docuShare version 6’ capability assessment
Thursday, June 7, 2007
DocuShare is web-based software application that delivers content management and help knowledge workers to maximize their working and support knowledge sharing. DocuShare adopt the Enterprise content management application to help organization deal with a huge number of documents. DocuShare products offer document management and image capture, support organization web-Blog and Wikis, flexible user access and security, integration imaging and scanning devices, and enterprise scalability. Furthermore, DocuShare also can capture scanning images and deliver through e-mail. The docushare product that been assess here is docushare version 6, the assessment based on the Xerox docushare official website and docushare tutorial in Monash University website.
In general, this product can widely use in all size of the organizations. The bigger the organization the more recommended to use this record and document system, and DocuShare offer many facilities that needed by those big organisations . However, for small organization they still can use this system but it will cost a lot of money since their record and document transaction is not as busy as the big organization. DocuShare also support document routine activities in all formats such as MS office, HTML, PDF, JPG, GIF, and many more. This application is equipped with online help that will help user to operate it.
In my opinion this system is very user friendly, even though a user needs to use it many times to recognize and remember how to operate the system. For instance, a user should remember how to change the document and change access or how to store the document in the right place. It is quite easy when we try to add collection, document, calendar, bulletin board or URL as well as when we would like to edit the collection or document position, name, and even renew it without losing the old document. We also can determine how many times we can renew document without delete the old one. For example, if we decide 4 times, it means that after the document had been renewed fourth times, the first old document will automatically deleted.
The user interface of DocuShare is easy to understand, the menu position is in the top of the page. There also many icons that been used but we can recognize what the icon is after we put the thumb nail in the symbol and then there is a description about what the symbol function is. For example, ‘lock’ icon mean that the document is lock, ‘file folder’ icon for collection, ‘note and pencil’ icon for properties, and so on.
Item captures ability. DocuShare can capture different item type such as files, document, emails, facsimiles, images, plans, and drawings. Once item had been captured, they will be given a name, identifier, and a unique number. This unique number is automated arranged on sequential order. The latest document has position on the top of page, however the collection is arrange by alphabetical order, and if there is a new collection they will be given a ‘new’ icon in the collection’ name. Those documents can be duplicated but they have different unique number. We can give the collection and document with the same name and even content, but they can not have the same unique number. This is one of weakness of DocuShare, if we search document or collection by name there will appears more than one item that have the same name.
The most powerful feature of DocuShare is when capturing the scanned image, DocuShare able to scann 350 documents in one minute, and directly locate those documents to particular collection. The more advance of this application is DocuShare able to send the scanning images directly through email and stored in the desirable places. (http://docushare.xerox.com/products/docushare.html). The scanned view is in PDF format and can be printed without adjust the paper size.
Another important strength of docushare is in security and user access. DocuShare provides enterprise-wide access control, in this case the administrator has a control for the entire document environment in the enterprise, such as the content publication and distribution, give limitation to user for access to particular document, secure content contribution, and implementation and definition process. DocuShare also allow up to four multiple distinct access level to different user. This is very helpful to avoid people who do not have authority to access particular document.
DocuShare provides search box for document enquiries. There two types of searching, first is basic search where user who has authorized can type any keyword of the document in a particular collection or in all collections. Second, the advanced search, in this search box there some criteria that should we type to constraint the search result. The advanced search box contain of keywords, the collection place, the document type, object type, the search result limitation, and arrange result by order such as title, date, and type. There is no indication that we can use bolean logic in document search, but through the advance search engine can search multiple item type in one search.
According to DocuShare assessment in online tutorial, I hardly found any information about item disposal. However, I assume that disposal process is been scheduled by the people who has authority, and Docushare provide that function based on organization requirement.
Overall, DocuShare is a recomended and reliable web-based application system with many functions, and very helpful to manage document in any format for all size of organization. DocuShare also emphases their application in capturing any format, and provides advance security and various user accesses. So the organization can secure their document and support their knowledge worker to gain the ultimate productivity.
Word count 927
References:
http://docushare.xerox.com/products/docushare.html
http://km-svr.sims.monash.edu.au:15080/docushare/
en_US/help/user/tutorial/html/User_Tutorial.htm
Posted by noah 1:47 PM
Labels: recordkeeping system
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