Are your customers satisfied? Are they happy with what you offer? For all your customer insight and information needs sign up for our customer surveys. Can you take a chance with customer dissatisfaction? Never. Design your customer satisfaction survey using our satisfaction survey software and gain their loyalty and confidence by tailoring your product or service. Customer is the king, service them better using satisfaction surveys and they would never leave you!
Sign up now and make your survey in minutes!
Customer drives business. And it's equally true that understanding customer is complex and there are no quick fix formulae to get an insight into customer mind. Customer surveys are the best way of accessing customer and laying a firm base for business. Customer loyalty is fragile so you better "handle it with care". One miss can have snowballing affect and regaining lost ground may be an expensive proposition. So why not just sign up for our customer satisfaction survey and rest assured of growth and business. This will give you information on aspects as quality, service, product features, concerns etc.
A few key features satisfaction survey software:
• Customized
• Date protection and safety
• Tailored questionnaire , focused questions
• Analysis tools as graphs, tallies etc.
• Satisfaction survey report can be customized.
• Support services
The benefits you could look to get include:
• Customer retention
• Exact needs, likes can be known
• Decrease dissatisfaction. It's not easy to regain loyalty.
• Gather ideas for innovations
• SWOT analysis
• Focus efforts correctly
• Analyzing using a customer satisfaction survey.
• Forewarned is forearmed!
As you can see satisfaction survey software is a very powerful tool that can launch many important decisions. The beauty of it is it allows you to customize the complete survey. The results are relevant, significant and accurate. The customer has option to opt out. But they have answered, which means they are very supportive of the brand so response to satisfaction survey feedback can translate into exponential growth figures. So you are a winner all the way with such a tool!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
PDF Converter
A Portable Document Format is a computer application with which a user can prepare a number of documents on several types of subjects. These file formats are useful and widely accepted across the globe due to its advanced features. Most of the documents are prepared and presented in this format. It is used for preparing legal copies, resumes, memos, tables, reports and much more. It is replete with advanced attributes and saves time and energy. The document enables a user to improve on his work productivity and efficiency. This helps you in meeting industry standards while delivering the work productivity.
In the daily activities of organization, you need to prepare many types of documents. A person may receive files in Word file or Excel. For instance, you have received annual report in Word file format for your review. One can review and make the necessary changes in the Word format. The Portable Document Format is an application in which such reports appear attractive and professional. You can convert word to PDF by using PDF converter tools. These tools are available online with which you can create PDF documents out of any format. They are computer programs with which you can insert headers, tables, different shapes, images, colored fonts or footers in the file. One of the advantages of using these converter tools is that they eliminate cumbersome paperwork. The paper files need to be maintained as they can face the wear and tear problem. There are some advanced programs that can even merge or split the documents. At times you may receive a lengthy file which may become difficult to manage. In such cases, you can divide such a lengthy PDF file into two or more files. You may also prepare separate documents and while preparing a report you can merge these separate files together. One can merge the files using the computer programs. It is feasible to create Portable Document Format out of any other application such as Excel, Word, Power Point or Postscript.
A person can even prepare labels, resumes, letterheads, business letters, newsletters and much more by effectively using the converter tools.
In the daily activities of organization, you need to prepare many types of documents. A person may receive files in Word file or Excel. For instance, you have received annual report in Word file format for your review. One can review and make the necessary changes in the Word format. The Portable Document Format is an application in which such reports appear attractive and professional. You can convert word to PDF by using PDF converter tools. These tools are available online with which you can create PDF documents out of any format. They are computer programs with which you can insert headers, tables, different shapes, images, colored fonts or footers in the file. One of the advantages of using these converter tools is that they eliminate cumbersome paperwork. The paper files need to be maintained as they can face the wear and tear problem. There are some advanced programs that can even merge or split the documents. At times you may receive a lengthy file which may become difficult to manage. In such cases, you can divide such a lengthy PDF file into two or more files. You may also prepare separate documents and while preparing a report you can merge these separate files together. One can merge the files using the computer programs. It is feasible to create Portable Document Format out of any other application such as Excel, Word, Power Point or Postscript.
A person can even prepare labels, resumes, letterheads, business letters, newsletters and much more by effectively using the converter tools.
EDB Database
Microsoft Exchange Server administrators come across various Exchange database related errors on a regular basis. Often these error messages make the life of these administrators miserable. Situations become serious when administrators come on the verge of huge amount of data loss. The data loss situations are often faced by administrators when the Exchange Server database (EDB) file gets corrupt.
An EDB file gets damaged due to various reasons such as improper server shutdown, malicious virus, physical damage of storage media etc. At times, when Exchange Server database file gets damaged, MS Outlook cannot access user's email, calendars etc from it which further makes the situation difficult to handle. Additionally, the communication amongst the users is on a halt, which may also lead to delay in timely projects as information related to the projects cannot be shared. At this point of time, one big question for administrator is how they will restart communication as early as possible. Because to restart the information sharing and communication, administrators need to repair exchange database and rebuild the Exchange database which might result in data loss.
Corrupt Exchange server database stops and fails to mount. However, you can repair Exchange database using eseutil utility to perform Exchange database repair. If this utility fails too, then you will be compelled to utilize the latest updated backup copy available or repair Exchange database with an EDB repair software. For example, you might come across an error message given below dealing with Microsoft Exchange Server:
"Database page read failed verification because of no page data."
This situation further suggests you to move the existing Exchange Server database to a new hardware. The error is logged with event 376 in application event log. The above mentioned error clearly depicts that the database read operation has failed. Now the causes behind the occurrence of this error message are mentioned below:
Specific Database page that has been referenced within the database file is supposed to be in use, but Exchange finds it empty or uninitialized.
The page might have failed its checksum test with error-1018. But if the page number field that is in use is 0x00000000, the checksum failed page will show -1019 error instead.
File is corrupt and as a result, it maps some pages into database file that are not associated with it.
Logical links or pointers between database pages are incorrect
Event 476 can also be related to -1018 error that indicates checksum mismatch and is caused generally due to hardware issues. Check your system for related hardware issues if the database corruption persists. Replace the hardware and upgrade your firmware and /or disk controller if needed. However, to repair Exchange database, you can run eseutil/p command which is a hard recovery option in Exchange database. But it is recommended that you use Exchange database repair third party tool to repair EDB files without causing any damage to database content, metadata or structure.
Author of the article has expertise in the field of data recovery software, email recovery, email migration, hard drive recovery and password recovery. The entire range of his articles is information-rich and useful for dealing with data recovery issues and finding suitable solution.
An EDB file gets damaged due to various reasons such as improper server shutdown, malicious virus, physical damage of storage media etc. At times, when Exchange Server database file gets damaged, MS Outlook cannot access user's email, calendars etc from it which further makes the situation difficult to handle. Additionally, the communication amongst the users is on a halt, which may also lead to delay in timely projects as information related to the projects cannot be shared. At this point of time, one big question for administrator is how they will restart communication as early as possible. Because to restart the information sharing and communication, administrators need to repair exchange database and rebuild the Exchange database which might result in data loss.
Corrupt Exchange server database stops and fails to mount. However, you can repair Exchange database using eseutil utility to perform Exchange database repair. If this utility fails too, then you will be compelled to utilize the latest updated backup copy available or repair Exchange database with an EDB repair software. For example, you might come across an error message given below dealing with Microsoft Exchange Server:
"Database page read failed verification because of no page data."
This situation further suggests you to move the existing Exchange Server database to a new hardware. The error is logged with event 376 in application event log. The above mentioned error clearly depicts that the database read operation has failed. Now the causes behind the occurrence of this error message are mentioned below:
Specific Database page that has been referenced within the database file is supposed to be in use, but Exchange finds it empty or uninitialized.
The page might have failed its checksum test with error-1018. But if the page number field that is in use is 0x00000000, the checksum failed page will show -1019 error instead.
File is corrupt and as a result, it maps some pages into database file that are not associated with it.
Logical links or pointers between database pages are incorrect
Event 476 can also be related to -1018 error that indicates checksum mismatch and is caused generally due to hardware issues. Check your system for related hardware issues if the database corruption persists. Replace the hardware and upgrade your firmware and /or disk controller if needed. However, to repair Exchange database, you can run eseutil/p command which is a hard recovery option in Exchange database. But it is recommended that you use Exchange database repair third party tool to repair EDB files without causing any damage to database content, metadata or structure.
Author of the article has expertise in the field of data recovery software, email recovery, email migration, hard drive recovery and password recovery. The entire range of his articles is information-rich and useful for dealing with data recovery issues and finding suitable solution.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Email Address Book
If you use Windows Mail or any email program there is likely to be an Address Book that you can use to store the contact details and information of your family, friends and business associates. The Address Book feature saves you time as it enables you to organise your contacts in a logical and systematic way. However, the Address Book feature is often underutilized with many people not fully aware of the time saving benefits that can be derived from using it. Some people avoid using it because they feel it is quite complicated to use. However, the Address Book feature is very easy to use with a little practice.
If you want to make the most of the Address Book feature then follow these steps:
Step One
Begin by opening Windows mail or Outlook Express and click on the Contacts button. By doing this the Contacts window will appear on your screen. Then with your mouse double click a contact that you want to add information to.
Step Two
The properties box will appear. On the top task bar will a number of tabs that will enable you to enter different contact information. A brief description of each tab is as follows:
• Name and E-mail: This is the most two most important pieces information that you need to create a contact. In this tab you can enter the person's name and e-mail address
• Home: In this tab you enter the persons personal contact information that includes their home address, fax, telephone and mobile numbers. You can also type in their website or blog address if they have one.
• Work: If you have business partners, associates or contacts you can input information about their company or the company they work for. This will include information such as their job title and business telephone and fax number. There is even the option to include a map that shows the location of their business address. This is a very useful feature in finding the location when you have a meeting at the location.
• Family: In this tab you can enter all the names and contacts of your immediate and extended family members. You can go into detail to include the gender and even anniversaries and birthdays so you do not forget these important dates.
• Notes: With this tab you have a facility to enter any relevant or useful notes.
• IDs: This tab relates to security while you are communicating with any of your contacts. Also known as Digital IDs their purpose is to ensure security is not breached. Digital IDs enable you to authenticate the identity of the person you are communicating with. If you have been provided with an ID by someone then you can store their ID details so that you can verify these when you open up a communication with that particular contact.
• When you have finished adding the relevant contact information you click on the OK button and save the changes and close the window.
If you want to make the most of the Address Book feature then follow these steps:
Step One
Begin by opening Windows mail or Outlook Express and click on the Contacts button. By doing this the Contacts window will appear on your screen. Then with your mouse double click a contact that you want to add information to.
Step Two
The properties box will appear. On the top task bar will a number of tabs that will enable you to enter different contact information. A brief description of each tab is as follows:
• Name and E-mail: This is the most two most important pieces information that you need to create a contact. In this tab you can enter the person's name and e-mail address
• Home: In this tab you enter the persons personal contact information that includes their home address, fax, telephone and mobile numbers. You can also type in their website or blog address if they have one.
• Work: If you have business partners, associates or contacts you can input information about their company or the company they work for. This will include information such as their job title and business telephone and fax number. There is even the option to include a map that shows the location of their business address. This is a very useful feature in finding the location when you have a meeting at the location.
• Family: In this tab you can enter all the names and contacts of your immediate and extended family members. You can go into detail to include the gender and even anniversaries and birthdays so you do not forget these important dates.
• Notes: With this tab you have a facility to enter any relevant or useful notes.
• IDs: This tab relates to security while you are communicating with any of your contacts. Also known as Digital IDs their purpose is to ensure security is not breached. Digital IDs enable you to authenticate the identity of the person you are communicating with. If you have been provided with an ID by someone then you can store their ID details so that you can verify these when you open up a communication with that particular contact.
• When you have finished adding the relevant contact information you click on the OK button and save the changes and close the window.
Management Software
Latest-generation Outlook Integration technology, employed by the top case management systems, takes the issue of "user adoption" by attorneys and effectively removes the barriers that commonly impede the capturing and sharing of critical data across the firm. Today's systems are easy-to-use, seamless and allow attorneys to continue working in the environment where they already spend a large portion of their time - in Microsoft Outlook.
In the past (and in some cases even today) developers of these systems have attempted to "push a large rock up a steep hill" by insisting that lawyers log into an entirely new interface in order to participate in the system. User adoption struggles as law firms investing in these systems find attorneys are reluctant to embrace new processes that go against the way they are already accustomed to working.
Innovators in legal technology acknowledged that there must be a better way, and have focused on designing "smart" case management tools that integrate tightly with the Microsoft Office suite. By deploying a stealth approach to collecting case and matter data that seamlessly fits the way attorneys work, these technology leaders have succeeded in tailoring their systems to the natural daily workflow of today's law office.
As a result, the industry has seen an increase in user adoption, as well as a significant improvement in the success rate of legal case management implementations.
The Lawyer's Outlook - A History
According to ILTA's 2009 Technology Survey, 94% of law firms are now using Microsoft Outlook/Exchange as their primary email platform. In a legal industry once dominated by Novell's GroupWise and, to a lesser extent, Lotus Notes, it is by no means a stretch to declare Microsoft Office as the de facto "standard" among personal information managers.
By positioning itself as the market leader in productivity software, Microsoft has become an attractive choice for IT Directors for a variety of reasons. The user interface is familiar and intuitive to many, helping to control training time and cost. Outlook and Exchange work very well together, cutting down on IT involvement in configuration. Outlook 2007 raises the bar with regards to organization of Email, Contacts and Calendar, making it easier to organize and delegate. And, despite Microsoft's reputation on the issue, Outlook 2007 includes strong security abilities and features.
So what is the advantage of Outlook to a law firm, as opposed to an accounting or an engineering firm? Out-of-the box, there really isn't much of an advantage, nor should there be. It has never been a part of Microsoft's business philosophy to develop versions of Outlook that meet the needs of individual vertical markets such as legal.
Instead, Microsoft chooses to release broad-based applications that meet the needs of organizations across the board, while relying on their partners to develop the add-in functionality to help fine-tune it to the needs of industry-specific organizations such as law practices. It is a testament to Microsoft and their engineering that they have built an application such as Outlook that has such a high degree of applicability across so many individual markets, and that it was built on an open architecture that allows legal technology partners to embed case management technology which enables the software to perform functions directly suited to a legal practice.
The rise of Microsoft Office in law firms has not gone unnoticed by developers of legal case management systems. In fact, those companies leading the charge would likely agree that the most important component of any case management system is its ability to integrate with Outlook and the Microsoft Office suite. While it is estimated that attorneys and their staff spend greater than 70% of their workday with Outlook open on their workstation or within their mobile device, case management companies continue to develop integration technologies that allow users to work as much as possible within this environment in which they have grown accustomed.
Outlook Integration -- defined
At its most basic level, Outlook Integration refers to a case management system's ability to automatically transfer information back and forth seamlessly between a case management system (CMS). A good system that has been tightly integrated with Microsoft standards will offer bi-directional synchronization, meaning that if an attorney or paralegal enters an appointment in Outlook, it will automatically be updated within the CMS and vice-versa. This is referred to as one-time entry.
Now considered to be in its fourth generation, CMS/Outlook Integration technology has gotten stronger and stronger, with the best systems representing a true "Outlook client". The current generation focuses on ease-of-use, allowing for a seamless user experience. The beauty of these systems lies in the capture of data via day-to-day workflow, allowing users to build the case information database while eliminating redundant data entry into separate systems. Case-related information is aggregated in one centralized database for answers to questions.
By allowing attorneys to remain in the Microsoft environment, law firms can avoid the burden of requiring them to learn an entirely new set of commands. The result is a higher overall rate of adoption and sharp improvement in the firm-wide sharing and organization of critical case and matter data.
Now let's take a closer look at the four main functions of Outlook that are essential to any legal organization: Email, Calendaring, Contacts and Tasks.
Email: It is not uncommon for attorneys to receive upwards of 250 emails in a single day, and law firms continually struggle with how to handle the volume. If you talk to an IT Director at any law firm, they are in a constant struggle with the sheer size of the Exchange database as it builds up. By being able to take data and make it available to everyone involved in the case, and not just the attorney who has access to that inbox, you're able to make true collaboration possible on cases and matters. That is where the case management system
comes in.
When users send or receive an email message, they have the ability to "associate" the message to a case or matter. Without this association, an attorney may be able to see his/her personal emails, but there would be no way to share that message across the office or to get a "case perspective" view of all emails associated to that case or matter. Associated emails are then transferred from Exchange to MS SQL database records, becoming part of the integrated case management information.
Documents attached to emails have also presented enormous challenges for law practices struggling with organizing mountains of information. A good case management system addresses this issue by prompting users to store the document within a case file.
Another major issue with email involves time capture, which will be explored later in this document.
Calendaring: Perhaps the single most important function for attorneys is the Calendar, which allows them to schedule appointments, manage activities, review available time and invite others to meetings. Especially important with today's reliance on mobility is the ability to synchronize calendars with a handheld mobile device such as a Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Mobile devices.
CMS integration with the Outlook Calendaring module is highly beneficial, as it is in email. Calendar entries associated with a case or matter create the foundation for a firm's docketing system. Outlook Integration means once appointments are associated, the firm can access a case perspective and generate
docketing reports.
Contacts: The Outlook card file is the modern day "Rolodex" for law firms, the place where lawyers, paralegals and secretaries enter all client-related data. Without Outlook integration with a CMS, each individual's card file becomes an island of important contact information that cannot be shared with anyone else in the firm. Duplicate card files, with varying degrees of accurate contact information, will exist across the firm. And if a contact's information needs to be updated, it can only be updated one card file at a time.
CMS companies overcome these issues by creating a firm-wide "related party database". When a contact's phone number or email address is updated within the master database, the change is reflected in every user's card file, so everyone has the most up-to-date contact information for each client.
Outlook Integration gives users the ability to organize contacts by party type or categories (plaintiff, defendant, etc.). Users can associate the party with one or more cases, giving administrators the opportunity to search the system to easily identify parties associated with certain cases or matters, and the ability to establish the relationship each party has to a case. In addition, once that information is captured, a good case management system will automatically conduct a conflict of interest search.
Tasks: Law offices use Outlook tools to create To Do items or packages for all lawyers and support staff assigned to a case or matter. Today's case management systems allow To Do management (also referred to as tasks, ticklers or critical date reminders) to be fully integrated with appointments, documents and other components of the system. With Outlook Integration, law offices have the have the ability to manage To Do items for individual, group, practice area or firm-wide reporting.
Piecemeal vs. the Real Deal
An all too common scenario still seen in some law firms today is the insistence to forego a CMS in favor of an inadequate combination of Outlook, Word and a document management application. Such a system leaves too many holes in the process.
Outlook and Word are excellent programs, but they are not designed as "collaboration" tools. And document management systems, once a good step for law firms, only provide a fraction of the benefits offered by a good case management system.
These systems also do not allow you the ability to assign workflow or to create standardized processes and procedures to follow.
In short, Outlook is a great "personal" information manager, and it does a great job of expressing everything that is going on in the workday of the individual professional. Where it falls short is being able to provide the "big picture" of what is going on in the firm.
Embedded case management technology into the Microsoft Outlook environment allows firm management to truly get the big picture - what people are doing, when they're doing it, where they're going to be and what the resources are so they can make adjustments in overall scheduling. That's a piece that Outlook alone doesn't bring to the table, and that's also the component that allows even the most disorganized law office to become an efficient and collaborative organization.
What Every Lawyer Wants to Know (and Isn't Afraid to Ask)
We've examined some of the benefits of case management/Outlook Integration from a firm perspective. So how do you answer the question "what's in it for me?" ("Me" referring to those individuals whose input is most essential to the success of any CMS - the Lawyers)
A case management system allows attorneys to better leverage all of the resources that are available to them within the firm. An associate, for example, may be able to lend a hand by helping to cover some important agenda items, but only if they have access to the necessary information. If an attorney is out of the office and a client calls with a request, someone else within the firm would be able to easily access the case or matter information via the case management system and quickly fill the request. In the past, such client requests could possibly take 2-3 days to fulfill. This type of response can help relieve stress, as well as go a long way towards increasing client satisfaction.
Case management systems give attorneys reminders in a wide range of instances such as case activities, time capture, etc. These systems serve to make an attorney's life a little easier and a little less stressful. They can also be credited with helping to give attorneys an improved quality of life and better control over what's going on around them, in addition to increased billings. This all adds up to a potent combination for law firms to capitalize on.
Furthermore, finding of case and matter-related information is greatly improved. Attorneys quite often need to find something and find it quickly. Search functions allow attorneys to find things very quickly without having to comb through folders and subfolders on the network.
If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em
Microsoft Office 2007 represented a major redesign that offered a very intuitive user interface. At the same time, top CMS developers are focusing their resources on increasing "user adoption" of their products, mainly by making their use as seamless as possible.
In fact, many active contributors to case management within the firm (attorneys for the most part) almost never enter the case management environment, remaining instead within the Microsoft Office environment all day. The name of the game here is comfort - allowing users to stay in the environment they are comfortable in (Microsoft Office) while remaining active contributors to the data collected within the case database.
By focusing efforts on creating as seamless an experience as possible, CMS developers avoid a "changing of the culture" and instead, follow the path of least resistance by allowing these users to continue working in the environment they choose. This trend is likely to continue in future generations of case management.
If a Tree Falls in the Forrest...
Or, put another way, if an attorney spends 10 minutes drafting an email response to a client inquiry and doesn't immediately enter his/her time into the time entry system, will it be billed? The answer to this is, all too often, no.
At the base level, any good case management system should have the ability to prompt timekeepers for time entries when they initiate or complete certain types of tasks or events. Don't' even waste your time looking at a system that can't do that.
Many firms who successfully implement such systems see the biggest increase in billable time occur in their Outlook email. Many of attorneys are still not billing for their email time, and this represents a huge loss in billing potential for any law firm.
Let's look at it from a workflow perspective. A legal assistant creates a document from an attorney's dictation. The assistant clicks a button and sends it back with note saying "I need you to review this." The document shows up in the attorney's review queue. The attorney reviews it, annotates it and saves it as a new version, all within the case management environment. Then the review is marked complete.
Two things happen: 1) the assistant is promptly notified that the document has been reviewed, and 2) the attorney gets prompted to make a time entry for his/her efforts. That alone is going to help accommodate for a significant increase in billing. At a secondary level, because the case management system has, or should have, the ability to track all of the activities, the law firm has a nice journal to review during billing to match up those activities with the information that show up on the WIP report for the month.
That is a specific example of how law firms increase their bottom line with a fully integrated CMS. Generally speaking, law firms who implemented such systems have reported an increase in billings on an average of 10-12%, with some firms even reporting much higher percentages. Firms often notice a significant year-over-year increase without any justification in terms of their caseload.
Conclusion...
So what's next? It appears much of the current trends will continue. Outlook isn't going anywhere any time soon. However, the way in which case and matter information is accessed will change. As mentioned earlier, mobile computing continues to be a driving factor in new technology. Giving lawyers the ability to access case management data via their handheld devices is the future, and systems are moving in this direction.
As you can see, the "Outlook" is bright for lawyers and their staff having the ability to collaborate on cases through the use of the case management interface or the Microsoft Office / Outlook system. Lawyer adoption concerns are eliminated because they are already using Outlook. The true benefits will exist for law firms who invest in case management systems that transform it into the Lawyer's Outlook.
In the past (and in some cases even today) developers of these systems have attempted to "push a large rock up a steep hill" by insisting that lawyers log into an entirely new interface in order to participate in the system. User adoption struggles as law firms investing in these systems find attorneys are reluctant to embrace new processes that go against the way they are already accustomed to working.
Innovators in legal technology acknowledged that there must be a better way, and have focused on designing "smart" case management tools that integrate tightly with the Microsoft Office suite. By deploying a stealth approach to collecting case and matter data that seamlessly fits the way attorneys work, these technology leaders have succeeded in tailoring their systems to the natural daily workflow of today's law office.
As a result, the industry has seen an increase in user adoption, as well as a significant improvement in the success rate of legal case management implementations.
The Lawyer's Outlook - A History
According to ILTA's 2009 Technology Survey, 94% of law firms are now using Microsoft Outlook/Exchange as their primary email platform. In a legal industry once dominated by Novell's GroupWise and, to a lesser extent, Lotus Notes, it is by no means a stretch to declare Microsoft Office as the de facto "standard" among personal information managers.
By positioning itself as the market leader in productivity software, Microsoft has become an attractive choice for IT Directors for a variety of reasons. The user interface is familiar and intuitive to many, helping to control training time and cost. Outlook and Exchange work very well together, cutting down on IT involvement in configuration. Outlook 2007 raises the bar with regards to organization of Email, Contacts and Calendar, making it easier to organize and delegate. And, despite Microsoft's reputation on the issue, Outlook 2007 includes strong security abilities and features.
So what is the advantage of Outlook to a law firm, as opposed to an accounting or an engineering firm? Out-of-the box, there really isn't much of an advantage, nor should there be. It has never been a part of Microsoft's business philosophy to develop versions of Outlook that meet the needs of individual vertical markets such as legal.
Instead, Microsoft chooses to release broad-based applications that meet the needs of organizations across the board, while relying on their partners to develop the add-in functionality to help fine-tune it to the needs of industry-specific organizations such as law practices. It is a testament to Microsoft and their engineering that they have built an application such as Outlook that has such a high degree of applicability across so many individual markets, and that it was built on an open architecture that allows legal technology partners to embed case management technology which enables the software to perform functions directly suited to a legal practice.
The rise of Microsoft Office in law firms has not gone unnoticed by developers of legal case management systems. In fact, those companies leading the charge would likely agree that the most important component of any case management system is its ability to integrate with Outlook and the Microsoft Office suite. While it is estimated that attorneys and their staff spend greater than 70% of their workday with Outlook open on their workstation or within their mobile device, case management companies continue to develop integration technologies that allow users to work as much as possible within this environment in which they have grown accustomed.
Outlook Integration -- defined
At its most basic level, Outlook Integration refers to a case management system's ability to automatically transfer information back and forth seamlessly between a case management system (CMS). A good system that has been tightly integrated with Microsoft standards will offer bi-directional synchronization, meaning that if an attorney or paralegal enters an appointment in Outlook, it will automatically be updated within the CMS and vice-versa. This is referred to as one-time entry.
Now considered to be in its fourth generation, CMS/Outlook Integration technology has gotten stronger and stronger, with the best systems representing a true "Outlook client". The current generation focuses on ease-of-use, allowing for a seamless user experience. The beauty of these systems lies in the capture of data via day-to-day workflow, allowing users to build the case information database while eliminating redundant data entry into separate systems. Case-related information is aggregated in one centralized database for answers to questions.
By allowing attorneys to remain in the Microsoft environment, law firms can avoid the burden of requiring them to learn an entirely new set of commands. The result is a higher overall rate of adoption and sharp improvement in the firm-wide sharing and organization of critical case and matter data.
Now let's take a closer look at the four main functions of Outlook that are essential to any legal organization: Email, Calendaring, Contacts and Tasks.
Email: It is not uncommon for attorneys to receive upwards of 250 emails in a single day, and law firms continually struggle with how to handle the volume. If you talk to an IT Director at any law firm, they are in a constant struggle with the sheer size of the Exchange database as it builds up. By being able to take data and make it available to everyone involved in the case, and not just the attorney who has access to that inbox, you're able to make true collaboration possible on cases and matters. That is where the case management system
comes in.
When users send or receive an email message, they have the ability to "associate" the message to a case or matter. Without this association, an attorney may be able to see his/her personal emails, but there would be no way to share that message across the office or to get a "case perspective" view of all emails associated to that case or matter. Associated emails are then transferred from Exchange to MS SQL database records, becoming part of the integrated case management information.
Documents attached to emails have also presented enormous challenges for law practices struggling with organizing mountains of information. A good case management system addresses this issue by prompting users to store the document within a case file.
Another major issue with email involves time capture, which will be explored later in this document.
Calendaring: Perhaps the single most important function for attorneys is the Calendar, which allows them to schedule appointments, manage activities, review available time and invite others to meetings. Especially important with today's reliance on mobility is the ability to synchronize calendars with a handheld mobile device such as a Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Mobile devices.
CMS integration with the Outlook Calendaring module is highly beneficial, as it is in email. Calendar entries associated with a case or matter create the foundation for a firm's docketing system. Outlook Integration means once appointments are associated, the firm can access a case perspective and generate
docketing reports.
Contacts: The Outlook card file is the modern day "Rolodex" for law firms, the place where lawyers, paralegals and secretaries enter all client-related data. Without Outlook integration with a CMS, each individual's card file becomes an island of important contact information that cannot be shared with anyone else in the firm. Duplicate card files, with varying degrees of accurate contact information, will exist across the firm. And if a contact's information needs to be updated, it can only be updated one card file at a time.
CMS companies overcome these issues by creating a firm-wide "related party database". When a contact's phone number or email address is updated within the master database, the change is reflected in every user's card file, so everyone has the most up-to-date contact information for each client.
Outlook Integration gives users the ability to organize contacts by party type or categories (plaintiff, defendant, etc.). Users can associate the party with one or more cases, giving administrators the opportunity to search the system to easily identify parties associated with certain cases or matters, and the ability to establish the relationship each party has to a case. In addition, once that information is captured, a good case management system will automatically conduct a conflict of interest search.
Tasks: Law offices use Outlook tools to create To Do items or packages for all lawyers and support staff assigned to a case or matter. Today's case management systems allow To Do management (also referred to as tasks, ticklers or critical date reminders) to be fully integrated with appointments, documents and other components of the system. With Outlook Integration, law offices have the have the ability to manage To Do items for individual, group, practice area or firm-wide reporting.
Piecemeal vs. the Real Deal
An all too common scenario still seen in some law firms today is the insistence to forego a CMS in favor of an inadequate combination of Outlook, Word and a document management application. Such a system leaves too many holes in the process.
Outlook and Word are excellent programs, but they are not designed as "collaboration" tools. And document management systems, once a good step for law firms, only provide a fraction of the benefits offered by a good case management system.
These systems also do not allow you the ability to assign workflow or to create standardized processes and procedures to follow.
In short, Outlook is a great "personal" information manager, and it does a great job of expressing everything that is going on in the workday of the individual professional. Where it falls short is being able to provide the "big picture" of what is going on in the firm.
Embedded case management technology into the Microsoft Outlook environment allows firm management to truly get the big picture - what people are doing, when they're doing it, where they're going to be and what the resources are so they can make adjustments in overall scheduling. That's a piece that Outlook alone doesn't bring to the table, and that's also the component that allows even the most disorganized law office to become an efficient and collaborative organization.
What Every Lawyer Wants to Know (and Isn't Afraid to Ask)
We've examined some of the benefits of case management/Outlook Integration from a firm perspective. So how do you answer the question "what's in it for me?" ("Me" referring to those individuals whose input is most essential to the success of any CMS - the Lawyers)
A case management system allows attorneys to better leverage all of the resources that are available to them within the firm. An associate, for example, may be able to lend a hand by helping to cover some important agenda items, but only if they have access to the necessary information. If an attorney is out of the office and a client calls with a request, someone else within the firm would be able to easily access the case or matter information via the case management system and quickly fill the request. In the past, such client requests could possibly take 2-3 days to fulfill. This type of response can help relieve stress, as well as go a long way towards increasing client satisfaction.
Case management systems give attorneys reminders in a wide range of instances such as case activities, time capture, etc. These systems serve to make an attorney's life a little easier and a little less stressful. They can also be credited with helping to give attorneys an improved quality of life and better control over what's going on around them, in addition to increased billings. This all adds up to a potent combination for law firms to capitalize on.
Furthermore, finding of case and matter-related information is greatly improved. Attorneys quite often need to find something and find it quickly. Search functions allow attorneys to find things very quickly without having to comb through folders and subfolders on the network.
If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em
Microsoft Office 2007 represented a major redesign that offered a very intuitive user interface. At the same time, top CMS developers are focusing their resources on increasing "user adoption" of their products, mainly by making their use as seamless as possible.
In fact, many active contributors to case management within the firm (attorneys for the most part) almost never enter the case management environment, remaining instead within the Microsoft Office environment all day. The name of the game here is comfort - allowing users to stay in the environment they are comfortable in (Microsoft Office) while remaining active contributors to the data collected within the case database.
By focusing efforts on creating as seamless an experience as possible, CMS developers avoid a "changing of the culture" and instead, follow the path of least resistance by allowing these users to continue working in the environment they choose. This trend is likely to continue in future generations of case management.
If a Tree Falls in the Forrest...
Or, put another way, if an attorney spends 10 minutes drafting an email response to a client inquiry and doesn't immediately enter his/her time into the time entry system, will it be billed? The answer to this is, all too often, no.
At the base level, any good case management system should have the ability to prompt timekeepers for time entries when they initiate or complete certain types of tasks or events. Don't' even waste your time looking at a system that can't do that.
Many firms who successfully implement such systems see the biggest increase in billable time occur in their Outlook email. Many of attorneys are still not billing for their email time, and this represents a huge loss in billing potential for any law firm.
Let's look at it from a workflow perspective. A legal assistant creates a document from an attorney's dictation. The assistant clicks a button and sends it back with note saying "I need you to review this." The document shows up in the attorney's review queue. The attorney reviews it, annotates it and saves it as a new version, all within the case management environment. Then the review is marked complete.
Two things happen: 1) the assistant is promptly notified that the document has been reviewed, and 2) the attorney gets prompted to make a time entry for his/her efforts. That alone is going to help accommodate for a significant increase in billing. At a secondary level, because the case management system has, or should have, the ability to track all of the activities, the law firm has a nice journal to review during billing to match up those activities with the information that show up on the WIP report for the month.
That is a specific example of how law firms increase their bottom line with a fully integrated CMS. Generally speaking, law firms who implemented such systems have reported an increase in billings on an average of 10-12%, with some firms even reporting much higher percentages. Firms often notice a significant year-over-year increase without any justification in terms of their caseload.
Conclusion...
So what's next? It appears much of the current trends will continue. Outlook isn't going anywhere any time soon. However, the way in which case and matter information is accessed will change. As mentioned earlier, mobile computing continues to be a driving factor in new technology. Giving lawyers the ability to access case management data via their handheld devices is the future, and systems are moving in this direction.
As you can see, the "Outlook" is bright for lawyers and their staff having the ability to collaborate on cases through the use of the case management interface or the Microsoft Office / Outlook system. Lawyer adoption concerns are eliminated because they are already using Outlook. The true benefits will exist for law firms who invest in case management systems that transform it into the Lawyer's Outlook.
Agile Development
Agile development is a growing trend in the software industry. The methodology has started to become widely adopted both in corporate environments as well as with the independent contract developers.
Agile software development aims to provide stable direction of a project throughout the entire course of development. Agile development accomplishes this via regular swing of work, known as stories or iterations, at the end of which a development teams must deliver increment of software. This process is in contrast to older methodologies such as the waterfall method.
The waterfall methodology usually creates an environment where teams only have a single chance to get each element of a project correct.
The term agile development was coined in 2001 and was introduced in the Agile Manifesto. The methodologies behind agile development advocate stringent project management and the process encourages iterative analysis and modification throughout the life of a project. Because agile development is a fluid process it often promotes an environment where a clients goals are aligned with the development approach.
Agile Development Methodologies:
Scrum (SCRUM)
Scrum is an iterative, incremental framework for project managers and developers and is particularly advantageous when dealing with ground floor development. Scrum has broad applications and the methodology often helps to assist in the control and management of iterative and incremental projects.
• Crystal
Crystal is a man-powered, flexible, lightweight, software development methodology and is actually made up of a collection of methodologies. (Crystal Clear, Crystal Orange, Crystal Yellow, etc.) The crystal methodology addresses the reality that from project to project there are unique characteristics that require custom fitted practices and policies.
• Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme programming is a methodology, which aims to improve the software development quality and responsiveness of changing project requirements. The extreme programming methodology advocates rapid feedback loops, extensive customer involvement as well as continuous planning through out the projects life cycle.
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
The dynamic systems development method is a cumulative and iterative approach that promotes continuous client involvement. There are nine key principals in which the dynamic systems development method is associated with. Those principals are active user involvement, business needs, team empowerment, frequent deliveries, integrated testing, and stakeholder collaboration.
• Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Feature driven development is an iterative and cumulative development process. The process starts with a model-driven, short-iteration process. It begins with a determination of the overall model shape. The process then continues with an array of two-week design and build feature cycles.
• Lean Software Development
Lean software development as a methodology is iterative in nature. The core principles of lean software development include eliminating waste, boosting learning, deciding as late as possible, delivering releases as fast as possible, team empowerment, integrity and seeing the whole.
Agile development methodology attempts to provide many opportunities to assess the direction of a project throughout the development lifecycle.
Gravity Jack designs and develops industrial strength custom software solutions for all industries including retail software like the iPhone and Blackberry all the way to sites for Fortune 1000 companies. We are also known for some of the most leading edge augmented reality applications and the crazy stuff people say can't be coded. We focus our unique combination of creative, technical, and problem-solving skills on meeting our clients' goals. Because of our clarity of purpose, commitment to process, and broad professional skill sets, we are able to provide our clients with world-class custom software solutions that are functionally superior and fully aligned with our client's strategic focus.
Agile software development aims to provide stable direction of a project throughout the entire course of development. Agile development accomplishes this via regular swing of work, known as stories or iterations, at the end of which a development teams must deliver increment of software. This process is in contrast to older methodologies such as the waterfall method.
The waterfall methodology usually creates an environment where teams only have a single chance to get each element of a project correct.
The term agile development was coined in 2001 and was introduced in the Agile Manifesto. The methodologies behind agile development advocate stringent project management and the process encourages iterative analysis and modification throughout the life of a project. Because agile development is a fluid process it often promotes an environment where a clients goals are aligned with the development approach.
Agile Development Methodologies:
Scrum (SCRUM)
Scrum is an iterative, incremental framework for project managers and developers and is particularly advantageous when dealing with ground floor development. Scrum has broad applications and the methodology often helps to assist in the control and management of iterative and incremental projects.
• Crystal
Crystal is a man-powered, flexible, lightweight, software development methodology and is actually made up of a collection of methodologies. (Crystal Clear, Crystal Orange, Crystal Yellow, etc.) The crystal methodology addresses the reality that from project to project there are unique characteristics that require custom fitted practices and policies.
• Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme programming is a methodology, which aims to improve the software development quality and responsiveness of changing project requirements. The extreme programming methodology advocates rapid feedback loops, extensive customer involvement as well as continuous planning through out the projects life cycle.
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
The dynamic systems development method is a cumulative and iterative approach that promotes continuous client involvement. There are nine key principals in which the dynamic systems development method is associated with. Those principals are active user involvement, business needs, team empowerment, frequent deliveries, integrated testing, and stakeholder collaboration.
• Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Feature driven development is an iterative and cumulative development process. The process starts with a model-driven, short-iteration process. It begins with a determination of the overall model shape. The process then continues with an array of two-week design and build feature cycles.
• Lean Software Development
Lean software development as a methodology is iterative in nature. The core principles of lean software development include eliminating waste, boosting learning, deciding as late as possible, delivering releases as fast as possible, team empowerment, integrity and seeing the whole.
Agile development methodology attempts to provide many opportunities to assess the direction of a project throughout the development lifecycle.
Gravity Jack designs and develops industrial strength custom software solutions for all industries including retail software like the iPhone and Blackberry all the way to sites for Fortune 1000 companies. We are also known for some of the most leading edge augmented reality applications and the crazy stuff people say can't be coded. We focus our unique combination of creative, technical, and problem-solving skills on meeting our clients' goals. Because of our clarity of purpose, commitment to process, and broad professional skill sets, we are able to provide our clients with world-class custom software solutions that are functionally superior and fully aligned with our client's strategic focus.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Workplace Online
Companies today that use the Internet have a whole new set of issues to concern themselves with. Many employees use the Internet to communicate with customers or need to perform their tasks online or with research from online sources. Providing these tools to your workforce may be necessary to help you do business.
Opening up the Internet to staff members can also create the potential for problems. Employees may use company resources to chat, do their personal errands, and communicate with their friends and so on. They may be forwarding jokes or receiving in Spam that can plague your network with unnecessary tasks. Opening the network to staff members may also create serious holes in your security and allow spammers and hackers direct access into your network. You need to fight proactively to ensure that your secrets and important data remain safe.
Not only do you need to protect your servers with Antivirus, firewalls and other security measures but you may also need to monitor the activities of each user or node within the network. You can do this with surveillance software that will report to you many pieces of important data. For a test run, you can download the evaluation copy of programs.
This program can run discreetly to tell you what your users are doing on the network. This can tell you who is productive and who is not. You can retrieve e-mails, websites visited, time logs for computer based activities and more. This can help you reward top performers and weed out the slackers. This can give you a bird's eye view into your employees' behavior patterns when they don't know you are looking. When the management is away, the staff members will often play. When you are out of the office, you want to know if your employees remain productive. When you set policies and procedures you may want to know for a fact that they are being followed. If you allow your employees a reasonable amount of latitude with respect to using the Internet, you may find it necessary to ensure that you are not being taken advantage of.
Companies today more than ever need to be proactive with their employees. With shrinking profit margins and accelerating business expenses, using an inexpensive program to find out where your resources are spent and who is providing you with the best return on your investment could save you considerably.
Opening up the Internet to staff members can also create the potential for problems. Employees may use company resources to chat, do their personal errands, and communicate with their friends and so on. They may be forwarding jokes or receiving in Spam that can plague your network with unnecessary tasks. Opening the network to staff members may also create serious holes in your security and allow spammers and hackers direct access into your network. You need to fight proactively to ensure that your secrets and important data remain safe.
Not only do you need to protect your servers with Antivirus, firewalls and other security measures but you may also need to monitor the activities of each user or node within the network. You can do this with surveillance software that will report to you many pieces of important data. For a test run, you can download the evaluation copy of programs.
This program can run discreetly to tell you what your users are doing on the network. This can tell you who is productive and who is not. You can retrieve e-mails, websites visited, time logs for computer based activities and more. This can help you reward top performers and weed out the slackers. This can give you a bird's eye view into your employees' behavior patterns when they don't know you are looking. When the management is away, the staff members will often play. When you are out of the office, you want to know if your employees remain productive. When you set policies and procedures you may want to know for a fact that they are being followed. If you allow your employees a reasonable amount of latitude with respect to using the Internet, you may find it necessary to ensure that you are not being taken advantage of.
Companies today more than ever need to be proactive with their employees. With shrinking profit margins and accelerating business expenses, using an inexpensive program to find out where your resources are spent and who is providing you with the best return on your investment could save you considerably.
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