There.  I said it.  Being a typical guy the "L" word is not something I give up easily.

I know she is not perfect.  She is basically flat, and for that all of the other girls make fun of her.  To say her fashion sense is lacking is an understatement.  She has been pretty much wearing the same getup for the last decade.  When the web came along for a time she had nothing to wear at all.  When she finally did get dressed she just did not look right, with twisties and other things that nobody else was wearing.  Finally she has XPages. None of us have the heart to tell her that the others have been wearing something similar for years now.  Although I liked it at first, some days I wonder if blue and yellow go that well together.

It has been almost 15 years ago since I first met her.  She was only 2 at the time, but even then I knew she was different.  She was easy to talk to, was as at home in a group as she was talking one on one, and she could do things faster than the other kids.  She spoke several languages, and what she said was so obvious, it seems odd that some people just did not understand her.  They would talk behind her back, saying she could only do this or that, was not dependable, and could not do any  any kind of heavy lifting.  

She is getting on in years.  She has had some work done on her backend recently.  In some ways it looks better,  but its fatter than it used to be.  Even still she still moves better than most of the others. She puts a web server, application server, security and workflow engine, and a full development environment in one small package, and takes it everywhere.  Some of the girls would need a flatbed truck to do the same thing.  She may be a bit of a cougar, but I still think she is hot. Full of Barcardi and Botox, I still think she is hot!

I thought about leaving her a few times over the years, but I have hung in there.  A lot of her old friends are gone now.  They have moved on to the younger girls, the ones that tell you they give it away for free.  I have talked to them too, but it does not take too long to realize they can only promise what NSF delivered years ago, and if you want anything but the basics, its going to cost some serious cash.  

In some ways I feel sorry for her.  Her parents sold her, and the new ones have treated her badly.  Whenever someone would come calling for NSF they would make sure they introduced them to her step sister first.  Once they even dressed the step sister in NSF's yellow dress, hoping people would not notice the difference.  We all recognized it was not her, but for some reason, maybe because we did not want to piss her parents off, we never said anything. I felt bad about that. Still do.  They recently had another  big birthday party for her, and seem to be giving her a lot more attention, but I wonder if they have some hidden agenda in mind.

Time has really flown by, and I am realizing that we have grown old together.   I guess we will continue to do what we do until one of us is gone for good.

Pardon me. "Yellow" by Coldplay just came on www.last.fm.  I need a moment.  

Posted by: Gary Walsh | Add / Read Comments (0)
Categories:  Collaboration & Workflow  Latest Thinking 

Something that is common to companies both large and small is the use of templates to create accurate and consistent documentation.  The ability to incorporate this into a team collaboration environment takes this to the next level, reducing costly errors and providing a repository to store and quickly locate the documents down the road.

I recently created a sample Docova document type for this purpose. The context was the creation of legal Non Disclosure Agreements, but it could be almost any document type from form letters to press releases.  

Here is how it works.

1.   A custom NDA Docova document type is created that includes a subform with a series of custom fields for the variable text on the form letter.
2.   The NDA boilerplate form letter, a Word document, was edited to include Word bookmarks where the variable text is inserted.
3.   The template was added to the Docova home database, and referenced on the custom NDA document type.
4.    A button was placed on the subform that used thingFactory to get a handle on the Work template, and push the field values to the bookmarks.
5.   Some folder views were created to organize the NDAs by customer, date...etc.

Here is a video overview of the finished product.

http://www.docova.tv/videos/formletters/formletters.htm

Start to finish...about four hours of work.

Posted by: Gary Walsh | Add / Read Comments (0)
Categories:  Collaboration & Workflow  Document Management  Video Posts 

Whenever I do a demonstration I always field the question on how these products compare.  In my opinion, Quickr and Quickplace represent collaboration tools. They allow you to post information, either as pages or in files, where other people can get at it. When Quickplace first appeared the creation and editing was quick and in this regard it was somewhat unique. As a way to quickly generate a purpose built web site, I was probably one of its bigger fans.  

Now there are numerous products, many open source, that have many more look and feel options, are easier to use and navigate, and are in fact quicker for this purpose.  Quickplace has morphed into Quickr, with the ability to connect into other products in the Lotus inventory, but it retains many of the Quickplace characteristics.   It is NOT a document management system in the same way that Sharepoint is not a document management system. Workflow is limited, version control is limited, and if you want it to do something that it cannot you get to work through an API vs Domino Designer.    

DomDoc was full blown (note the past tense) in terms of document management. It grew over a long period of time and the functionality was very deep, however, people found the UI to be lacking.  Docova originally started off as a demo of our Domino Web Development tool kits to show how you could create a compelling user interface, and the document management context was influenced by DomDoc.

While helping clients build their applications we found they were not using all of the functionality in the toolkits to make a clean and functional user interface.  The positive reaction to the demo prompted us to finish the application. It has many of the features you would find in a full blown document management product, still runs on the Domino back end, allows you to use the Designer Client to add functionality but has a user interface that is much more like a typical Windows application than what you would find in a browser.

Posted by: Gary Walsh | Add / Read Comments (0)
Categories:  Collaboration & Workflow  Technology - Collaboration 

Some cool stuff happening with Docova ... We've extended the relationship we had with Ardexus - creating a joint solution to tackle extended Sales Team collaboration. Below is the formal announcement. Video demo should be published soon.

Formal Announcement: DLI.tools Inc and Ardexus Extends Relationship
Creates powerful solution for Sales Force Effectiveness & Optimization

Burlington, ON, July 15, 2008 – DLI.tools Inc, workplace collaboration specialists, and Ardexus Inc today announced the alignment of DLI.tools’ Docova Collaborative Document Management technologies with the Ardexus CRM and SFA solutions.

The combined solution addresses the collaborative needs of extended sales teams by simplifying and consolidating the myriad of sales-related processes, documents, emails and files often scattered across the organization. While conversations, emails, purchase orders and final contracts tend to encompass the customer knowledge stored in the CRM system, items like proposals and RFPs are responses to that customer knowledge and tend to fall outside the CRM system. These supportive processes and documents should be aligned with the CRM system, thereby extending the CRM experience to the entire extended sales team.

“We selected Docova to address the document management needs for extended sales teams and CRM processes because (1) the shear ease of using Docova from an end user perspective, (2) ease of working with the underlying technology, and (3) the level of support we’ve received from DLI.tools in the past,” said Glenn Carnegie, CEO Ardexus. “When you can deliver a total solution that drives productivity, end customer revenue and customer satisfaction, the benefits of return on investment beyond that of the CRM become tangible.”

“Ardexus is another great partnering story. Ardexus can deliver a more comprehensive solution that extends beyond their core offerings into adjacent business areas – while staying focused on developing their own sales force automation, effectiveness and optimization solutions,” adds Gary Walsh, VP Solutions, DLI.tools. “The good news is that Ardexus has already deployed the joint solution to a number of customers in North America and Europe, proving that both the partnership model and the customer benefits are real.”

About Docova Collaborative Document Management

Docova envisions a day where the ‘Is this the right version of..?’, ‘Who authorized that…?’, and ‘Where can I find …?’ can be retired. Docova is driving progressive organizations to realize the dream today, enabling their workers to do ‘more with less’ around Organizing, Controlling and Sharing the collective business documents, emails, files, and other digital content artifacts in a manner that does not impede the way they work. See how Docova delivers on the spirit of ‘doing more with less’ at www.docova.com

About DLI.tools Inc.

DLI.tools is a leader in User Interface component technologies for Lotus Notes and Domino web applications. Well regarded throughout the Lotus community, DLI.tools has received 10 lotus-based award recognitions since 2003. Over 400 organizations have reported a ROI as high as 1,000%.  Experience the difference our technologies will make to your productivity at www.dlitools.com/WebToolsForLotus

About Ardexus Inc.

Ardexus provides front office solutions that revolutionize the way small to mid-sized companies do business. Aberdeen, ISM, and The Denali Group all agree - Ardexus is an innovative company with outstanding products. Ardexus offers a full range of sales-centric software, including Ardexus MODE® - a professional suite of marketing, sales, and customer service modules. Ardexus is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. For additional information on Ardexus or their products, visit http://www.ardexus.com or call toll free (888) Ardexus.

Posted by: Scott Tomlinson | Add / Read Comments (0)
Categories:  Announcements  Collaboration & Workflow  Document Management  Technology - Collaboration 

The latest release provides enhancements in over 20 areas of the product.
Selected enhancements include:

improved security & privileges controls,

system messaging,

web printing capabilities,

document searching.

Customers are encouraged to download the latest release in the Docova Support Center. As well, a video detailing the latest functionality can be found inside Docova Support Center.

Download the Press Release (contains additional information and resources)

Posted by: Scott Tomlinson | Add / Read Comments (0)
Categories:  Announcements  Collaboration & Workflow  Document Management  Industry News  Technology - Collaboration