Who are the players? What are the documents?--CDIA+ specifics

Yes, it's been a while since we have blogged. We have been VERY BUSY training, training, and doing some more training for the past several months. We are still very busy, but I just flew in from a class last night and had an observation to share concerning the CDIA+ certification.

This last class I just taught had a different demographic than many of the classes I teach. This class had several people with 20+ years experience. If I did not have specific knowledge of the type of content on the exam, I could see how some would wonder why they needed a training class to sit for the CDIA+ exam. However, by the time these students had finished the three-day class, they were certain that they did the right thing by signing up.

You see, years of experience in imaging or document management may or may not prepare you for exam. The exam is not just technical. The CDIA+ candidate must also possess a solid understanding of the players and documents associated with the EDM solution sales and project management life cycles. Not only that, but the candidate must also be familiar with CompTIA's terms as related to these subjects. Now I am a PMP and Project+ certified. I have a solid handle on the project management life cycle inside and outside an IT environment. However, some of the terms used on the CDIA+ exam are slightly different. A keen understanding of these nuances can mean the difference between a passing and failing score on the exam.

Some terms you must understand (by no means exhaustive):

• WBS
• Risk mitigation plan
• Implementation plan
• Requirements document
• Scope document
• RFP
  
• Functional requirement
• Functional design
• Gantt chart
• Cultural change management plan
• Change control plan
• Change order
• SLA
  
• and so on--there are over a dozen more...

The CDIA+ candidate must not only know what these terms refer to, but the candidate must know their purpose, who prepares the documents, who receives the documents, and when in the project life cycle. Does the requirements document go to the the project team, the end users, the project manager, the project leader, the implementation manager, the steering committee, the vendor, or the CTO.--and who prepares the document? What is the document for. Is it a stand-alone document or is it part of a larger deliverable? You get it? There are many little nuances that are significantly beyond the technology.

PDI+ -Printing and Document Imaging certification –how can that help me??

by Byron B. Aulick

We work very closely with CompTIA, the owners of the new certification for technicians called PDI+. They were looking for a good case study to share with their contemporaries, so I reached out to a training client that became certified last month after taking our online training course. Our client's original intent for the training and certification was to add another certification to their long list of credentials to show-off to their clients. They got way more than they expected!

In short, here is what our client said about PDI+:

All of their technicians are factory trained and have worked there at least one year, some ten years. Management had to ‘encourage’ them into the course, and they completed their training expeditiously. Upon completion, the Service Manager said this (and I quote):

1. “There is more spring in their step! They have greater confidence.”
2. Techs are troubleshooting more, whereas before it was repair by repetition
3. First-time repairs are more complete. Far-less come-backs.
4. They are not calling in on basic problems as much
5. Lastly, the boss is handing out cash bonuses due to less call-backs!
   

We thought we would share that with you because this testimony is real-world, from a real company, that shares in the same struggles as many of you do...

Conducting an EDM Needs Assessment

In the previous article, we discussed selling the EDM needs assessment. We succeeded—it’s sold, now what do we do? In this brief article we will highlight the technical and logistical considerations of conducting an EDM needs assessment. It’s one thing to sell the process; we have to deliver on our promises if we have any chance at selling the entire solution. Remember, the needs assessment has two purposes: designing the optimal solution to meet the customer’s business and functional requirements, and selling that solution. Keep in mind, the solution is NOT just technology—but part of a business solution. More on this later…

Where do we start? The first requirement is to establish your point of contact (POC) and chain of communication. The vendor/consultant project manager must have a single project point of contact on the customer side to coordinate the assessment itinerary. The consultant will need to meet with several representatives from the customer enterprise and must be given access to applicable corporate infrastructure. We always submit two documents to our customer POC. The first document is an itinerary, listing who we need to speak to and for how long. I detail the individual surveys below. The second document we provide is a boiler-plate that the customer POC can use to inform the interviewees of the upcoming meetings. There is nothing worse than having people pulled in a room to answer your questions when they do not understand who you are and the purpose of the meetings. Both these documents are provided to our students as part of our Needs Assessment Tool-kit.

Conducting the surveys:

Typically the customer POC accompanies our consulting team through the interview process. Do not underestimate the significance of this. This person will be THE leading advocate for the solution in the end. They will hear every question, every response, and likely eat lunch with you and have conversations as you tour their facilities and in between meetings. They will hear your thoughts and collaborate with you concerning the preliminary solutions as you brainstorm throughout the interview sessions. Powerful relationship-building happens here.

We always start the actual surveys by debriefing the C-level of the proposed survey agenda and what the final deliverable will include. The tone for the entire assessment is set in this meeting. The consultant also sets expectations for the final deliverable. No surprises!

Our four-level survey tool covers the C-level management, the department level, end-users, and IT. The C-level survey is conducted once and first. The remainder of the surveys are conducted in no particular order. The mid-level survey is conducted with each department head, the records manager, and HR. The end-user survey is conducted per department with a group of representative end-users. Therefore, in a company of 100 employees, an enterprise solution survey might look like this:

• C-level –just one survey
• Mid-level--HR, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Records Management/Legal, Administrative, Workgroup 1, Workgroup 2, …Workgroup X (if it is a departmental solution, just survey the particular department)
• End-user Survey--representative end-user groups from each of the departments
• IT--one survey

Beyond the survey, there are other activities to be conducted during the assessment. For an imaging job, obtaining a detailed document count is a high priority. I will defer you to this article to see how that is done in the field. We also want to take a look at their IT infrastructure. Lastly, you’ll want to both observe and get their perspective on their document workflow and business processes. Our assessment survey has a comprehensive worksheet that includes fields for all the information needed to prepare detailed workflow diagrams.

By now you are wondering what questions we ask. I apologize, but that is way beyond the scope of this brief article. In a nut shell, we ask everything under the sun to highlight their challenges, develop solutions to their challenges, develop an accurate ROI for cost-justification, narrow down every conceivable EDM feature, size the solution, develop an implementation strategy, assemble a training plan, and stand up a support infrastructure. As you might conclude, that’s A LOT of questions! For simplicity, we put all the questions in a single digital survey tool that is included with our EDM Needs Assessment training course. I suggest you pre-prepare questions and have a calculated and deliberate survey assembled and available to make the assessment efficient and complete. You do not want to look unprofessional by coming back with a series of follow-up questions when they compensated you for being there on-site and coordinated their staff’s availability with the sole intent of answering your questions.

This article is becoming more than “brief.” You’ll have to wait until next month to go over the development of a solution, and preparation of the deliverable. You won’t want to miss that one.

Until then, go out there and get compensated for your expertise. Your skills have value!

Off to train in Africa--CDIA+ is international

-by Byron B. Aulick, CDIA+, PDI+, Project+
Senior Instructor

Here is a news flash: CDIA+ certification is NOT limited to here in the US only. I leave Thursday to teach another (fourth one) class in Johannesburg, S. Africa! Believe it or not there are other countries that are open minded in regards to finding better ways to handle paper in the office...

I fly 9 hours to Amsterdam, then 10 hours to Johannesburg. Drive 1 hour to Pretoria, sleep for two days (boy-oh boy do you need it!!) Then teach 23 students, of whom the English language is NOT their first language!

Anyhow -I would also like to tell you of the dedication to training these folks exhibit. You see the simple truth is, work is highly valued. Their country is doing well, but there is still a high unemployment rate. There is no welfare system in S. Africa, so if you don’t work and have money for food -you starve!! Let’s pause and think how that might effect the training class: students take their jobs serious and as a result they take training serious. This is a joy to an instructor -students that pay close attention -wow -what a concept...

All kidding aside, imaging has taken off in many countries outside of the U.S. DataVault also teaches Latin America in Spanish -where they also take this discipline very serious.

When it comes to electronic document management, if the company produces paper (and how many don’t?) there are several choices to choose from that will streamline and make the process entirely more effective -reducing stress and saving money. This is CDIA+ through and through. Isn’t that what it is all about??

The art of selling an EDM needs assessment

I just finished a 2-day needs assessment class with several dealers. I always appreciate the night-and-day change in sentiment I see in students from the start to the finish of the class. We tell them before they sign up that by the end of the class they will be able to sell a needs assessment, perform a needs assessment, and sell the solution. I know they all doubt these bold claims. However, by the end of Day 1, they are absolutely convinced that they have the knowledge and the tools they need to position and sell a needs assessment.

How do we transition them from doubters to believers, you ask? This brief article will provide some insights and information that I hope will challenge you to explore alternative methods to position and sell needs assessments with greater ease and success. Well, I can’t give you the first day of training in a single article, but here is the general framework.

For starters, you have to get to the right audience. EDM is a top-down sale because it is a business solution, not simply technology. If you can engage at the top and convince them that there is a benefit for their firm to implement, then you earn the right to ask them a few questions. We suggest informative seminars—specific to a vertical market or general document management stuff. In fact, we go through a mock seminar in the class and provide the PowerPoint file and questionnaire to the students for their future use. We really try to make it easy for them.

The next step is cost-justifying the solution. Most firms that you are engaging do not have money allocated for the solution. Therefore the onus is on you to find them the money to not only eliminate the objection, but also light a fire under them to get moving NOW! Even if they can’t swing the total solution now, they can always afford the assessment (we’ll get to selling the total solution is the next article). Get an invitation based on their responses and interaction in the information seminar you provided prior. We teach students to set up a 20 minute follow-up meeting with the C-level individual to ask them a dozen or so questions. In fact, the questionnaire we use is a survey tool that we provide to the students, also for future use. Our little questionnaire conclusively demonstrates that they are ALREADY spending the money; therefore, it IS in their budget. Typical savings from EDM are in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars in gained efficiency.

Next, with the figures and information you gathered, sell the assessment. To make things incredibly easy for those who are not accustomed to the EDM sales process, we have made the survey literally spit out the follow up letter for submittal to the customer. This letter includes the items of importance and the incredible savings possible with EDM. Getting someone to write a check for $10,000 to design that solution after understanding that failure to implement is costing them tens of thousands of dollars a month is just a formality.

It is vitally important to conduct an assessment prior to selling a solution. For one, you know the final solution will work: no guess work. Also, you get to engage the customer at a level that really solidifies your odds of selling the solution; they arm you to the teeth with the information you need to close the deal. Likewise, you position yourself as the expert and trusted advisor, and not just a slick salesperson. There are at least a dozen other benefits—too many to list here.

One other important consideration of getting compensated for the assessment is that it qualifies your customers. If they can’t write a check for $10k, you can rest assured that they will not write a check for $150k. Not to mention, if you do provide a detailed design (in the form of a proposal), what is to stop them from giving it to a competitor who can offer a comparable solution for $100 less? Save your time and resources for the paying customers.

Would you ever have a surgeon go in and cut you up without first determining what’s wrong with you? Of course not, so why do our prospects let sales folks come in and prescribe their brand of medicine every day without first looking at their ailments? Would you expect a doctor to look you over for free? Never, would you expect an architect to design your home for free? Would you want a contractor to build a house without a blueprint? Maybe your house, but not mine! Likewise, the person who designs a solution is ALWAYS the first choice for implementing it!

Handling the common objections to EDM and paying for an assessment is child’s play if you know in advance what they are. Take the time to write down those tough ones you have seen time and time again and practice fielding them with a colleague. We do this in class at the end of Day 1. We do a breakout session where students face off with difficult “customers.” I present realistic scenarios and introduce the 20 most common objections to needs assessments and EDM in general, and watch with pride as my students handle them all with ease, armed with their new found knowledge.

Also, think of all the ways you can position EDM. There are two primary types of drivers: financial and compliance. Compliance is great, because they HAVE to move forward. However, it typically requires education. That’s where the initial seminar really helps. You’re not an expert, you say? That’s what the Internet is for. Get a Wikipedia education and put together a dozen slides. You have the microphone; they’ll sit and listen. If financial is the driver, a simple “paper document management costs” survey will flesh that out for you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope this lights a light bulb for you in how you can engage your customers with greater ease and success. Glean what you can from the tips in this article. And if after reading all this you still believe these claims are just a sales pitch or that it just wouldn’t work like that for you, read this testimonial from a former student. He’ll convince you that these methods work!

The next article will focus on the logistical and technical considerations of actually performing the needs assessment. And, maybe I’ll get around to doing a series on eliminating the objections, one-by-one.

Counting documents during an assessment

When you are performing an imaging assessment, getting an accurate document count is crucial. You need this number to size equipment, both for imaging and storage. You also need to identify the volume for both primary and exception imaging process workflows--that is the main document type and the outliers. Counting documents is both an art and a science. In fact, an experienced consultant can walk through a facility and get an accurate count with the customer hardly even recognizing that he is busy counting away. Here's an example of how I do it in the field.

I count my documents in linear feet. Whether they are on a shelf, in boxes, in file cabinets, or stacked on a desk, I estimate in feet--2,000 pages per foot to be exact. If I walk into an office with four cubes, I first ask the person giving the tour if all the docs are to be scanned. They tell me which ones to include and which to not include. Let's say for example I see about half a foot on two desks, a foot on the other two. There is 1.5 feet of files in each desk. I open a couple cabinets and see a total of four more feet. Then they have a common wall-mounted three foot three-shelf unit for a total of nine feet.

Then I write down a few other pieces of information such as % density, % duplex (and % color if the customer wants color, and other sizes if present). Let's say the shelves contain all three-ring binders and all duplex; I would estimate 50% density and 100% duplex. That gives me 9 feet x 2,000 pages x 0.5 = 9,000 pages and 18,000 images.

Let's say the remainder of documents are in folders (90% density) and only 50% are duplex. That is 13 feet x 2,000 pages, x 0.9 density = 23,400 pages and 35,100 images.

I always do ask the customer to tell me what they think they have for documents, but I also prepare estimates in the manner described in this article to ensure I get an accurate number. In fact, I once had a customer with two tractor-trailer sized roll-offs full of file boxes. They had a detailed manual count of the documents. I, in turn, performed my quick estimate and derived a number just thousands off of their number (the result was in millions of pages). This system is quick, efficient, and with a little practice, extremely accurate.

Project+ or PMP: What is right for you?

There are two [apparently] competing project management professional certifications in the industry. This brief post is to help the project manager (or aspiring project manager) determine which certification is right for them.

The choices are CompTIA Project+ and Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP). I happen to hold both certifications and have authored training materials for the former and been an instructor for Project+ for years. Suffice it to say, I am intimately familiar with the purpose and premise of both certifications.

The PMP is the holy grail of certifications. In fact, it is one of the highest paid credentials available. However, it is not an option for everyone. For starters, you need to possess A LOT of documented experience and education. You need 35 hours of education and a whopping 7,500 hours of experience--itemized by process group on the application! The experience requirement goes down to 4,500 hours if you have at least a bachelors degree. Acceptance of your application earns you the privilege of shelling out $555 and sitting for a 4-hour exam. That's right, 200 questions in 4 hours! You will have to know the PMBOK Guide in and out to pass this exam--the project management bible. If you fail, it will cost you $375 to take it again. This is not for the faint at heart. And that's not all. Continuing education is required to keep the credential. That's right, you will LOSE IT if you don't keep up with your project management education credits.

Project+, on the other hand, is available to everyone. Simply pass the exam and you are certified for life. The exam is 80 questions in 90 minutes and costs just $259.56 (I want to know who picked that number).

In fact, the two certification exams have a tremendous amount of overlap in content. Honestly, for those considering simply mastering the concepts of project management to aid them for success on the job, Project+ is the hands-down best choice. In order to pass the exam, training is no doubt required. Experience alone will not suffice for either exam, if for no other reason than understanding the industry-accepted terminology and how these concepts are applied in best-practice scenarios. Even if you have done the stuff for years, if you call it something different, you'll answer the question incorrectly. With the necessary training, you will pass the exam and have a very valuable credential demonstrating your proficiency in industry-leading project management best practices.

Likewise, studying for and passing the PMP is A LOT easier if you take Project+ first. I'll be honest, the PMBOK is not intuitively organized. Learning 44 processes with their discrete inputs and outputs within the 5 process groups in the 9 knowledge areas is a little difficult to wrap your mind around WITHOUT the practical and foundational project management knowledge you will acquire preparing for the Project+ exam.

In summary, I do urge anyone who is qualified to go out there and get their PMP. The experience and education requirements ensure that the certified are indeed knowledgeable AND experienced. However, until you are qualified or until you have the wherewithal to learn the PMBOK guide, get trained and earn the Project+ credential. With this credential you will demonstrate knowledge and the training will give you the skills to succeed, and you'll possess a solid foundation when you do meet the experience requirement to sit for the PMP.

Another consideration is, at $1,200, instructor-led training for Project+ is far more affordable than training for the PMP. If you train for Project+, the credit hours can apply for your PMP application and you can just purchase a study manual for the PMP for $50 rather than shelling out over $2,300!