DOCUMENT Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 18)

C F CONTENT & FORM & t here’s always an exception to the rule, even in transaction processing. However, collaborative tools can give your customers a hands-on solution while you remain automation-friendly. c The Human Connection | By Seth Earley great tools for collaboration and knowledge sharing. As applications became more complex, collaboration included real-time messaging, team workspaces, workﬂow-integrated tools, portals, content libraries and search applications. In fact, almost any system could be described as “collaborative” if it enabled and encouraged people to share unstructured information. Collaborative processes can be distinguished from transaction processes by virtue of the fact that they are not based on speciﬁc rules, not focused on data and can adapt to the needs of users. Today, people collaborate to solve problems, and the problem landscape is continually changing. Transactions require the ability to understand the nature of questions, queries and tasks in advance, while collaboration is ﬂuid, dynamic and adaptive and not easily managed by rules. It’s the exceptions to the rules that govern transactions that trip up the systems. Collaborative tools for your transactional customers Collaboration is a buzzword that has come and gone in popularity. Back in the early 90s, it was hailed as the new generation of application — the ability to harness knowledge and interact with customers and colleagues across geographies and time zones. In recent years, collaboration has become the baseline for any application. We take for granted the ability to work remotely and work on projects with teams located on another continent. It’s simply business as usual. But with the proliferation of collaborative applications, everyone and anyone can “collaborate.” Web 2.0 is about mass collaboration — the ability of networks of people to connect and share based on any interest or afﬁnity. If we consider collaboration as a way to share ideas and solve problems in an unstructured way, then it makes sense to extend collaboration to transactions. The question is: How do we do this in a practical way? What does collaboration mean to day-to-day business processes? After all, Web 2.0 may be a cool new model for leading-edge businesses, but what practical value can be brought to the challenges of transaction processing? The Need for Collaboration Collaboration Versus Transaction Processing: Opposite Ends of the Spectrum? If you consider a continuum that ranges from structured to unstructured, transactions are typically considered to be at one end of the spectrum and collaboration at the other. A transaction is generally quite straightforward: I have agreed to a purchase or process, and now I need to conﬁrm, see the results, review the status or history and take the next step — highly structured, rules-based and data-driven. Collaboration is as unstructured as transactions are structured. It can be as simple as sending an email or posting a comment. In the early days of email and discussion forums, these were considered 18 document april.08 www.DOCUMENTmedia.com Whenever there is any exception to a rule, a human needs to intervene. Transactions are considered cut-and-dried — unambiguous. On the other hand, collaboration is about human connection. However, there are some well-known instances where transactions are supported by collaboration. Amazon, for example, does a very good job of incorporating collaboration — user reviews — into the transaction. In fact, different types of transactions can leverage other types of collaboration. The need for collaboration is determined by the nature of the relationship and type of transaction. First, take a step back and consider the structure of an interaction. At one end of the scale, we have very unstructured processes — meetings, brainstorming, informal conversations. At the other end of the scale, we have completely structured processes — purchases, status inquiries, scheduling, reservations, etc. In the case of human-to-human interactions that involve idea exchange or problem solving, it is difﬁcult to codify the process. Knowledge creation and problem solving http://www.DOCUMENTmedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Document Magazine - April 2008

Document Magazine - April 2008 Contents Editor's View The Research Desk The Response Center BPM: Improving the Way You Process Contributing Writers Mapping Out Performance Build the Context Before You Move into the House of ECM Taking On the Big 3 The Human Connection Addressing Your Addresses Don't Call Us, We'll Call You The Mulitplying Image Recognizing Accuracy New Products Calendar Advertisers

Document Magazine - April 2008

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