIA+ through and through. Isn’t that what it is all about??

The art of selling an EDM needs assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:56:00 +0000

I just finished a 2-day needs assessment class with several dealers. I always appreciate the night-and-day change in sentiment I see in students from the start to the finish of the class. We tell them before they sign up that by the end of the class they will be able to sell a needs assessment, perform a needs assessment, and sell the solution. I know they all doubt these bold claims. However, by the end of Day 1, they are absolutely convinced that they have the knowledge and the tools they need to position and sell a needs assessment.

How do we transition them from doubters to believers, you ask? This brief article will provide some insights and information that I hope will challenge you to explore alternative methods to position and sell needs assessments with greater ease and success. Well, I can’t give you the first day of training in a single article, but here is the general framework.

For starters, you have to get to the right audience. EDM is a top-down sale because it is a business solution, not simply technology. If you can engage at the top and convince them that there is a benefit for their firm to implement, then you earn the right to ask them a few questions. We suggest informative seminars—specific to a vertical market or general document management stuff. In fact, we go through a mock seminar in the class and provide the PowerPoint file and questionnaire to the students for their future use. We really try to make it easy for them.

The next step is cost-justifying the solution. Most firms that you are engaging do not have money allocated for the solution. Therefore the onus is on you to find them the money to not only eliminate the objection, but also light a fire under them to get moving NOW! Even if they can’t swing the total solution now, they can always afford the assessment (we’ll get to selling the total solution is the next article). Get an invitation based on their responses and interaction in the information seminar you provided prior. We teach students to set up a 20 minute follow-up meeting with the C-level individual to ask them a dozen or so questions. In fact, the questionnaire we use is a survey tool that we provide to the students, also for future use. Our little questionnaire conclusively demonstrates that they are ALREADY spending the money; therefore, it IS in their budget. Typical savings from EDM are in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars in gained efficiency.

Next, with the figures and information you gathered, sell the assessment. To make things incredibly easy for those who are not accustomed to the EDM sales process, we have made the survey literally spit out the follow up letter for submittal to the customer. This letter includes the items of importance and the incredible savings possible with EDM. Getting someone to write a check for $10,000 to design that solution after understanding that failure to implement is costing them tens of thousands of dollars a month is just a formality.

It is vitally important to conduct an assessment prior to selling a solution. For one, you know the final solution will work: no guess work. Also, you get to engage the customer at a level that really solidifies your odds of selling the solution; they arm you to the teeth with the information you need to close the deal. Likewise, you position yourself as the expert and trusted advisor, and not just a slick salesperson. There are at least a dozen other benefits—too many to list here.

One other important consideration of getting compensated for the assessment is that it qualifies your customers. If they can’t write a check for $10k, you can rest assured that they will not write a check for $150k. Not to mention, if you do provide a detailed design (in the form of a proposal), what is to stop them from giving it to a competitor who can offer a comparable solution for $100 less? Save your time and resources for the paying customers.

Would you ever have a surgeon go in and cut you up without first determining what’s wrong with you? Of course not, so why do our prospects let sales folks come in and prescribe their brand of medicine every day without first looking at their ailments? Would you expect a doctor to look you over for free? Never, would you expect an architect to design your home for free? Would you want a contractor to build a house without a blueprint? Maybe your house, but not mine! Likewise, the person who designs a solution is ALWAYS the first choice for implementing it!

Handling the common objections to EDM and paying for an assessment is child’s play if you know in advance what they are. Take the time to write down those tough ones you have seen time and time again and practice fielding them with a colleague. We do this in class at the end of Day 1. We do a breakout session where students face off with difficult “customers.” I present realistic scenarios and introduce the 20 most common objections to needs assessments and EDM in general, and watch with pride as my students handle them all with ease, armed with their new found knowledge.

Also, think of all the ways you can position EDM. There are two primary types of drivers: financial and compliance. Compliance is great, because they HAVE to move forward. However, it typically requires education. That’s where the initial seminar really helps. You’re not an expert, you say? That’s what the Internet is for. Get a Wikipedia education and put together a dozen slides. You have the microphone; they’ll sit and listen. If financial is the driver, a simple “paper document management costs” survey will flesh that out for you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope this lights a light bulb for you in how you can engage your customers with greater ease and success. Glean what you can from the tips in this article. And if after reading all this you still believe these claims are just a sales pitch or that it just wouldn’t work like that for you, read this testimonial from a former student. He’ll convince you that these methods work!

The next article will focus on the logistical and technical considerations of actually performing the needs assessment. And, maybe I’ll get around to doing a series on eliminating the objections, one-by-one.

Counting documents during an assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:01:00 +0000

When you are performing an imaging assessment, getting an accurate document count is crucial. You need this number to size equipment, both for imaging and storage. You also need to identify the volume for both primary and exception imaging process workflows--that is the main document type and the outliers. Counting documents is both an art and a science. In fact, an experienced consultant can walk through a facility and get an accurate count with the customer hardly even recognizing that he is busy counting away. Here's an example of how I do it in the field.

I count my documents in linear feet. Whether they are on a shelf, in boxes, in file cabinets, or stacked on a desk, I estimate in feet--2,000 pages per foot to be exact. If I walk into an office with four cubes, I first ask the person giving the tour if all the docs are to be scanned. They tell me which ones to include and which to not include. Let's say for example I see about half a foot on two desks, a foot on the other two. There is 1.5 feet of files in each desk. I open a couple cabinets and see a total of four more feet. Then they have a common wall-mounted three foot three-shelf unit for a total of nine feet.

Then I write down a few other pieces of information such as % density, % duplex (and % color if the customer wants color, and other sizes if present). Let's say the shelves contain all three-ring binders and all duplex; I would estimate 50% density and 100% duplex. That gives me 9 feet x 2,000 pages x 0.5 = 9,000 pages and 18,000 images.

Let's say the remainder of documents are in folders (90% density) and only 50% are duplex. That is 13 feet x 2,000 pages, x 0.9 density = 23,400 pages and 35,100 images.

I always do ask the customer to tell me what they think they have for documents, but I also prepare estimates in the manner described in this article to ensure I get an accurate number. In fact, I once had a customer with two tractor-trailer sized roll-offs full of file boxes. They had a detailed manual count of the documents. I, in turn, performed my quick estimate and derived a number just thousands off of their number (the result was in millions of pages). This system is quick, efficient, and with a little practice, extremely accurate.

Project+ or PMP: What is right for you?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:32:00 +0000

There are two [apparently] competing project management professional certifications in the industry. This brief post is to help the project manager (or aspiring project manager) determine which certification is right for them.

The choices are CompTIA Project+ and Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP). I happen to hold both certifications and have authored training materials for the former and been an instructor for Project+ for years. Suffice it to say, I am intimately familiar with the purpose and premise of both certifications.

The PMP is the holy grail of certifications. In fact, it is one of the highest paid credentials available. However, it is not an option for everyone. For starters, you need to possess A LOT of documented experience and education. You need 35 hours of education and a whopping 7,500 hours of experience--itemized by process group on the application! The experience requirement goes down to 4,500 hours if you have at least a bachelors degree. Acceptance of your application earns you the privilege of shelling out $555 and sitting for a 4-hour exam. That's right, 200 questions in 4 hours! You will have to know the PMBOK Guide in and out to pass this exam--the project management bible. If you fail, it will cost you $375 to take it again. This is not for the faint at heart. And that's not all. Continuing education is required to keep the credential. That's right, you will LOSE IT if you don't keep up with your project management education credits.

Project+, on the other hand, is available to everyone. Simply pass the exam and you are certified for life. The exam is 80 questions in 90 minutes and costs just $259.56 (I want to know who picked that number).

In fact, the two certification exams have a tremendous amount of overlap in content. Honestly, for those considering simply mastering the concepts of project management to aid them for success on the job, Project+ is the hands-down best choice. In order to pass the exam, training is no doubt required. Experience alone will not suffice for either exam, if for no other reason than understanding the industry-accepted terminology and how these concepts are applied in best-practice scenarios. Even if you have done the stuff for years, if you call it something different, you'll answer the question incorrectly. With the necessary training, you will pass the exam and have a very valuable credential demonstrating your proficiency in industry-leading project management best practices.

Likewise, studying for and passing the PMP is A LOT easier if you take Project+ first. I'll be honest, the PMBOK is not intuitively organized. Learning 44 processes with their discrete inputs and outputs within the 5 process groups in the 9 knowledge areas is a little difficult to wrap your mind around WITHOUT the practical and foundational project management knowledge you will acquire preparing for the Project+ exam.

In summary, I do urge anyone who is qualified to go out there and get their PMP. The experience and education requirements ensure that the certified are indeed knowledgeable AND experienced. However, until you are qualified or until you have the wherewithal to learn the PMBOK guide, get trained and earn the Project+ credential. With this credential you will demonstrate knowledge and the training will give you the skills to succeed, and you'll possess a solid foundation when you do meet the experience requirement to sit for the PMP.

Another consideration is, at $1,200, instructor-led training for Project+ is far more affordable than training for the PMP. If you train for Project+, the credit hours can apply for your PMP application and you can just purchase a study manual for the PMP for $50 rather than shelling out over $2,300!

ECM--yesterday, today, and tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Here is an article originally written by Jim Murphy, research director of ARM Research, and published in KMWorld, that discusses where we came from, where we are, and where we are going in the ECM space. It's a worthwhile read.

http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=41009&PageNum=1

Project Management Lifecycle Continued--Execution

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:58:00 +0000

In this article, the third in the series on project management, we will be discussing execution. Execution is where the rubber meets the road. Until now, we have simply initiated (contracted) and planned for the project. No actual work has yet been completed on the deliverable. It seems like an incredible amount of effort has thus been exhausted considering that no labor has been performed on the final product—no work that brings us closer to invoicing the client! Yes, this is true. However, without proper planning, the likelihood of a successful project, that is completed per scope, on time, and under budget, and to the customer’s quality standards, is quite low indeed. There is more to just getting paid; we want repeat customers.

Now is the point in the project life-cycle that the project manager needs to shift gears and get working on the product. The first step in execution is assembling and mobilizing a solid project team. This team may include some folks from sales, from the service department, and outside vendors. A customer representative from IT may also contribute to the implementation. The project kick-off meeting is held. Project goals and objectives are instilled, and roles and responsibilities, tasks, schedules, and communication channels are clearly established and articulated. Only then does the work actually begin.

Communication is vital during execution. All stakeholders, team members, vendors, management, and the project manager must be kept abreast of project status. Project team members especially should keep the project manager apprised of progress so that the scope, budget, and schedule can be monitored closely. Timely information is paramount for tight project control. The project manager then takes the information and analyzes the data to evaluate progress. With the data, proactive decisions are made in order to adhere to the baselines in the project plan.

It is also during execution that risk control, quality assurance/quality control, and change control occur. Risk control is monitoring the identified risks, ensuring that they do not interfere with the success of the project. Quality assurance is evaluating and enforcing the quality program whereas quality control is monitoring and inspecting the quality of the deliverable itself so it complies with the acceptance criteria. Change control is ensuring that there is no scope creep, or unapproved changes to the scope, while evaluating requested changes for impacts to the project.

Procurement management also occurs during execution. The project team must decide what services to perform, and which ones to outsource. Proposals must be prepared for solicitation. Contractors are selected and contracts are executed. Work is monitored and inspected per contract requirements.

As you can see, there is a lot involved in managing a project successfully. These methods and tools were not designed to make project management more difficult, but rather provide the easiest way to ensure success. It may be a lot easier to execute a project without all the planning and neglecting these management principles; however, success will be elusive, more a matter of good luck than skilled management. If project success is the goal (and who in their right mind would say they desire project failure?!), then this proven methodology for consistent, predictable project results is worth considering.

I urge you to consider getting trained and Project+ certified. The skills you learn and certification you earn will last a lifetime.

MOSS 2007 5015.2 certified (not Chapter 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Yes, it's true that Microsoft has indeed achieved this milestone a little while back. However, they just recently announced that MOSS users who need to operate in a 5015.2 compliant environment can get a resource kit to run compliant. For more information visit here.

Obviously, this will impact the ECM landscape. I won't even begin to speculate how here. Although, there is an interesting post on the AIIM blog concerning the features that MOSS does not have. Check it out here.

ECM outlook for 2008--Forrester reasearch

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Check out this presentation.

Selling the EDM Needs Assessment by estimating paper file managment costs

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:38:00 +0000

In order to sell EDM solutions to a prospective customer without external drivers (compliance, company initiative, and so on), the rep must cost-justify the solution demonstrating cost savings of digital file management versus paper file management. In fact, to do the project right, a needs assessment is required during which all the data necessary to prepare a detailed cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is collected. Since this is a big part of what DataVault does being a vendor-neutral consultant, we are compensated for this activity. Therefore, we have to cost-justify the solution sufficiently to get the customer to write a check for the needs assessment independent of what technology will be recommended for the ultimate solution, and before the full data set is even available.

How do we do this, you ask? Well, you'll have to take our EDMS Needs Assessment class to get all the tricks and tools of the trade. However, I will point you to a relatively good tool I stumbled upon on the Internet today that will get you started in the right direction. The first step is to get rough costs for their current file management. I found this tool on a product vendor's site. It looks pretty good, though I have not checked it for accuracy--but you get the picture.

We have prepared a similar tool provided with our class that actually summarizes the results in a nifty little sales letter that we use to sell the needs assessment. Read what one of our students had to say about this tool--and be mindful that this tool is just one small part of what our students walk away with from the class--though an important part! You can learn more about the other tools on our Web site.

Be wise with your assessments, and always remember, "diagnosis before prescription," and NOT for free! Don't devalue yourself or your firm.

We're in Vegas! See us at booth #855 ITEX '08...

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:17:00 +0000

Stop in to visit the DataVault crew at booth #855 and learn what we are all about. We'll be demonstrating our training--and there will also bee some important partnership announcements at the show.

Hope to see you there!

Social Media and "ECM 2.0"--now or the future?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Right now, Web 2.0, Office 2.0, Enterprise 2.0 and social networking/media is the rage in the ECM blogsphere. Everyone is talking about this stuff. With the leading open-source ECM provider blazing a new trail of integrating social media and ECM and the leading ECM organization giving the subject ample emphasis, "ECM 2.0" has taken root, at least conceptually.

However, I don't currently see any direct correlation between what the industry notables are talking about and what our customers are looking for. Customers still need foundational solutions: we're talking about good-old-fashioned imaging, document management, records management, email management, and collaboration. Yes, social media is a force to be reckoned with in the collaboration arena and can link some of the other functions. However, we have some incredible hurdles to jump through to leverage some of the social media strengths with the audit capabilities and security necessary for ECM. Not to mention, the productivity SINK too much collaboration can lead to. With Bill Gates, one of the most popular social media users, signing out of his own product due to TOO much "collaboration" and all the complaints that accounts can't be deleted, there are still some unresolved issues. In fact, I know of firms that intentionally restrict the use of social computing web sites. Are they really going to be out purchasing the stuff intentionally in coming year? I'm not sure, really one way or the other.

Granted, these are just some of the issues we face TODAY with the public social media. I recognize that the industry notables are looking into the future of ECM. However, most of us should stay grounded in what our customers need today rather than get caught up in what a few speculate will be the ECM of the tomorrow. It's fun and interesting stuff to read about, but won't be paying the bills anytime real soon. At least that's my two cents.

Color theory--PDI+ fundamentals

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Understanding color is foundational for the PDI+ certification. There are anywhere between 5 and 8 questions on the exam specific to color. For starters, let’s discuss some basic color theory.

Multi-function peripherals (MFP) both interpret (detect) and output (print) color. However, the input (scan and display) color gamut is entirely different from the output (print) color gamut. Likewise, the visible (detectable with the eye) color gamut is altogether different. We can see a large range of colors. Scanners can discern a subset of what we can see and the data can be displayed. Input devices use the transmitted color gamut which is RGB, that is red, green and blue. Output processes use the reflected color gamut which is CMYK, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black). The CMYK color gamut is a subset of the RGB gamut. So we can see more than a scanner can scan (or a computer can display) and we can display more than a printer can print.

So let’s see how these two color theories mesh up. RGB makes up the intermediate colors in a CMY color space. Look at these figures. Red and blue make magenta. Red and green make yellow. WHOA! Let's stop there and think about that for a second. I remember art class and if I mixed red paint and green paint, I got brown. Yes, but that is working with pigment, or reflected light--not TRANSMITTED light. Red light and green light make yellow light. Whereas in the CMY space, cyan PIGMENT and yellow pigment make green pigment. You see the difference?

Looking at the figures above, notice that red, green, and blue light result in white light. Whereas, cyan, magenta, and yellow pigment result in black pigment. The reason black toner (K for key in CMYK) is used is because toners aren't exactly the correct color, and black toner is necessary for a truer black (not to mention, it is cheaper to print using just black for bitonal applications).

For the PDI+ exam one must fully understand the different color combinations, specifically the CMY output color space. You must also understand the difference between reflected and transmitted color theory. These foundational concepts will get you through several questions on the exam.

For a much more thorough treatment of these concepts (and LOTS more), check out our PDI+ online course. There's a free demo here. There are some free sample exam questions here.

Project Management Lifecycle Continued--on to Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:50:00 +0000

With the first phase of the project complete (covered here), we are now under contract and poised to complete our project planning. Now don’t get me wrong, if under contract, it certainly suggests we have completed the requirements analysis, developed a proposal, identified acceptance criteria, and gained stakeholder approval. Certainly these activities did not occur sans planning. To the contrary, the deliverable itself, that is, the customer solution, has been thoroughly evaluated. However, the project itself still requires planning, that is, how to get the deliverable up and running; that still requires formal planning.

With smaller projects, even much of the formal project planning is done prior to the proposal—or within the needs assessment report itself. However, for larger implementations, the accepted best practices briefly presented in this article are highly recommended. These practices are based on the ANSI standard developed by the Project Management Institute entitled the Project Management Body of Knowledge, which, in turn is supported by CompTIA’s Project+ certification exam. Suffice it to say, the methods work!

So where does formal project planning begin? The first place to start is the project scope planning. In most technical projects, the scope document will take the form of a detailed design. The system architecture may be described in text or in a series of schematics and workflow diagrams. Either way, the documents will clearly communicate the components of the solution and how they will all fit together. The scope document (or design) will also provide clear constraints, or demarcation lines for what will and will not be included in the system.

The next planning process is developing the work breakdown structure (WBS). This document is the detailed list of tasks that are required to complete the deliverable. In practice, it is the list of task headings on the Gantt chart for those who use project management software. This one document is the foundation for many of the future planning activities, such as cost estimating, scheduling, and resource planning.

Now that we have a list of what we will be doing to create the deliverable, we need to prepare estimates. Certainly top-down, or high-level, estimates were prepared for the proposal before contracting. For project planning, detailed estimates are needed to ensure that the project remains within the budget.

The first step is to develop duration estimates for the tasks. Once we know how long each task will take, we need to identify what resources will be required so that cost can be estimated. Finally, we need to sequence the tasks so that we can prepare a schedule. All of these steps can be performed in your favorite project management application right on your Gantt chart. When these estimates are completed and approved by the stakeholders, the estimates will then become the baseline for the entire project.

Now that the project foundation is laid, it is time to do some more advanced planning and prepare some of the subsidiary plans, or sub-parts, of the formal project plan. They include: the staffing management plan, the communication management plan, the procurement management plan, the risk management plan, the quality management plan, and the change management plan. These documents will detail how the project will be managed so that all project objectives are achieved. A detailed treatment of the contents and purposes of these individual documents is far beyond the scope of this brief article. However, you can likely discern from the document titles that these are indeed some very important project considerations.

Once all these documents and plans are completed, they are bound along with the needs assessment findings (requirements document), original proposal, and contract, to form the comprehensive project plan. This single project binder contains everything the project manager needs to successfully manage the project. This project plan is then reviewed and approved by stakeholders and officially propels the project into the next phase of its life-cycle, execution. Subsequent procurement documents and approved change orders are also appended to the binder as the project progresses. In this way, all data are immediately available to all members of the project team to ensure a successful execution.

PDF 1.7 is officially an ISO standard

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:33:00 +0000

It's official. PDF 1.7 is now a public standard! It's officially called ISO 32000 — Document management — Portable document format — PDF 1.7.

Adobe submitted PDF 1.7 to ISO with support from AIIM International and ANSI for approval as an international standard. The ballot was approved 13 to 1 in the December 4, 2007 meeting (the French voted no). Hundreds of comments were submitted by board members prior to the approval meeting in Orlando on January 21-23, 2008. At the meeting, all comments were addressed and PDF 1.7 was unanimously adopted as an ISO standard.

So how does this affect those of us in the ECM industry? Well, it remains to be seen. Adobe has had an open and free policy concerning .PDF for years, and the industry has benefited by Adobe's policy, although the .PDF has been a proprietary file format. As a result, .PDF is widely used and supported by most imaging applications. Adobe has never charged anyone for or restricted creating applications that use or process .PDF. So what is the real news here?

For one, Adobe has formerly relinquished control of one of its babies. ISO will now control the .PDF specification. Changes in the future will be governed by the standards body, and not by Adobe. As a result, proliferation of .PDF-centric or supporting tools will likely expand, even if only slightly. With ISO owning the standard, developers will certainly be encouraged and emboldened to do more work with .PDF. This may result in some downward pressure on costs for the Adobe PDF-centric products such as Adobe Acrobat/Distiller and competitive equivalents. We'll have to wait and see.

I also would speculate that this may impact TIFF's prominence as the de facto standard imaging format. The proliferation of Adobe's free reader (Adobe Reader) has already made .PDF a very popular document format for many uses in business. Approval as an ISO standard can only strengthen its position as a formidable contender for numero uno in the ECM arena.

For more information from the .PDF architect himself, visit Jim King's blog.

ITEX 2008 -- Las Vegas February 21-22

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:39:00 +0000

If you want to meet the DataVault professionals and learn more about how our training and consulting services can benefit your company, stop by booth #855. You'll get a first-hand look at our industry-leading training solutions, and meet many of the folks who have benefited from our training as they walk pass our booth.

We'll see you there!

PDI+ is here! Along with DataVault’s newest training program…

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:45:00 +0000

DataVault has been involved with the CompTIA Printing and Document Imaging (PDI+) certification program from just about the beginning. DataVault served as a cornerstone member for the program and has participated in monthly meetings for over a year. That is why the launch of this new exam on January 7^th was such a pivotal moment for us.

As published by CompTIA, here is what PDI+ is all about:

CompTIA PDI+™ Certification
CompTIA Printing and Document Imaging (PDI+) validates the knowledge and skills necessary to support printing and document imaging devices including printers, copiers, scanners, multi-functional devices and fax machines. It is a vendor-neutral certification that recognizes a technician's understanding of basic electromechanical components and tools, print engine and scan processes and components, color theory and connectivity/networking. The exam also covers soft skills such as customer service, professionalism, safety and environment. While there are no prerequisites for the certification exam, it is recommended that entry-level candidates have foundation-level knowledge or hands-on experience working with printing and document imaging devices. CompTIA PDI+ is also relevant for more seasoned technicians in the printing and document imaging industry interested in an industry-accepted credential that validates their knowledge and skills.

CompTIA PDI+ certification provides a solid foundation for a career involving the service and support of printing and document imaging devices. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers find that CompTIA PDI+ ensures that their technicians have the core knowledge and skill sets to provide effective repair activities.

While CompTIA and the cornerstone members were managing the exam creation process, DataVault has been developing the very best training available for this exam. We started as soon as the objectives were published last summer. DataVault put together a comprehensive and interactive class that is delivered in an online venue and is also delivered as an instructor-led class. Content writing, countless animations, images, and full narration are finally finished! Another milestone was the CompTIA Approved Quality Curriculum (CAQC) certification. This seal of approval ensures that all the exam objectives are indeed covered in the training.

However, we didn’t stop there. We knew that the training had to be chock full of content, yet, that was not going to be enough. It had to be interesting and interactive. So we designed our online training to come with a comprehensive workbook that engages the student as they go through the presentation. We also made it more exciting with many animations, complete narration, and other interactive features. We then embedded 95 quiz questions within the training itself to test the students knowledge as they go through it. The online training finishes with a very realistic sample exam that has a large pool of questions allowing students to retake the exam without seeing all the same questions repeatedly. Lastly, the training comes with a comprehensive glossary of terms.

It is this carefully designed combination of instructional resources that makes this training excellent at imparting not just the information you need to pass an exam, but what you need to know to tackle the challenges technicians face every day on the job. And I have to add, at just $429, it is really an exceptional value.

Why this blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Welcome to DataVault’s blog—what we have dubbed The Document Solutions Zone. This blog is designed to be a place where you get insight and information from DataVault’s expert consultants and instructors.

DataVault has been in the document solutions business for many years, assessing, designing, and implementing customer solutions. DataVault’s consultants have also imparted their experience to literally thousands of industry professionals as instructors through their best-of-breed CDIA+, PDI+, Project+, Document Imaging-101. and EDMS Needs Assessment classes.

In an effort to keep our students and industry professionals informed, we have decided to launch this blog. This site was designed to provide the practical wisdom and tips that only experience can reveal. We will also report news and events so that you can know when something is going on in your area. We will also report important information concerning the certification exams we prepare students to pass with our training. Lastly, we’ll report anything that we think our readers may be interested in. It never ceases to amaze me when a student tells me that a seemingly-insignificant piece of information was exactly what they needed to know. These are the gold nuggets we will blog about. As we proceed with this information forum in the future, I’m sure it will evolve.

One thing we WILL NOT do is endorse or promote any specific vendor products. You’ll have to muddle through the labyrinth of hardware and software options without our opinions. We pride ourselves in the fact that we are a vendor-neutral consultant. Our customers trust that we will present them with the exact right solution to meet their functional requirements, and not necessarily just what we sell. Likewise, we are a training provider for many hardware and software manufacturers and resellers. We certainly don’t want to offend our valued customers. For this blog, we will discuss industry news from a vendor-neutral perspective.

Successfully Managing an ECM Project

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:40:00 +0000

Whether you are a hardware or software salesperson, or a systems integrator, project management concepts will most assuredly affect the way you do your job. Most of us would agree we share a common objective, satisfying our customer. Therefore, our goal can only be achieved with a well planned and implemented installation, from sales to execution, and every step in between. Industry-accepted project management best practices will help you and your organization achieve this objective.

When most people think about project management, they think about execution, or the physical doing of the work. However, project management is more than just delivering a product on time and on budget. In project management, it all starts with the project initiation. As you might expect, project initiation has a lot to do with contracting and sales. Simply stated, without a signed contract there will be no project planning, execution or closure. For that reason the sales team must play an integral part in the project lifecycle.

It is during project initiation that the customer requirements are identified and their expectations are established. Without clearly defined requirements, there is no way to determine whether or not customer objectives are ever met or whether or not your solution can actually meet those objectives. It is clearly the sales force that initially identifies the link between your solution offerings and the customer's needs. However, it does not stop there. A detailed needs assessment is imperative in order to fully understand the customer’s business and their functional and technical requirements. It is only then that a solution can be designed and a scope document drafted—and then a contract executed.

Let’s look at a common scenario. A salesperson follows up with a lead and identifies an interested prospect for your software solution. This is a large sale for several hundred users. The customer indicates that they do have an IT department. However, resources are thin, and they would need your company to provide the hardware and implement the solution. The salesperson connects with the solutions team to determine the best way to go about executing this project. The solutions team immediately identifies the necessity of performing a needs assessment. The salesperson re-engages the customer and coordinates the assessment. The solutions team conducts the assessment by interviewing the applicable stakeholders and monitoring workflows. The solutions team also evaluates the existing IT infrastructure with all of the data collected during the assessment. Then, the business, functional and technical requirements are thoroughly identified and documented.

Next, the salesperson takes the needs assessment findings and presents it to the customer with a proposal. It is in this report that customer expectations are documented and agreed to. The customer signs the proposal and authorizes the project. At this time, the solutions team goes full speed ahead into project planning and execution.

The above mentioned example describes the steps associated with a project initiation. It is during this process that customer requirements are identified, the scope is defined, and the acceptance criteria are documented. Stakeholder consensus is achieved and customer sign-off occurs. The contract is signed and the project is officially authorized.

Successfully Managing an Electronic Document Management Conversion is the first in article in a series, designed to take the reader through the electronic document management project lifecycle from initiation to planning and then to execution. Objectives of the series will be to inform the reader of the industry accepted project management best practices, and equip them to be more successful with their EDM implementations.

The next article in the series will be discussing the steps to project planning.

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) – An Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:27:00 +0000

By Byron Aulick

"When everyone is looking for gold, it's a good time to be in the pick and shovel business." -- Mark Twain

Enterprise Content Management, by definition, is the ability to gather, organize, and distribute corporate information, regardless of its original format. The ECM industry is rapidly becoming the most highly sought after service for ’Corporate America’. Having said that, let’s first understand that ECM has no ‘vertical’ market. Simply stated, this means that there is no one type of business served better than any other. ECM can help a medical facility handle its knowledge base just as quickly and efficiently as it can help an attorney’s office manage their legal documents.

The second thing we need to recognize is that ECM has integrity. Think of it as an electronic library of knowledge. Similar to a library made of brick and mortar, once information is deposited, it becomes the central focal point for getting reliable data. In other words, you can depend on the reliability of the information because there is only one original copy, not five!

It is safe to say that ECM is not all things to all people. To be represented properly, it must be known as having a single focus; to afford a company the ability to reduce frustration in the office environment. How can it do that you say? By being a tool and by being the central repository for anything a computer can understand, staff only has to look in one place to find necessary information. Like a student doing a report, if you take them to a good library, they will find the information they need and the report will reflect it. ECM is that library! Additionally, the ECM library has security, accountability, reporting and audit-trails. Ooooh, if only the old-fashioned libraries had that kind of accountability, they would never loose a book!!

Thirdly, ECM is truly a ‘niche service’ and therefore, it needs a ‘niche market’. The interface that the end-user sees on the screen, in most cases, can be simply modified to fit the perspective niche. For example, you can address the specific needs of a medical concern with a medical ‘interface’. If you choose to modify the initial login screen to contain medical terminology, the users will believe it was created especially for them! I am not advocating deception, just perception, and positive perception at that. Now you have a niche product, addressing the niche medical market.

Lastly, ECM may be initially challenging to sell. It is not for lack of technology, but because of the business culture’s mindset. How so? Because corporate America still does not fully understand and accept a ‘paperless society’ or ‘automation’ in general. This is why we call it a niche. Perhaps ‘it’ is not as much the niche as the prospect you are looking for as a ‘niche’. The ideal candidate for ECM automation is youthful or more aggressive towards technology with a fairly high impetus to move in this direction.

It might be that in the past, they have lost a document that has cost them a tremendous amount of time, money or aggravation. We still must face the facts that even among those who are receptive, ECM represents a significant change in the accepted way of how documents are stored and handled. To offset the anxiety, we must show an apprehensive market how controlled document management is a gold mine, and that ECM is the 21^st Century’s pick and shovel industry.

Introduction recap:

ECM has no ‘vertical’ market - making it applicable to all.
ECM has integrity. Like a library –you can count on it.
It can be adapted to the audience, allowing it to fill a niche.
Sales can be challenging due to engrained corporate culture.

Tips on the Use and Maintenance of your Scanner Bulb

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:46:00 +0000

When a scanner bulb turns on, it warms up from room temperature to its operating temperature. When it turns off, it slowly cools down. The color balance of the light is dependent to some extent on the temperature of the bulb, and changes in color balance are more pronounced with less expensive scanners. What this means to you is that the color balance of your scans can change as result of changes in bulb temperature. The first image you scan during a long session may look a lot different from the 100^th, depending on your scanner. You may not find this a problem, but here are some tips.

Some scanners leave their bulb on all the time. As long as you wait a few minutes after turning the scanner on before making your first scan, bulb warm up should not be a problem.
Some scanners have an option for "quick" scans and for "high accuracy" scans. With a quick scan the bulb comes on and the scan is made right away. With an "accurate" scan the bulb comes on for about 30 seconds and then the scan starts. Use the latter setting for more consistent results.
If your scanner offers no option other than the bulb coming on just as the scan starts, try scanning at regular intervals - one scan every 30 seconds, for example.

Scanner bulbs also change slowly with age. You can compensate for age changes by calibrating your scanner on a regular basis.

1,000 or 1,024 –which one is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 05 Nov 2004 20:31:00 +0000

By Byron Aulick

Teaching hundreds of students interested in increasing their knowledge of electronic document imaging, you can get involved in some ‘deep’ discussions! This article addresses the one that most often confuses the students, specifically the issue of using “1,024” to reduce a really large number down to something more manageable.

First, lets understand the base of the argument; there are two worlds, one called ‘decimal’, and one called ‘binary’. Decimal is a base-10 numbering system and the most common. This is where the “1,000” comes from in this discussion. It really is 10 x 10² = 1,000. Also, there are ten, single digit numbers: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9. This is the world we live in, and in this world we could use 1,000 to reduce numbers. However computers don’t understand this. Their world is called ‘binary’. In the binary world, they use only two numbers: 0 and 1 (this represents the electronic state of on or off). Anyhow, without getting into a long dissertation on math, let’s go with the understanding that when dealing with computers any unit of measure (like KB) really is 2 to the power of something [in this case 10].

Well, if this holds true, then 50 KB really is 50 x 2¹⁰ which equals 51,200 Bytes. Another way of doing this is by using the venerable 1,024! In this case it would be 50 x 1,024 = 51,200 Bytes.

So now you have two ways to work with numbers, one a ‘human’ way, and the other a ‘computer’ way… If being technically correct is important, be sure to use 1,024 – it will give you the right answer!!

Now –PROOF: If I use 1,000 [the wrong way] in my calculations, watch what happens:

Situation:

Acme Medical needs to store 5,000,000 scanned images. They were scanned at 200 DPI. The resultant file size [per image] is about 25 KB. If we do the math we find;

5,000,000

25 KB

125,000,000 KB of data

Well, they don’t sell storage devices by the millions of KB, so we need to reduce that number down to Giga bytes (GB):

125,000,000 KB	÷	1,000	=	125,000 MB, then
125,000 MB	÷	1,000	=	125 GB

The total amount of storage capacity needed is 125 GB. Now lets look at the right way:

5,000,000	x	25 KB	=	125,000,000 KB of data
125,000,000 KB	÷	1,024	=	122,070.31 MB, then
122,070.31 MB	÷	1,024	=	119.2 GB

The CORRECT amount of storage capacity needed is 119.2 GB. Please note, they are not much different, but if you were taking a test, one is right and one is WRONG…

Some things to remember:

8 bits = 1 Byte

1,024 Bytes = 1 KB

1,024 KB = 1 MB

1,024 MB = 1GB

Also, to go from KB to MB (one unit of measure up), simple divide by 1,024

then, to go from MB to KB (one unit of measure down), multiply by 1,024

Acronyms, acronyms.--in ECM, or is it EDM...

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Carrier) — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:17:00 +0000

In the world of EDM (that’s electronic document management), so many phrases turn into acronyms that turn into readily acceptable words in our vocabulary. It has become necessary to understand these acronyms or fall behind. We have compiled a short list just to tease you! Please revisit this section of our newsletter often to catch-up on the latest. Also, if we’ve overlooked some, please comment and we’ll expand the list.

API - application program interface
ARM - archives and records management
ASCII -American standard code for information interchange
ASP - application service provider

B2B - business-to-business
B2C - business-to-consumer
B2E - business-to-employee
BASIC - beginners all-purpose symbolic instruction code
BLOB - binary large objects
BMP - bitmap graphical image format
BPA - business process automation
BPI - business process integration
BPM - business process management
BPML - business process modeling language
BPO - business process outsourcing
BPR - business process reengineering or business process redesign
BSP - business service providers

CAD - computer-aided design
CADD - computer-aided drafting and design
CAGR - compound annual growth rate
CDIA - Certified Document Imaging Architech
CD-R - compact disc - recordable
CD-ROM - compact disc - read only memory
CD-RW - compact disc - rewritable
CDSP - content distribution service provider
CM - content management
COLD - computer output to laser disk
COLD/ERM - computer output to laser disk/enterprise report management
COM - computer output microfilm
CPDM - collaborative product definition management
CRM - customer relationship management

DAM - digital asset management
DBMS - database management system
DM - document management
DOS - disk operating system
DRM - digital rights management
DTD - document type definitions or document type declaration
DVD - digital versatile disk

EAI - enterprise application integration
EBPP - electronic bill presentment and payment
ECM - enterprise content management
EDI - electronic data interchange
EDI - enterprise data integration
EDMS - electronic document management system
EIM - electronic image management
ERM - electronic records management
ERM - enterprise report management
ERMS - electronic records management system
ERP - enterprise resource planning

FTP - file transfer protocol

GIF - graphical interchange format
GUI - graphical user interface

HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HSM - hierarchical storage management
HTML - hypertext markup language
HTTP - hypertext transfer protocol

ICR - intelligent character recognition
IDARS - integrated document archive and retrieval systems
IDS - intelligent document scanning
ISP - Internet service provider
IT - information technology

J2EE - Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition
JFIF - JPG file interchange format
JPEG - joint photographic experts group

KM - knowledge management

LAN - local area network
LDAP - limited directory access protocol
LIT - Laureate of Information Technologies

MES - manufacturing execution system
MICR - magnetic ink character recognition
MIT - Master of Information Technologies
MSP - management service provider

NAS - network attached storage
NITF - national imagery transmission format

OCR - optical character recognition
ODMA - Open Document Management API
OLAP - online analytical processing
OMR - optical mark recognition

P2P - peer-to-peer
PDA - personal digital assistant
PDF - portable document format
PDF/a - PDF/archive
PKI - public key infrastructure

QC - quality control

R & D - research and development
RAID - redundant array of independent drives
RAM - random access memory
RDBMS - relational database management system
RDF - resource description framework
RFI - request for information
RFP - request for proposal
RM - records management
ROI - return on investment
ROM - read-only memory

SAN - storage area network
SCSI - small computer system interface
SGV - scalable vector graphics
SLA - service level agreement
SOAP - simple object access protocol
SQL - structured query language
SRM - storage resource management

TCO - total cost of ownership
TIFF - tag image file format

UDDI - universal discovery, description, and integration
UI - user interface
URI - uniform resource identifiers
URL - uniform resource locator

VAD - value added dealer
VAR - value added reseller

WAN - wide area network
WAP - wireless application protocol
WCM - web content management
WebDAV - Web document authoring and versioning
WML - wireless markup language
WORM - write once, read many
WSDL - Web service definition language or Web service description language

XFDL - extensible forms description language
XML - extensible markup language
XPDL - XML processing description language or XML process definition language
XQL - XML query language
XSLT - extensible style language transformations

Organizations
AIIM - Association for Information and Image Management
ANSI - American National Standards Institute
ARMA - Association for Information Management Professionals (formerly Association of Records Managers and Administrators)
BPMI - Business Process Management Initiative
DMA - Document Management Alliance
EmTAG - Emerging Technology Advisory Group
FbIA - Film-based Imaging Association
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ISO - International Standardization Organization
NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology
NPES - The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing, and Converting Technologies
OASIS - Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
OMG - Object Management Group
PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
SNIA - Storage Network Industry Association
TAWPI - The Association for Work Process Improvement
W3C - World Wide Web Consortium
WfMC - Workflow Management Coalition