Without exception, all sources on electronic document imaging (EDI), and the retrieval and management of these digitized forms, suggest first a thorough examination of the existing paper process that is under consideration for EDI. This discovery phase should go hand-in-hand with analysis of workflow findings and system requirements.

We know what document management is, but "why" is it? On one hand it is a natural outgrowth of enabling technologies, particularly open systems and client/server computing. Document Management (DM) is another in a long line of software that make job functions easier. However, there is a more fundamentally important reason of why DM evolved: competitive advantage. Universities, in essence, compete in the marketplace, offering the product of Higher Learning, and the ones that can offer a proven product at an attractive price will have a competitive edge. Quality service at low cost. Document Management can be an important tool in accomplishing this strategic advantage.

Now we know the "what" and the "why" of EDI, but what of the last three "W's": Who, When, Where?
Who: There must be a concerted effort from several areas to guarantee success of any document imaging and management project on campus. Financial Aid may well be the pilot area, so involvement from personnel in this department is crucial. Technical expertise from Computing Services must also be engaged early on to identify integral areas of the computing and network environments that may need upgrades to support a DM system. Support for this project from the highest levels of university management must be secured early in the process, and continually maintained. We must recognize at the outset that any solution we envision must be expandable campus-wide to fully utilize the benefits of a document management system. In that aspect, representatives from other business-critical areas should be strongly involved from the beginning.
When: This question cannot be answered here, but my humble recommendation would be, simply, soon. From my limited research, I have found several Michigan universities already in the process of formally investigating the possibility. It comes back to competitive edge. We cannot afford to fall behind.
Where: Again, this is an issue to be resolved by others, but certainly the Financial Aid Department has shown the greatest interest for an imaging system, and could potentially benefit immensely. In two other Michigan universities the FA area was singled out as the pilot area. - [See Imaging Contacts table]

Before serious consideration can be directed toward any competent pricing estimates for implementing a document imaging system within the Financial Aid Department, the following need thorough consideration and response.

• Current architecture in FA, all-inclusive (hardware, software and network).
• Understanding of current document flow process, including counts at peak arrival times.
• Parameters for document imaging. What are the target documents, which can remain as paper document only, and which, if any, archived forms will be converted?
• Current statistics on network traffic, including peaks.
• Goal(s) need to be established. What is/are the goal(s) to be achieved?
• Scalability. Should there be long range goals to implement enterprise-wide? (Almost without exception, professionals recommend including scalability as a growth factor).

Following answers to those questions, the project can begin to take shape. Recommendation is for a project team consisting of one or more members from FA, one from UCS and, preferably, one from TCS (for integration to network issues), plus a member from management (to solidify and maintain management level commitment). This team can investigate the issues below and help draw up a Request For Proposal, and begin the evaluation of vendor packages.

1. Discovery: examining and evaluating existing paper process
   • document quality - physical characteristics of paper documents
   • document types and counts - inventory and tally samples
   • frequency - arrival rates and dates (identify peaks and valleys)
   • document usage - process trail(s), activity at each step, time at each step
2. Analysis: examination of findings in discovery stage
   • Capture requirements: capture/performance parameters required
     • document preparation - potential inhibitors affecting throughput rates
     • scanning - actual machine speed vs. rated speed
     • quality control - verify readibility and/or enhance image
     • indexing - efficient & accurate index is crucial
     • data extraction - manual vs. automatic (utilizing OCR)
     • information release
   • Viewing requirements: individual and collective features & functionality
     • viewing software - image manipulation & enhancement
     • display - size, resolution, speed
   • Storage requirements: imaging very intensive I/O operation so high storage needs
     • total annual storage volume - image pages x avg. compressed file size (KB)
     • characteristics of storage requirements - on-line, near-line and far-line
     • storage device requirements - optical, magnetic media, digital video disc (dvd)
   • Communications/Network requirements
     • existing environment - current utilization
     • network utilization - rated capacity
     • image traffic - what will be anticipated load increase
   • Output requirements: determine image print requirements and daily print load
3. Specification: product and design requirements
   • Document preparation and scanning
   • Display
   • Storage
   • Network
   • Output
4. Design: document determines functionality, process drives operational design
   • Matching application requirements with technology solutions
   • Level of workflow automation required
   • Application integration required
   • Customization required