Context is key for ECM vendors

Guest post by Darren Knipp

A couple of months ago, a colleague of mine brought to my attention Ron Miller's column "Content management is so much more than just a database." I've always enjoyed Ron's commentary, but this particular column struck a chord with me. He mentioned how users of enterprise systems, including enterprise content management, do not maximize their value, primarily because these systems are generally too hard to use even for the primary use cases they were meant to solve. Why? Because the context of the user, if once understood, can be lost over time with the changing of business needs, technology and industry demands.

I think Ron's points are spot on. Personas, processes, application integration and content types describe the context that we as ECM professionals need to design into our solutions in order for real value to be derived. As vendors, we know software can get diluted and that nothing is static, so continued focus on the customer is paramount.

Delivering a solution that is "easy to use" requires a very deep understanding of the business process, the types of content relevant to the process, and deep familiarity with the other applications involved. But most importantly, keeping in mind the skills, role and frequency of interaction of both the users and administrators of the system will determine if the solution is genuinely easy to use. This understanding helps greatly with knowing what not to put in front of a user as much as determining what they should see.

The variety of today's available platforms--from desktop, where you still get the richest interface, to browser and now to mobile--further muddies the waters on how to keep things easy from a usability standpoint. What ECM vendors need to remember is that context drives people to a particular access point, so we need to deliver an experience that is appropriate for the user via each of those access points.

I agree that as ECM vendors we need focus, but what we can't do is only see the trees and not the forest--allowing silos of content to fragment the user experience, such that a person is now expected to traverse numerous systems to complete their daily work.

In healthcare, for example, you have different types of content being managed by myriad of systems--EMRs, radiology, physician media and even medical equipment manufacturers--are providing specific formats and storage within the device itself. In this case, (and I am biased) ECM providers need to step up to the challenge and manage all manner of content, because only we have the full content lifecycle tools and the innate flexibility to do so.

Clearly, to make the solutions easy to use and manage, it's critical to partner with our customers who have the frontline expertise to ensure both the back-end and front-end integrations are such that the total user experience accurately supports the context at work. This is where we need to continue to focus on the deep understanding of real business context-personas, business processes, application integration and content types. With this knowledge and the determination to keep it simple on the surface for end-users, we can provide compelling value for organizational investment in ECM.

Darren Knipp is chief technology officer at Perceptive Software, where he leads product strategy and establishes the company's product and technical vision while leading all aspects of the software development process. He plays an integral role in the company's strategic direction, development and future growth in the ECM market. Before joining Perceptive Software in 2003, Knipp was a product manager at Interwoven, which is now Autonomy.

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