Tracking Workflow and Illustrating Value

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Tracking Workflow andIllustrating Value

Dr. Toby PearlsteinNew York Chapter SLA

March 11, 2008


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Agenda

The environment

Getting to tracking, workflow management & illustratingvalue

Identifying a solution

Implementation

Sample screen shots

Key Takeaway:A generic process to help you think through

your options for tracking workflow andillustrating contribution


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Your environment

Global, regional, local, other?

Stakeholders

Contributors

Users Other stakeholders

Challenges

Existing processes

Resources Buy in


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4

Understanding needs and identifying asolution

Requesttrackingto date

Aspiration

Createproject team

Review

options

Identifybenefits tostake-

holders

Contract

Customize

Test

Deploy

Background Audit Buy in Implement


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Where are you now?Where do you want to go?

2002-2006

Standardized

separate localtracking and somelocal workflowmanagement

Monthly reports to

Center

2000 -2002

No accountabilityto Center

Ad hoc localrequest tracking

Testing MicrosoftAccess in NA

No technology

for workflowmanagement

Simpler Web basedglobal tracking

Easy to maintain andcustomize

Reduce challenges tocompliance

Reduce complexityaround capture andreporting

Reduce entry time

Increase timelinessof reporting

Enable betterworkflowmanagement

Platform for sharinginsights


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Audit: Consider your Options

Is your current process sustainable? Are internal development resources

available? Do you want/need todevelop something proprietary?

Review alternative applications needsLS related products in academia,consortia, etc.

IT and Call Center Help Deskapplications

Customized versions of applications

Have your competitors developedrequest management or workflowtracking solutions? They are oftenwilling to provide demos.


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Stakeholder buy-in: Communication andfeedback intensifies

Build consensus Critical questions

What needs to happen before you canmove to a new system?

How might it change the way you work? If you decide on a specific tool what are

the next steps?Develop custom specificationsEvaluate current data collection and anychanges needed

Plan implementation and roll out New forms and reports

New processes for reporting

Training and documentation


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Codifying feedback:What data do you want to capture?

ILLUSTRATIVE

Current Fields Proposed Fields Mandatory/Optional/Delete

Project Code

Researcher Name

Request Date

Requester Name

Requester Office

Level of Difficulty

Industry

Subject

Time period covered

Geographic area

Time spent on request

Requested turn around

Text of Request

Cost Recovery

M

M

M

M

M

M

M


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What reports do you want to generate?

ILLUSTRATIVE

Current Reports Proposed Reports Mandatory/Optional/Delete

Other?

Requested turn around

Requests byresearcher/indus

Chargebacks by project

Requests by project code

Local IS Reports

Requests by project type

Turnaround (avg. time)

Req by indus by office

Complexity of req/office

All requests by office

Monthly from Center M

M

M

M

M

M

MOther?

Req by requester level O


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Options/Command links

Search e-Reference database/knowledgebase

Add request to database

My Requests: list owned requests and add info

Logout and Home

List all: list and update all requests

List all - Statistics: provides statistics on all requests

My Work: list and update all owned requests

My Work - Incomplete: list and update requests

Todays Work: list and update all requests added today

Todays Work - Incomplete: list and update all

incomplete requests added today

In Progress: list and update all in progress

User Manager: list, add and update all users on systemand set security levels

List File Manager: maintain List files (e.g. departmentand type drop down fields)

Sources: source maintenance

System Maintenance: archive databases, database

functions and housekeeping functions

Settings: system information

End User

IS Staff

Administrator

Basic

Request management

System management

Who can do what?Security and access options

ILLUSTRATIVE


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Contract and Implement: customize asneeded

Requesttracking

Metrics &Workflow

Track current andpast requests for

Self

Local IS

Regional/GlobalIS

Select metrics to becaptured and at whatlevel

Allow flexibility tocreate ad hoc metrics& monitor activity


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Sample customizations

Knowledge Base Cost Recovery

Capture new or outstandingdata sources for reuselocally and globally and toinform purchasing decisions

Capture time spentand other purchasedservices


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Close audit loop:Do perceived benefits match aspirations?

Benefit Comment

Knowledgebase of used and usefulsources and search strategiesaccessible firm wide

Easy database search

Web based application

Aid in reducing research time andresearch duplication

Offers full text, Boolean, truncation

Shareable across system Minimizes need for specific application

knowledge at local IS level

Document storage: upload and storedocuments

Streamlines data entry

Easier and more timely compilation of metrics

Background slides and spreadsheets can be stored

Useful data sources can be stored in RMS if desired

RMS eliminates need for individual IS to download and emailmetrics data

Metrics directly accessible by Center

Workflow co-ordinationimprovement

Quick workload and request statusoverview (who is working on what)


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Who is responsible for training &documentation?

WebEx training

1 member of each IS team

Use for 1 month before launch as part of testing

Demonstrate system to teammates

eRef User Manual(distributed day of launch)

Navigating eRef

Confidentiality and eRef

eRef Local Administrator Guide (distributed day of launch)

Automatic HR Loader

Adding new IS Researchers, Requesters and Case Codes eRef Creating Local Statistics

Creating statistics for your IS

eRef Chargeback Guide

Running chargeback export and converting export data intoorganizations chargeback format

All writtenin house

ILLUSTRATIVE


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Workflow and contribution - what else mightyou do with this kind of tool?

Workflow Management Illustrating Contribution

Make knowledge sharingmore robust

Even more granular review ofindustry segments servedInform content selectionInform continuingeducation choices

Identify individual researcherskill improvements needed

Use more granular statisticalreview for strategic capacityand content planning

Workflow Management Illustrating Contribution

Increase ability of localmanagers for ad hoc reporting

Rethink metrics collected andtheir presentation

Monitor turnaround time andsupport for clientdevelopment and match toclient wins

Monitor stakeholder supportand proactively connect tospecial projects such as IPdevelopment (books andarticles published, etc.)


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SAMPLE SCREEN SHOTS


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What data do you want/need to capture?(1 of 3)


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What data do you want or need to capture?

(2 of 3)


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What data do you want or need to capture?

(3 of 3)


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What search capability do you want?


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Sample Search Results


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Sample Request Drill Down


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Managing workflow


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Illustrating contribution


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2517070925-ISH-SLAHARVARDFinalThis information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent.

BOS

Volume and type of requests 2007 (Aug)

0

1 0 , 0 0 0

2 0 , 0 0 0

3 0 , 0 0 0

4 0 , 0 0 0

5 0 , 0 0 0

T o t a l r e q u e s t s

2 0 0 5

3 8 , 4 9 6

2 0 0 6

4 1 , 7 2 5

2 0 0 7

( A u g )

S i m p l e

C o m p l e x

R u n R a t e

2 0 0 7

D o c u m e n t R e t r i e v a l

4 8 , 9 1 8

Quarterly Avg.

Possible Uses

Monitor capacity and demand

Are researchers doing most valued work

Sample volume and types of requests


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260

20

40

60

80

100%

Total Requests Aug 07

Financial Services

Consumer Products

TMT

Industrial Goods & Services

Healthcare

Statistics

Other

Company

Retail

Total = 4,040

Possible Uses

Content gaps

When cut by office researcher skill needs

Sample requests by industry/topic


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Possible Uses

Team utilization rates

Identifying differences in IS use across units

Comparison of activity by units


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View into time spent on types of work

0

10

20

30%

Research time on PEG

Avg. time permonth on PEG = 23%

Jan07

23

Feb

22

Mar

24

Apr/May

26

June

26

July

19

Aug

18

Possible Uses

Time spent on certain types of cases

Implications for capacity/expertise required


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Key Take Away: What to think about whenstarting a project like this?

VendorStability

Experience with similarclients

Customer service andongoing support

Service guarantees

On time performance

Training/Documentation

Technology & DeploymentCompatible

Sustainable

Hosting

ScalableMaintenance (how)

Security

StakeholdersProject team

Decision makers

Input and Feedback

Buy in

Compliance

Maintenance (who)

CostBasic investment

Software

hardware

Customization

Maintenance (ongoing)

Recovery


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Key Take Away: Hindsight is always 20/20

Assemble a project team that is passionate about theoutcome

Call Berlitz sooner rather than later

Need to ensure that you and the vendor arespeaking the same language

Make testing during pilot as thorough as possible

Did not uncover problems with some fields (likeoffices with two word names) and punctuation

errors caused by quotation and punctuationmarks

Give yourself time to do it right

ILLUSTRATIVE


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Key Take Away - it will likely take longerthan you originally estimate!

2004 20062005 2007

See product atSLA

Preliminaryevaluation andagree withconcept

Pilot initialcustomizedversion

Fix disconnects

Pilot revisedversion

Fix add indownloads

(Excel/Word) Develop

documentation

Product launchJune 06

Ongoing

feedback

Intro to globalteam atvarious

meetings

Proposal toPartner budgetapproval

Virtual round

robin on datacapture andreporting

Specificationdeveloped anditerated on

with vendor

6 month review

Continueidentifying bugs

Evaluaterecommendedenhancements

Contract forenhancements

Test

Launch Aug07

ILLUSTRATIVE


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Questions?

[email protected]


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Toby Pearlstein - Bio

Toby Pearlstein is retired Global Director of Information Services for Bain & Company, aninternational management consulting firm. During her 14 years at Bain she was responsible foroversight management of Bains information centers including global vendor contractnegotiation, budgeting, evaluation and acquisition of print and electronic products and services,and coordination of global information services policies and global IS team professionaldevelopment standards. She was actively involved in Bains early knowledge managementprogram and the development of its intranet platform the Global Experience Center (GXC)including a portal for end user desktop access to contracted research resources.

Prior to joining Bain, Dr. Pearlstein was Chief Librarian & Archivist for the MassachusettsDepartment of Transportation for twelve years, and Curator of the Archives of theCommonwealth of Massachusetts for two years.

An historian by training with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts atBoston and an M.A. in American History from the University of New Hampshire, she also holds aMasters of Library Science and Doctorate degrees from the Simmons Graduate School of Libraryand Information Science.

Dr. Pearlstein is a Fellow of the Special Libraries Association. She has been Chair of both theTransportation and Business & Finance Divisions of SLA as well as Chair of the AssociationsProfessional Development Committee and a member of the Research Committee and theFinance Committee. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and contributor to professionalpublications. In 2007 she was the recipient of the Boston Chapter of SLAs DistinguishedService Award.

Tracking Workflow and Illustrating Value

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