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OP I N ION BY JASON LEUNG TECH SUPPORT Patience is a Introducing a document management system takes users out of their comfort zones, but training, time, and the 'p' word will eventually get them to use it properly. I n my previous articles I described the document man- agement system software used by organizations for storing documents, as well as some of the preparations my firm made prior to implementing our DMS software. No matter how carefully your orga- nization plans for introducing DMS software, there will always be numer- ous challenges to face during the early phases of implementation. Most people will be using DMS for the first time in their careers. These people have grown comfortable with their current envi- ronment that likely includes working with paper files and the generic folder structure of a Windows operating sys- tem. The DMS represents a significant change and you can expect some people will have difficulty with this transition. Every organization is unique and will therefore have a unique experi- ence when introducing DMS software. However, here are some of the most common challenges that arise during the early phases of implementation: People will continue to print out paper copies of every document In most law firms, an assistant prepares a document using Microsoft Word, prints out a paper copy of it, and gives it to a lawyer for review. The lawyer uses a pen or pencil to make amendments on the paper copy and gives it back to the assis- tant to revise the Word document. Once DMS software is implemented, the use of paper is eliminated. The assis- tant prepares version one of a document in Word and then assigns it to the lawyer through DMS. The lawyer is notified in Outlook and can make his/her amend- ments in Word, save the revised docu- ment as version two, and assign it back to the assistant so it can be sent out. Most people have spent their entire careers working with paper copies of documents. Asking them to stop using paper is like asking caffeine addicts to give up their coffee. Even though they may recognize that the new DMS work- flow has obvious advantages, such as reducing the time it takes to pass paper copies between an assistant and lawyer, old habits die hard. When making a transition to a paper- less office, it is imperative to have leader- ship support. If you can convince your senior partners to buy into it, the chanc- es of getting everyone on board will be greatly improved. People will save extra copies of documents outside the DMS People are used to saving documents to their personal folder on the Windows operating system. A personal folder can act like a security blanket. People have a certain sense of comfort in having doc- uments stored there and they generally develop their own system of creating and naming subfolders and documents within their personal folder. Switching to DMS software can take people out of their comfort zone because 20 JUNE 2011 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com documents are no longer saved the same way. All documents are profiled accord- ing to several predetermined properties such as document name and document type, and committed to the DMS. Others can subsequently search for the docu- ment by requesting documents match- ing one or more of these properties. During the early phases of imple- menting a new system, people often don't "trust" the DMS to store their doc- uments properly. They are afraid once they commit the document to the DMS, it will enter an electronic black hole and they might never find it again. As such, they save an extra copy to their local hard drive. Some people may even bring a portable external hard drive to the office and save all their documents there "just in case DMS doesn't work." The most important tools to overcom- ing this challenge are extensive training and patience. Your staff needs to be suf- ficiently trained to profile documents in a standardized manner. As long as docu- ments are profiled properly, they should be easier to search for. Furthermore, you need to be patient with your staff. In time, they will grow comfortable with the system and realize there is no need to save extra copies. People do not profile documents properly As mentioned, when a document is committed to the DMS, it is profiled according to several predetermined properties such as document name, type, file number, and date created. virtue