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The most common question I receive is "Why not just use a Wiki?". Well, the Op Doc Wizard is very similar to a Wiki and, in fact, evolved from a Wiki concept. The quick and short answer is that, although Wikis are a great start for process documentation, they are often difficult to manage with respect to document versioning, reviews, authorship responsibilities, process compliance, and innovation. The Op Doc Wizard addresses all of these issues and more without complicating the process. There are several very important features of the Op Doc Wizard that makes it much more than a Wiki, namely:
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The Op Doc Wizard allows different versions of the same document to co-exist simultaneously so that an Approved version may still be used for reference while an In Development revision is visible and being modified by one or more users. What this means is that a document can be checked out by someone for editing or review while others can still see the changes as the document progress, make comments, tag it, and learn from it. "In Development" versions are clearly flagged as "In Development", though, so they are not confused with management approved versions.
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The system allows the assignment of job positions to op docs so that, as members of an organization filter in and out, the documents are always associated with the correct positions, rather than users themselves. Additionally, assigning positions to op docs creates a convenient way to find all op docs that affect an individual quickly and efficiently without spending time flipping through employee manuals or performing unnecessary searches. Users also receive notifications, by default, whenever comments or changes are posted to any op docs assigned to their position - everybody stays in the loop all of the time!
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The interaction of employees or organization members can be made as structured or as unstructured as best suits the organization. Users may be assigned different roles such as being able to only view op docs, or suggest and modify documents, or create, edit, approve, delete and obsolete documents.
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The Op Doc Wizard enables users to "Tag" op docs with words or phrases that make sense to them. Think Digg for your company documents. Tags save time by making op docs more accessible than the content, title or purpose may naturally suggest.
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The system provides an easy, yet powerful, document search which can discover op docs through words in the titles, purposes, bodies, tags or positions. If users are more used to using op doc numbers, they can also jump right to documents by number.
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Users can add custom comments to different revisions of an op doc to suggest modifications, suggest related topics and documents, question aspects of the document or any other number of reasons. At the end of the day, comments help keep reviewers and other users aware of items that might need to be addressed, changed or just helpful hints regarding the processes.
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Review dates can be attached to op docs to ensure that processes are regularly reviewed and kept relevant. By using a consistent review mechanism, documents are kept fresh and relevant with minimal cost. Ultimately, having the most up-to-date versions of your processes documented helps ensure higher efficiency and lower frequencies of errors and omissions.
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The new Compliance feature allows administrators to track who has read and accepted the procedures described in op docs. Approved op focs requiring a user's compliance are clearly listed on the user's dashboard. Administrators can also send out automated email messages reminding users when op docs are not complied with.
To sum up, a Wiki is a great start to documenting business processes, policies, and other information, but most solutions fall short of the power of the Op Doc Wizard to build knowledge bases while also spurring and facilitating collaboration and innovation.
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