Streamlining Document Creation and Assembly for Professional Services- Technical Discussion Guide1
Document Creation and Assembly for Professional Services Using the Microsoft Office System
Technical Discussion Guide
Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice.Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred.Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user.Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document.Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
© 2006 Microsoft Corporation.All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Active Directory, Excel Groove, Information Bridge Framework, OneNote, Outlook, SharePoint, SQL Server, Windows, and Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
1 Executive Summary
Purpose of This Guide
2 Business Challenges and Solutions
Business Challenges
Addressing the Challenges
A Document Creation and Assembly Solution Using the Microsoft Office System
Benefits
3 Architectural Overview
Sample Solution Architecture
Customization and Extensibility
Extending Windows SharePoint Services
Groove Virtual Office
Real-Time Communication Tools
Note-Taking and Organizing
Using a Document Creation and Assembly Solution
Creating a New Document
Customizing the Document
Adding Content to the Repository
4 Infrastructure Considerations
Software Considerations
Integration and Scalability Considerations
Integration
Scalability
Security Considerations
5 Next Steps
Resource and Skill Considerations
Project Manager
Developer
Network Administrator
Potential Partner Solutions
Solution Showcase for the Microsoft Office System
6 Appendix
Developer Resources
Product Training
Security Information
1Executive Summary
Professional services organizations maintain large amounts of information about each of their client engagements.Often this information is stored in different systems or individual files. A firm might store time and billing data in an ERP system; customer contact information in a CRM system; project details in individual spreadsheets;and content for legal documents or other standard material in discrete files.In order to reuse the content for a similar matter, users must open, search through, and copy the information. With little or no system integration, and with standard content stored in separate files, gathering related and relevant information to help manage projects or to prepare and assemble documents can be complicated and time-consuming. These tasks can require users to work with multiple documents and in separate applications to obtain the information they need.
Information management systems that help organizations address some of these challenges often require intensive, on-going maintenance and support. They can be expensive to build and implement and often require user training, which creates additional expenses.
This guide describes an example of a Microsoft® Office System solution that can be integrated with an organization’s current systems to streamline document creation and optimize the reuse of approved information. The solution provides capabilities to manage and update content that is used in standard documents and enables access to the content through the task pane in Microsoft Office Word 2003. The example is built from components such as Microsoft SharePoint®Products and Technologies, the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework, and other Microsoft technologies. In addition to streamlining document authoring and assembly, a solution such as the example can increase the value of an organization's investment in the Microsoft Office System by lowering the costs of new technology and the costs of user training
Purpose ofThis Guide
This guide is intended to help technical decision makers assess and recommend information technology solutions that help streamlinedocument creation and assembly. It summarizes the challenges that professional services organizations can face managing information and assembling documents and describes how a solution based on the Microsoft Office System can address those challenges. This guide does not describe the steps required to set up a complete solution.
This guide also covers the following topics:
●The architecture and operations of a sample document creation and assembly solution
●Asample scenario in which a legal professional uses the solution to create a new legal document from a knowledge base of approved content and categorizes the document content for reuse
●Issues to consider with respect to scalability, security, and operational needs
●Resources and skills related to implementing and maintaining a solution
●Additional resources for information about Microsoft software products and technologies and Microsoft technology partners who develop document creation and assembly solutions
2Business Challenges and Solutions
This chapter describes some of the challenges that organizations can face in the processes they use to create and assemble documents. It explains how a solution built using the Microsoft Office System can address these challenges and highlights the benefits that such a solution can provide.
Business Challenges
As the professional services industry grows, so does the volume of information that organizations need to maintain, such as customer data, project details, and content from project documentation. Employees in a variety of job functions might need to work with this information, but they might not have required access privileges.Organizations can improve their information management efficiency by maintaining information in a searchable, accessible repository that enables workers to locate and reuse relevant information and add to the repository as new content is created and approved for reuse.
Some of the challenges of document authoring processes that professional services organizations need to manage include the following:
●Poorlyorganized content that can be difficult to locate
●Difficulty assembling documents from existing sources
●No efficient means of identifying and storing new content for reuse
Poorly organized content that can be difficult to locate: When content is stored in multiple databases or repositories or in separate files, document authors can't easily locate the information, assess its relevance, and reuseit when it's suitable. Identifying the most current or the approved version of standard content can also be difficult.
In addition, document authors might not have sufficient access privileges to obtain the content they need. In these cases, an author who wants to reuseexisting content mightneed to request documents or information from another user or from a database administrator with the appropriate access. The author must then independently review these documents or sources to find the content they want to include.
Difficulty assembling documents from existing sources:Somedocuments,such as legal contracts or project bids,often use prescribed, standard content. To assemble these types of documents efficiently, authors need to incorporate information from approved sources. For example, a legal document mightrequire several paragraphs that cite specific state laws in a trademark infringement notice. In many law firms, this content must be located manually and then copied into the new document, a process that can lead to errors. Manual processes can also decrease productivity because the document author needs to switch between the authoring application and the content archive.
No efficient means of identifying and storing new content for reuse:For many organizations, identifying and categorizing content for reuseis a complex process that depends on one or more content administrators. The processes required to approve the content for reuse and to add it to a content database or other repository are often managed manually. Document authors with limited or no access to the content repositories must identify the content they want to reuse and then request that an administrator review and approve the information, who manually adds it to the database.
Addressing the Challenges
Organizations that consider information technology solutions for their document creation and assembly needs often find that custom-built solutions are expensive and difficult to maintain and that out-of-the-box solutions might not be easily integrated with the authoring applications they currently use or prefer. Additionally, some solutions can require significantinvestments in hardware, software, and training.
Flexibility is an important component of a document creation and assembly solution. Ideally, an organization can adapt a solution to its processes without the time and expense required for a custom solution. Building a solution on applications that are already familiar to the organization can help keep infrastructure and training costs low.
An effective solution should provide the means to search both documents and databases for existing information. It should also include a versioning system to ensure that document authors can identify which data or content is the most current. To improve productivity and ease of use, a solution can enable users to search for data and content while working in the document authoring application.
Other useful capabilities a solution might provide include identifying and categorizing content to be added to the system and tools for user authentication and authorization to ensure that confidential content is kept secure.
A Document Creation and AssemblySolution Using the Microsoft Office System
A document creation and assembly solution built on the Microsoft Office System can provide secure access to adocument repository and to information managed in an organization's line-of-business applications. The example described in this guide uses the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework to enable document authors to search for specific content in a repository while working in Microsoft Office Word. Users can also identify and categorize content that should be addedto a repository for future use. The example also uses a Windows® SharePoint Services team site to integrate project information from multiple systems and to serve as a central location for displaying tasks, financial information, a calendar, and similar details.
The capabilities that a document creation and assembly solution based on the Microsoft Office System can provide are outlined in the following table:
Requirement / Core Capabilities / ProductsSimplifyreuseof existing content /
- Application integration
- XML support
- Content categorization
SharePoint Products and Technologies
Microsoft Office Word
Capture new content for reuse /
- Metadata tagging
- Searchable online document repository
Improved access to existing documents /
- Centralized collaboration location
- Document control and versioning
- SharePoint sites directory
Benefits
Time savings and employee productivity gains are important benefits for organizations that implement a document creation and assembly solution such as the example described in this guide. When document authors have access to the approved content they need, they can produce deliverables faster, without requiring assistance from database or content administrators.
Someof the benefits an organization can realize with a document creation and assembly solution based on the Microsoft Office System include the following:
●Enabling reuse of organization’sapproved content
●Improving the quality of deliverables
●Capturing new content for reuse
Enabling reuse of organization’sapproved content:A document creation and assembly solution can provide better organization of both new and existing content, with a clear and logical user-defined structure that enables document authors to easily locate the content they need. Authors can search document libraries and databases for content to reuse and specify how new and existing content is categorized to further simplify searching. A document creation and assembly solution also can enable authors to search for content without leaving the authoring application, helping toreduce distractions and increase productivity.
Improving the quality of deliverables: Organizations that maintain current and accurate content that is readily available to document authors can significantly improve the quality and accuracy of project deliverables. A solution such as the example described in this guide can streamline the assembly of documents whose content must be drawn from multiple sources by providing search capabilities across multiple databases and Web sites. A software solution can also provide content revision history to ensure that document authors use the most current and approved content, reducing the risks inherent in using inaccurate or out-of-date content.
Capturing new content for reuse: As content is created, it can be categorized by authors and stored for easy location in the future. Document authors can use automated processes to specify metadata details about the content and upload the data to a content database without requiring the assistance of a database administrator. Enabling document authors to save content can make more content available for reuse within an organization, helping to save time and improve productivity.
A Microsoft technology partner can help your organization implement a document creation and assembly solution. For more information, refer to Chapter 5, “Next Steps.”
3Architectural Overview
This chapter describes a basic architecture for a document creation and assembly solution built on the Microsoft Office System. This chapter also describes the operations that could be performed when a document author uses the solution.
Note: Although the examples of using a document assembly solution described in this guide refer mainly to the legal profession, a similar solution could be used in other professional services industries.
Sample Solution Architecture
Theexample of a document creation and assembly solution described in this guide is based on Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Server™ 2003, the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework, Microsoft OfficeWord 2003, SharePoint Products and Technologies, SQL Server™ 2000, and Internet Explorer. Figure 3.1 shows a basic architecture for the example.
Figure 3.1
A basic architecture for a document creation and assembly solution
The client components included in the example provide the author of a document with access to a repository of content and to data from line-of-business (LOB) applicationsor other organizational data systems. Users gain access to the content repository, which could be a Windows SharePoint Services document library, a SQL Server or other database, or a separate content management system,through controls in the Microsoft Office Word task pane. The controls are developed with Information Bridge Framework, a set of technologies that enable developers and solution providers to use the XML support in Office 2003 applications to define user actions in the task pane. For example, developers can create solutions that display data from an LOB application, a database, or a document library associated with a SharePoint site. Using custom controls in the task pane (in Word 2003 or in another Office application that supports Information Bridge Framework), a user can interact with external data, incorporate it into a document, search a content repository, or perform other operations. Documents can be assembled in Word using the content stored in the repository. New content can be classified and saved back to the library for future use.
In addition to providing a searchable content repository, the SharePoint site can provide standard collaborative tools such as tasks lists and work assignments and links to organization information. A site might also include custom Web Parts that display information from accounting or customer relationship management applications, for example.
Solutions built on Information Bridge Framework include front-end components that run in an Office application and a metadata service that enables these components to exchange data with Web services developed according to Information Bridge Framework guidelines. The guidance provided with Information Bridge Framework helps developers build the Web services and define the metadata that describes the views, actions, relationships, and business entities involved in a particular solution in a way that can be consumed by the Microsoft Office System.
The Information Bridge Framework client component populates the task pane throughWeb service calls that obtain metadata from the Information Bridge Framework metadata service. This service is installed on a server computer and retrieves metadata from a SQL Server database. The InformationBridge client engine interprets the metadata and presents context-specific actions, navigational elements, and information to the user.The actions defined for the task pane can be based on a user's role or authentication credentials through integration with the Microsoft Active Directory® directory service.
Customization and Extensibility
The basic components and operations of a document creation and assembly solution such as the example described in this guide could be extended and customized in a number of ways. For example, developers could use the Windows SharePoint Services object model and Web services programming interfaces to manage documents, lists, and Web site data; customize Web Part views; and administer sites. A solution could also deploy Microsoft Groove® Virtual Office to provide users with capabilities for offsite and mobile use.
Extending Windows SharePoint Services
Windows SharePoint Services exposes events that can be called in response to changes to a document in a document library; for example, whenever a document is checked in or checked out or when a document property or a value of a custom column in the library is modified. The ability for a solution to respond programmatically to document library events—specifically changes to column values—might be incorporated into tools and process that help an organization build a content library. A professional services organization, for example,might have hundreds or thousands of documents containing content that would be a useful addition to a searchable content library. These documents, however, need to be classified in order to return precise search results. One means of classifying documents is to define custom document properties, which Windows SharePoint Services can display in columns if those columns are defined in a view of a SharePoint list when the document is loaded. Manually classifying the content of documents to match a specific taxonomy is a tedious task that requires opening each document. If the documents are stored as XML files or can be converted in bulk to WordML, an XML parser can be used to set properties programmatically, which could then be exposed in a list.