A Document Control Software System and All "That" Implies
Marci L. Crane
June 27, 2009
You need a document control software system and if you've been shopping for one you probably also need a dose of document control reality. Every system developer says they can provide the best and the brightest, but you know better. What these companies are really saying is that they want your money…..what's new?
If you really want a to find a document control software system that 1) won't give you a mammoth headache a year down the road and 2) will actually make you happy while you're at work you've got to dig into the advertising, throw it aside and read between the marketing lines. Look for the following elements (not features) in your next document control system.
Industry Experience
Industry experience counts for a lot when it comes to 1) the document control software itself and the people who built it and 2) those who service the software and configure it (if configuration is necessary). If you're a single user or a small business owner maybe industry experience won't count for much but if you have anywhere from 50-500 employees working in a specialized industry, search for a system that's been built by developers that have worked in that specialized industry (e.g., specified engineering, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, etc.). At the very least make sure that the developers have at least consulted experts from your industry. You might be surprised how much difference a tailor-made-to-industry application can make in the day-by-day run of things.
Take for example a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies not only have to keep up with documentation; they have to keep up with submissions documentation which means that format and order and pagination and tables of contents and a myriad of other annoying requirements count when the FDA reviews those pages. A company that really understands the pharmaceutical industry would take those factors into account when developing a document control system for the pharmaceutical industry.
History
Is the document control software system that you are interested in sold by a company that has a history? Not only a history of happy customers--although that is essential--but a history of on-time service and support, continuous upgrades and enhancements that are actually something more substantial than stupid bells and whistles? If they don't, just take your virtual mouse and move to another website because that document control software system isn't the one that's fighting hard enough for your business.
People
It might sound silly but when you talk on the phone or meet the company representatives in person ask yourself if they are nice people. Are these the type of people who are going to treat your employees with courtesy when your employees are frustrated about the system and start to vent their anger? If they aren't you might want to move onto greener pastures. It's actually surprising how much difference that patient dispositions can make during the sale, configuration, support and continual maintenance of a document control software system.
Additional Solutions
Another possible item to take into consideration is whether or not the company provides--and has a track record of providing--solutions that can easily be integrated with the document control software system. For instance, training is required in almost every large corporation and some document control software systems can be integrated with solutions that will automate the delivery of training tasks, automate the escalations of those tasks (if they are not complete by a specific due date), maintain an audit trail of all training records and automate the grading of online exams. That's a BIG bonus if your company continually participates in annual, biannual or unit-repetitive training on a large scale.
It's Scary!
It's scary how some document control software systems sell themselves as the "best of the best" when they can't even provide some of the simplest of elements mentioned in this article.
Marci Crane is the GxP Lifeline Publications editor at MasterControl, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information regarding document control software systems that provide the elements mentioned in this article, please feel free to contact a MasterControl representative.
If you really want a to find a document control software system that 1) won't give you a mammoth headache a year down the road and 2) will actually make you happy while you're at work you've got to dig into the advertising, throw it aside and read between the marketing lines. Look for the following elements (not features) in your next document control system.
Industry Experience
Industry experience counts for a lot when it comes to 1) the document control software itself and the people who built it and 2) those who service the software and configure it (if configuration is necessary). If you're a single user or a small business owner maybe industry experience won't count for much but if you have anywhere from 50-500 employees working in a specialized industry, search for a system that's been built by developers that have worked in that specialized industry (e.g., specified engineering, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, etc.). At the very least make sure that the developers have at least consulted experts from your industry. You might be surprised how much difference a tailor-made-to-industry application can make in the day-by-day run of things.
Take for example a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies not only have to keep up with documentation; they have to keep up with submissions documentation which means that format and order and pagination and tables of contents and a myriad of other annoying requirements count when the FDA reviews those pages. A company that really understands the pharmaceutical industry would take those factors into account when developing a document control system for the pharmaceutical industry.
History
Is the document control software system that you are interested in sold by a company that has a history? Not only a history of happy customers--although that is essential--but a history of on-time service and support, continuous upgrades and enhancements that are actually something more substantial than stupid bells and whistles? If they don't, just take your virtual mouse and move to another website because that document control software system isn't the one that's fighting hard enough for your business.
People
It might sound silly but when you talk on the phone or meet the company representatives in person ask yourself if they are nice people. Are these the type of people who are going to treat your employees with courtesy when your employees are frustrated about the system and start to vent their anger? If they aren't you might want to move onto greener pastures. It's actually surprising how much difference that patient dispositions can make during the sale, configuration, support and continual maintenance of a document control software system.
Additional Solutions
Another possible item to take into consideration is whether or not the company provides--and has a track record of providing--solutions that can easily be integrated with the document control software system. For instance, training is required in almost every large corporation and some document control software systems can be integrated with solutions that will automate the delivery of training tasks, automate the escalations of those tasks (if they are not complete by a specific due date), maintain an audit trail of all training records and automate the grading of online exams. That's a BIG bonus if your company continually participates in annual, biannual or unit-repetitive training on a large scale.
It's Scary!
It's scary how some document control software systems sell themselves as the "best of the best" when they can't even provide some of the simplest of elements mentioned in this article.
Marci Crane is the GxP Lifeline Publications editor at MasterControl, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information regarding document control software systems that provide the elements mentioned in this article, please feel free to contact a MasterControl representative.