How to Select a New Documentation System for Your Business

Documentation has the power to unlock the true potential of an organization by providing efficient storage and retrieval of critical information. With the right documentation system, you can overcome human error, improve easy access to information, eliminate time waste and more.

However, choosing the right documentation system requires some careful consideration. Although every company has its own unique requirements, we can provide you with some vital tips to help you choose the right solution for your business. In this blog, we’ll explore the different factors to be considered when selecting a new documentation system.

Use this handy checklist to determine the right documentation solution for your business.

Define Your Strategy

The key to choosing the right documentation solution starts with defining your strategy. You need to identify clear objectives first and ensure they are built into your workflow automation strategy from the beginning.

Your automation strategy should not be a random process. There should be a definite reason behind your need for automation. Every process that you automate should contribute to at least one of the following:

• Reducing costs
• Increasing efficiency
• Enhancing profitability
• Facilitating growth

Once you have set your objectives, you need to conduct an in-house audit to determine where your attention is needed the most. Identify areas with broken workflows or areas where resources are utilized too much. Determine how these processes can be enhanced with automated documentation.

After identifying the processes that need to be enhanced, you need to turn your dream scenario into reality by writing it down. Involve your team in the process and get their feedback. Don’t rule anything out. At the rate at which technology is evolving, you will be pleasantly surprised to find a solution that meets all your needs.

Do the Groundwork

This is where the real work begins. This step should not be underestimated since it plays a crucial role in helping you make an informed decision when choosing the right solution.

You need to check with your peers about their experiences, seek their advice and ensure you sift through plenty of vendors and options. Build a project plan and proposal that will address the following:

• Who will take care of the ins and outs of the project?
• Who will be responsible for the implementation and go live?
• Who will be informing customers of process changes that may affect them and the service they receive?
• How are they going to do it and what are their timescales?

By finding answers to these questions, you can ascertain whether the project and outcomes are actually feasible within your organization. These research findings must be shared with your team in a well-planned meeting and their feedback must be obtained.

It is worth considering the collective input of your team. However, when it comes to making the actual decision, there should be one key individual leading the process who must also be responsible for delivery and standards from start to finish. This step is crucial because automation projects often fail when teams fail to identify a single project leader to lead the process.

Select a Solution

Once you have done the required groundwork, it is time to select the right solution. To do this the right way, you must make sure you have a solid understanding of the integrations that are available to you and how these will impact the wider business. You also need to consult with your vendors and discuss how they plan on approaching automation.

Choosing a solution purely based on price is not a good idea. What you must focus on is the value you derive from a solution. In most cases, price and functionality go hand in hand. You must also exercise caution and not get carried away by big-name brands. You need to choose a vendor that understands your business, size and makeup.

When choosing a solution, you need to think about the future rather than focusing only on your existing requirements. Check with your vendor about the product roadmap and how they see the solution transitioning to meet evolving documentation requirements. Find out about your vendor partner’s focus on research & development (R&D) and discuss any future portfolio releases that could complement your setup.

Salespeople should be able to have an in-depth discussion with you about how their solution will grow with your business. Ask them for their opinions and utilize their experience of working with your peers on similar projects. This will help you get some new ideas.

Use our IT Documentation Buyer’s Guide to know everything about choosing the right documentation solution.

Robust Documentation With IT Glue

Centralized documentation can help you accomplish great things by boosting efficiency in your workflow. IT Glue is a purpose-built documentation solution for all IT professionals. Our solution can help you automate the entire documentation process with integrations and open API. With this robust tool, all your mission-critical information can be easily accessed at any time.

IT Glue’s SOC 2-compliant documentation platform features an immutable audit trail, multifactor authentication and next-generation password management engine, all of which are fully integrated and linked with all your documentation.

Watch our webinar “Mastering IT Documentation” to learn more about implementing a new documentation system successfully.

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