Document Model

The Document Model presented here has been developed by us over the years. We use it as a starting point in consultancy projects and for clarification in sales discussions. It reflects our vision of a flexible document and output management system for high volumes and helps us to position our functions and products within the document process.

Main functions

We distinguish in this model between three main functions, being:

• Creation
• Management
• Presentation

Creation

Document creation occurs via either automated systems or PC based correspondence systems. The challenge lies in the integration of these two document streams, with the objective being the presentation of any document in any desired manner. For example to integrate a PC document in a high volume production stream, to print an automatically produced document decentralised, or to present via alternative media: fax, e-mail or Web.

In practice a divided approach has persevered, which divides the creation of a document in two steps, being: Accumulation of the data to be presented from databases and Generation of the document with help from a document formatting tool

Management

Existing document processes often place too strong a tie between a (print)application and a printer. The introduction of a management layer is, according to our model, the key for the implementation of a flexible document system. This is about the correct choice of standard data formats and well integrated standard products from suppliers who share this vision.

Functions which fall under document management are for example:

• Output or Spool Management
  An index is built up over the daily output. The documents are then further processed according to this index. In this way it is for example possible to print documents per department one after the other or to send them electronically. Logical splitting can occur according to various criteria. With advanced tools it is also possible to specify per receiver (internal department, intermediary, employee) whether he will receive the output via paper or electronically, or not at all.
• Document Archive
  The daily output is appended to a document archive. Authorised users can then consult the archive on-line. Advanced products offer the opportunity to construct a multimedia archive, in which not only the electronic output can be recorded, but also the PC-prepared documents; incoming correspondence, telephone conversations from a Call Centre, damage videos, e-mails etc. The archive can be used as an information system by employees of Customer Service, Call Centres, intermediaries etc.
• Short term storage for closed-loop reprint
  With the concept of the Automated Document Factory (ADF), Gartner has published a model whereby the integrity of the printshop is realisable. The objective of the concept is an automated reprint of a document which is damaged or lost during post-processing (enveloping etc).

Presentation

Printers and the relevant drivers are of course included in this group of functions. This is in relation to centralised high volume printers or decentralised printers. Nowadays, the centralised printers can be connected to the LAN and the control can be transferred to an NT or Unix workstation. Decentralised printers can be optimally managed remotely through use of a printer management tool. They also offer the possibility for load balancing.

Functions which fall into this category are:

• Data stream manipulation
  A fairly new group of products makes it possible to manipulate data streams. It is therefore possible to adjust legacy output to the house style, to add or remove character markings for mail finishing equipment or to convert output to a new printer data format.

• Viewing
  A frequent request from Call Centres and Customer Service Departments is to be able to view documents on a monitor. These are also standard functions of a Document Archive or an Output/Spool Management system. Advanced tools present the possibility to consult the archive from self-written or standard applications. In this manner it is very simple to consult documents via an inter/intranet with help from a browser.

• Alternative presentation methods
  Sending a document from a PC as fax (or e-mail) has become almost a standard, but how would it support the business if this was also possible for automatically produced documents? A relatively young presentation method is Internet Presentation, whereby the document information is transformed to a format suitable for the web. With this we are thinking of a new form of information presentation, whereby the document is structured differently to the paper version and therefore obtains a dynamic character. The user sees in an invoice, for example, first a summary and can then seek the required information deeper in the hierarchical structure.