DEADLY SINS. Of Document. 7 Production THE. automated document assembly

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1 automated document assembly 7 Production THE DEADLY SINS Of

2 Using document automation technology to generate documents is still not a common practice in many organisations. Instead, staff resort to a range of manual processes to produce tailored documentation. Throughout HotDocs 25 years we have seen a number of time consuming, error prone and impractical tactics being used by organisations of all sizes. Without automation, people can try to save time when producing business documents by creating Word document templates. However, they quickly realise that the more the size of the document increases, the more difficult this method becomes. Other tactics include adding notes or indicators within documents to communicate which elements must be edited and where new information must be entered. Even just checking all instances where variable elements such as names, phrases, company names or legal clauses exist takes time. In fact HotDocs customers have reported that 40% of the time it takes to produce documents was spent checking for errors prior to using HotDocs. The image below shows an instance where a company name requires editing. The document owner has attempted to make it clear where the company name appears throughout the document using coloured text and highlighting. This method may work on simple and short documents, but would become difficult to manage if the company name appears hundreds of times within a lengthy or complex document. Without automation, ensuring documents are accurate and compliant can be extremely challenging, especially when multiple staff in more than one location are responsible for creating a document or set of documents. This ebook looks at some of the tactics companies have used to produce their documentation without automation, and highlights how quickly problems can occur and how you can use HotDocs to avoid these problems. 1

3 1. Attempting to manage multiple brands using Word 2

4 authors are often required to manage the documentation for multiple divisions within an organisation. Some authors might be responsible for the documentation for sister or subsidiary companies, a task that can be tricky when just using Microsoft Word. The added complexity of multiple brand guidelines, varying processes or differing formatting and phrasing makes standardising documentation across multiple brands challenging for document authors. Ensuring documents for multiple divisions contain the right information is a task that s too complex for Microsoft Word. The variables within documents may range from simple elements like a brand name or a logo, to complex elements like legal clauses or processes specific to that brand. Sending out a document with the wrong branding or including irrelevant information is confusing to customers, but worse yet it could be a potential compliance risk. Including incorrect information could result in anything from poor customer experience to legal action. 3

5 Fix it with HotDocs Many of our customers use HotDocs to standardise their document style and format across businesses to ensure compliance with brand guidelines. With HotDocs you can manage multiple brands by creating a predefined answer set and include the relevant information based on the answers the user supplies through the HotDocs interview. To do this, simply set up the interview so the user must specify the brand they are producing the document for and HotDocs will ensure all the relevant information and document formatting is included. 4

6 2. Using Find and Replace to edit multiple recurring elements 5

7 Find and Replace is a great way to make changes to recurring elements in a document, such as a company or person s name. You can use this function to find elements with the same text or formatting and if you have the current version of Microsoft Word, you can even Find and Replace paragraph marks, page breaks, or other special characters. However, the benefits of using Find and Replace to customise documents becomes limited once a document reaches a certain size. In smaller documents, the Find and Replace function can be used to edit instances where variables appear, such as names or references to company information, but the function is no longer a viable option when complex elements like tables, legal clauses or number values require editing. At this point you may discover errors with Find and Replace, for example; not using the correct formatting or inserting spaces where there shouldn t be any. 6

8 Fix it with HotDocs Using the HotDocs interview, you can set the criteria in the interview so that only the correct variable with the correct formatting is published to the document, without the need to check the document to make sure there have been no omissions. You can do this by opening a document, clicking on HotDocs and selecting the element you would like to identify as a variable. You can then assign questions to that variable so the user s response, containing the correct information, is published each time the variable appears in the document. 7

9 3. Not controlling number values 8

10 Relying on multiple staff members to enter correct number values such as remuneration or loan amounts increases the chance of human error. This could result in the wrong amount being entered or an incorrect exchange rate being used to calculate an amount, potentially leading to miscommunication or cost to the business. 24,000 24, = Fix it with HotDocs With HotDocs you can create a variety of number variables such as date or monetary value, where you can even specify the currency you would like to appear in the variable. Use HotDocs to create formulas to calculate salary amounts automatically, for example; if you are drafting an employee agreement that must break down an employee s salary into an hourly rate, with HotDocs you will be able to calculate that employee s hourly remuneration into their weekly pay or annual salary. You can even set minimum or maximum amounts to avoid errors or amounts being paid under or beyond what has been agreed. 9

11 4. Using or a shared drive for version management 10

12 Ensuring your staff have the most up to date version of a document can be extremely challenging when you make changes to your company s documentation regularly, particularly if the document is used by multiple staff based in more than one location. Companies tackle this challenge in a number of ways. Many companies use a shared drive or to distribute company documents updated with the most recent changes. This method is usually implemented using a version management system; putting v1,v2 etc. at the end of the document name, however, once this system reaches v18.4.3, things can become quite difficult to manage. 11

13 Other methods include using and relying on staff to use the most up to date document or using software like Google s to collaborate on one or more documents. Ultimately, these methods all have the same problem: staff either begin storing their own version of these documents on a personal drive or use an older version of the document because it s the first one they find. Fix it with HotDocs Using HotDocs, your documentation can be managed from one location by an individual or team of document authors. Only approved individuals are permitted to edit documents, rendering the use of the wrong version impossible. When an update is required, simply open the template and make the relevant change. Once you have saved the template, all future documentation produced will contain the update you carried out. With that said, this doesn t mean you lose the information in your templates, you can use HotDocs rollback feature if you need to access out-dated content to reproduce historic documents or if you have made a mistake entering information into the updated document. 12

14 5. Ad-hoc editing 13

15 Allowing staff to make ad hoc changes to company documents as they see fit leaves your documentation exposed to risk of errors, sub-standard grammar or phrasing, or inconsistent formatting. It s important that documents are developed and edited by the content owner(s), as ad hoc editing can lead to irregularities within the document. When a change is required, a systematic approach must be taken to updating and publishing the change, rather than making changes to documents off the cuff. Fix it with HotDocs With HotDocs, an individual or team of document authors are in charge of all documentation and have full control over content. If document producers require any changes to be made they can contact a document author, who will make the update. This means updates will be made by one defined source and rolled out to the entire organisation. Consistent s Local Legal Clauses Formatting Changes Compliance Update EU Legislation Update Authors Any and all changes must go through this team of document authors. This means that no ad hoc changes can be made to documents without the author(s) knowing about it. 14

16 6. Copying, pasting and reusing old documents 15

17 When processing documents there is always the urge to use previous documents and copy sections used in similar circumstances, only making changes to the areas of the document that require bespoke content. There are a number of problems with this, such as carrying over mistakes from previous documents or making references to information that is not present in the current document. Another problem with copy and paste is that the practice is not reliable when transferring more complicated content from one document to another. Copying and pasting items like bookmarks, tables, automatic numbers or bullet points often creates errors in formatting or the wrong information being transferred to the document. We have even heard reports of document editors using clauses they don t fully understand or including archaic wording in new documents. Fix it with HotDocs Using HotDocs gives you control over your content by allowing you to standardise the recurring elements that feature throughout your documents. By creating HotDocs templates you can mitigate the need for copying and pasting entirely, removing the risk of errors in your new document. 16

18 7. Relying on Macros for lengthy and complex documents 17

19 If you are not familiar with Word Macros, they are a series of instructions that you group together as a single command to accomplish frequently used tasks automatically. Some typical uses for Macros are: To speed up routine editing and formatting To combine multiple commands for example, to insert a table with a specific size and borders, and with a specific number of rows and columns To make an option in a dialog box more accessible To automate a series of tasks Word Macros can be divided into two groups simple keystroke Macros and conditional Macros, or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). They are extensions to Microsoft Word, however, some companies use Macros to build document assembly templates, a task that Macros are not well suited to. Macros are not designed specifically for document assembly and, consequently, do not include all of the scripting tools necessary to quickly build logic into a document. One of the key problems with using Macros for document assembly has to do with data gathering and how information is displayed. Using Macros makes conditional formatting difficult and tends to dump data, such as whole paragraphs or number values, into the document. Because of this your Macros provide little control over your documents, meaning you will find it difficult to break up the content in document into reusable sections for other documents. 18

20 Fix it with HotDocs Word Macros, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), or Visual Studio for Applications (VSTO) are useful for automating frequently used tasks in documents but are not designed specifically for automating document production. Consequently, none of these tools include the basic functionality that is absolutely necessary for enterprise-grade document assembly. With HotDocs you can create computational components and reuse these components any number of times in any number of different text or graphical templates. However, if the business rules determining the result of the script changed, you only have to modify the original HotDocs component to produce the correct result based on the new rules. Then, wherever the component is used, it will provide the correct result. In other words, instead of updating dozens or even hundreds of files, you only have to update one. 19

21 How do you manage the production of your documents? Get Involved in the Discussion. The sins mentioned in this ebook were gleaned from customers, who told us how they produced customised documentation before they implemented HotDocs. If there are any tactics you use that we didn t mention, why not get in touch to tell us about it? To get involved, there s a post on our blog that announces this ebook; please visit the page and let us know how you manage the production of your documents in the comments section. Alternatively, visit our Facebook page and let us know how you manage and produce your documents. If you would like to find out more about how you can use HotDocs in your business, schedule a demo or get in touch. Schedule a Demo Get in Touch