Planning Your Document Management System Implementation

So, let’s say you’ve been convinced by the many proven benefits of a document management system (DMS). You’re ready to implement a DMS at your own company. Where do you start? A company-wide software implementation can be fraught with difficulty: a project that big has many opportunities to break down organizationally, to say nothing of potential technological mishaps and cost overruns.

Document Management System Implementation

The key to a smooth DMS implementation is planning. Of course, planning can’t eliminate every difficulty you might face, but a strong plan will allow you to adapt to challenges and continue the project with a minimum of disruption. In this blog, we’re going to walk you through a DMS implementation in detail. First, we’ll discuss a few guiding principles for a DMS implementation. Then, we’ll go over the 10 things to consider when defining your company’s DMS needs. Finally, we’ll provide a sample implementation project outline.

Guiding Principles of a DMS Implementation 

Before we get into the details, let’s take a look at a few guiding principles to keep in mind throughout this process. It’s important to pause and see the bigger picture before diving into practical implementation steps. Here are a few ideas to consider:

  • Stakeholder involvement: A successful company-wide implementation requires company-wide buy-in. Are your executives willing to support this project? Do you have the funding you require to not just implement a DMS, but implement it well? Be sure to keep managers and employees across the company involved and aware of what’s going on. Ask them for their ideas and feedback throughout the process.
  • Setting measurable goals: “Implement a DMS” isn’t a good goal all by itself. Can you imagine seeing that on your to-do list? What are specific, measurable goals that you can set for this project? Do you need a project management tools or software to help keep track of various necessary tasks? By what time does each task need to take place? What data will you collect to measure the success of each task?
  • User training and adoption: The best DMS in the world won’t help your company if your employees don’t use it (or don’t know how to use it well). You will need to dedicate considerable time to soliciting feedback and training employees across all relevant departments.

By keeping these three principles in mind, you’ll be able to approach the project with a clear understanding of the bigger picture.

The Planning Stage: What Do You Really Need?

Document Management System Implementation

Once you’ve taken a step back and considered the bigger picture, it’s time to start planning. You know you’ll need to choose a vendor and a DMS, but there are many aspects of planning a DMS implementation that you may not have considered. Here are 10 planning steps you can take to jumpstart a successful DMS implementation:

  1. Evaluate your current system: This is the most fundamental planning step there is. Before you can find a solution, you have to define a problem! Consider using tools like the M-Files KWA Capability Maturity Model to gain a deeper understanding of where your company is on its digital transformation journey. Where are the “pain points”? What already works well? Make sure to ask these questions of employees across departments and seniority levels.
  2. Define your objectives: Once you’ve analyzed where you are, it’s time to decide where you’re going. What are your goals for this project? Keep in mind that these goals should be measurable and specific, like we discussed in the previous section.
  3. Decide on functional requirements: What DMS features are essential for your company? Begin researching the possibilities available to you. For example: What sort of access controls do you need? Do you have specific compliance challenges? Do you need to create documents or just store them?
  4. Assess integration needs: A DMS will only create more work for everyone if it isn’t integrated with your other enterprise systems. For maximum ROI and effectiveness, it should be integrated with your ERP, CRM, and any other primary software.
  5. Assess compliance and security needs: It’s vital to keep your business’s and your customers’ data safe. While most DMS solutions will have basic security features, you may need to outline specific compliance and security requirements, especially if your company deals with particularly sensitive information such as health data.
  6. Determine a budget and licensing model: What is your budget for this implementation? What sort of licensing model is ideal for your business? Some licensing types to consider include perpetual licenses, subscription licenses, concurrent user licenses, and named user licenses.
  7. Choose a DMS: Now that you’ve outlined all your requirements, it’s time to choose a DMS. You should have a pretty good idea by now of which systems meet your needs. If you’re still unsure, see if you can access a free trial or demo of a DMS you’re considering.
  8. Select a vendor: Now that you’ve chosen a DMS, it’s time to choose a vendor who can partner with you as much as needed in order to implement that system. Be sure to research potential vendors’ track records and reputation. How much maintenance and ongoing support will your company need?
  9. Create a data migration plan: With your vendor, you’ll need to consider what data should be transferred into this new system and how that transfer will take place. Remember, a DMS can’t make bad data into good data. Make sure you’re only migrating good data into it!
  10. Plan for scalability: Ensure that both your partnership with your vendor and your chosen DMS can scale with your organization’s growth. Can you change to a different licensing model if needed? How much support can your vendor offer you on an ongoing basis?

 Of course, every implementation plan is different. Your situation may require additional planning steps. Still, the 10 steps above are a great place to start for any company embarking on a DMS implementation.

The Actual Implementation Part 

Now that you’ve planned and assessed your company’s needs, chosen a DMS, and chosen a vendor, it’s time for “the actual implementation part.” Again, every project is different, but here’s an example of how an implementation project might proceed:

  1. Negotiate your vendor contract: Ensure costs, responsibilities, and terms are clear to all parties.
  2. Decide on a deployment approach: Decide whether to deploy the DMS across the whole organization at once or start with a single department.
  3. Plan the implementation details: Work with the vendor to plan the actual implementation, including timelines and individual responsibilities.
  4. Configure and customize the system: Include considerations like branding and specific user permissions.
  5. Migrate data: Remember to only migrate clean data into the new system.
  6. Train users: Hold trainings at many different times and in many different ways to ensure you reach all affected employees.
  7. Go live: Ensure that extensive support is available to all users during the first few weeks of going live.

If you’ve gotten through all of this, don’t forget to celebrate your success with your team!

Looking for a DMS Implementation Partner?

For more information on DMS implementation, check out “The Smart Buyer’s Guide to Document Management Systems” from M-Files.

If you’re in the market for a DMS, consider M-Files: an endlessly flexible software that can transform your business processes. And if you’re in the market for a DMS implementation partner, consider Laminin Solutions! Our experts can help you strategize, implement, and customize your DMS to create a unique solution for your unique needs. Contact us today to get started!