WHAT YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO WHEN CHOOSING A DOCUMENTATION TOOL

Shortly after 10 a.m. in the office, now wide awake from a Caffè Doppio, the first task of the day begins: Transfering notes of your bi-weekly marketing meeting from Google Docs to Excel for evaluation. The corresponding photo material is on a stick and further information is available in your notes app and on various post-its. In addition, a colleague has recorded further input on paper, which should be included in the evaluation. It’s a chaotic overload of material, which now has to be sorted, after all, proper documentation is half the battle.

For quite some time now, documentation no longer has to consist of such a multitude of information carriers. Modern documentation tools facilitate documentation tasks in many industries. This saves time and money and makes documentation more efficient — the rescue from the daily flood of information.

What makes a good documentation tool?

Companies that want to use a tool for documentation hope for one thing above all else: more structure, better access to information, and significant cost and time savings. In the following we have compiled the most important functions that a useful logging application should have:

I Constant updating

Your tool should enable you and your team to continuously update outdated documents and systems. The best way to do this is through individual accesses for individual employees, which form a large network and overall construct. The documentation tool allows individual access to the collected information and at the same time automatically generates reports and analyses that allow you to immediately identify and track certain trends.

II Structure and facilitate paths

Ease of use is an important fitness criterion, because your employees should not be afraid to use the functions provided to them, even if not everyone has to deal with them every day. Good documentation by the tool means that the structure of the information is easy to overview and the goal is achieved with a few clicks. In this respect, the search function of digital tools in particular proves to be efficient and time-saving.

III Use at any time

Depending on the industry, a mobile tool to which you and your team have access at any time, even offline, is an important factor for truthful and detailed logging of observations.

IV Create communication channels

After all, a documentation application is most effective when it offers action possibilities to many connected persons without waiting time. To do this, the tool should be able to delegate tasks, instruct corrective actions and track the execution of the work.

In 3 steps to the right documentation tool

After you’ve learned the key features of a helpful documentation tool, it’s time to find the right digital solution for your business. Our 3-step guide will help you get started and implement such a tool in your company.

1. Define your requirements

First think about what is documented by whom and for what purpose. Determine what you want to achieve or maintain using the tool. Define your company’s unique documentation application requirements, taking into account the company structure, locations, product, and other aspects.

2. Start implementing

It is very likely that not every team member is convinced of the new application at first go, the rule here is learning by doing. You don’t have to convince each individual with individual presentations of the product. Set a good example and implement it in daily, common processes, integrate your employees and offer support if necessary. A user-friendly documentation tool should be ready for immediate use and should be expanded and improved step by step and through the input of colleagues.

3. Keep an overview

It is also important with a documentation tool to keep track of the flood of information. For this purpose, areas should be clearly defined and separated from each other. Obsolete structures should be gradually removed from the system to avoid ambiguities and errors. The digital application makes it easier for you to regularly check the status of ongoing projects and to control whether assigned corrective actions are completed or edited.

Are you convinced that a documentation tool could also help you and your team in your daily work? Or are you currently looking for a suitable digital solution for your company? Click the Link to find more information about how Lumiform’s powerful mobile documentation tool as software and app can help you.