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Porter-Roth Associates Document Management Consulting Consulting in Electronic Document Management Solutions and Technologies Document Imaging \| Document Management \| Workflow \| Compliance
Consulting Services Client List Publications Training&Seminars Example Projects Resume Hints&Tips Resources "...the approach set forth in this book is consistent with best practices in RFP development. Overall, this is the one book I recommend for RFP development." "I highly recommend this book if you have never written an RFP before." "RFP Handbook is a great addition to any IT project manager's bookshelf." "I wish I had this book ten years ago. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is responsible for, or contributing to, the creating of an RFP." "The payback on an investment in this book will be manyfold." "Request for Proposal is a gold mine of useful ideas..."	Technology and Project Resources Document imaging, document management, and workflow, as a group of technologies, poses a significant challenge to both users and vendors. Users find that substantial technical and personnel skill gaps become apparent when considering the adoption of EDMS. Vendors are increasingly depending on third-party system integrators and value-added resellers (VARs) to implement their technology. And system integrators are finding that it is hard to provide "objective" consulting and solutions when they are contractually associated with one or more vendors. As if all these variables were not enough, EDMS is probably the single most dynamically changing (and confusing) group of technologies currently being implemented by businesses around the world. PRA levels the playing field. We are not associated with any document management vendors. Our analysis of your application will determine which EDMS technologies may, or may not, work. PRA will provide you with the options, trade-offs, and data needed for you to make the right decision. The following documents can be downloaded for your use and reference. We are happy to grant you permission to quote from these documents but request that you provide proper acknowledgement when appropriate. White Papers Document Backfile Conversion Projects. Paper is not going away and in fact, it seems that even more paper is being generated every day. Paper can be a costly storage medium - and it is susceptible to damage or destruction. If you are involved in a lawsuit, providing paper documents can be time consuming and expensive. Scanning your documents can be a cost effective method for storing your paper - and retrieving it. Contact us prior to getting started on your backfile conversion project. This White Paper includes an overview of the backfile conversion (also know as a document conversion) process and a checklist of considerations and issues. This complete backfile conversion White Paper will save you time and money whether you are doing the work in-house or outsourcing to a service bureau and will help you to make that decision. This White Paper will also help you to develop questions and requirements for your RFP. View the Table of Contents Buy this White Paper at Amazon Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). SOAs may finally allow document management systems to connect with other purchased applications and legacy systems in a cost effective manner. This SOA 101 tutorial will get you started thinking about SOAs and your EDM system. Records Management White Paper. This White Paper was written for Xerox and discusses the basic issues and features of a records management system. The DocuShare Records Management product is given a brief introduction at the end of the paper. Document Management The Trouble with Paper. Read this paper on a common sense approach to beginning document imaging projects. Choosing the Correct Technology Solution. Are you confused by the different technologies and which one is correct for your project. Do you need document imaging, document management, records management, enterprise content management, or all of the above. This presentation will help you to understand the different technologies available and how they can help you. Electronic Records Management (ERM) Project Checklist. This brief questionnaire and checklist provide the reader with the fundamental questions that should be considered when undertaking an ERM project. While this list is not all inclusive, it should provide the reader with the basics for establishing a more detailed questionnaire. Cost Justification Analysis. Many projects need some type of cost justification. The following short document provides the reader with an introduction to the process. Project Planning. This article is a more complete overview of planning the ERM project. It touches on department responsibilities, planning for the backfile conversion and business process reengineering. Beyond ROI, Measuring Project Results. This article discusses how to measure the results of an ERM system project. System Integrators, VARs, and Implementing an ERM System. Most beginning users of ERM technology are overwhelmed by the number, type, and variations of ERM vendors. If this is not confusing enough, most vendors don't sell directly to end-users, but use system integrators, VARs (value-added reseller), and other implementers of the technology. This article contains an overview to dealing with system integrators and VARs. Service Bureaus/Vendors: This White Paper is available for purchase. It may be customized to reflect your particular methods and licensed for your company. Contact us for further information. Request for Proposal (RFP) Development One of the best ways to ensure that you are getting what you want is to use an RFP. We can help in a variety of ways but perhaps your first step is to buy my book, Request for Proposal: A Guide to Effective RFP Development available through Amazon and local bookstores such as Borders. This is the only book on the market that guides you through how to write an RFP. It provides a format and layout for an RFP, offers in-depth examples and checklists, and talks about why a well written RFP will save you time and money - and keep saving you time and money long after the contract has been negotiated. It has been purchased and used by Fortune 100 companies as well as small independent companies that have never written an RFP. You can't go wrong buying this book - it is a must for any bookshelf. "It's not boring - the writing is lively, and the material is presented at a fast pace... ." "The author goes well beyond the immediate objective of writing an RFP and managing the process by including thought-provoking material on post-award vendor management. This material sometimes escapes the RFP development team who is more focused on getting to the award milestone without thinking about the post-award ramifications." "Your book literally saved me days and days of work - worth triple the price." From an e-mail to me.......... The next step is to consider bringing me to your company for an RFP writing workshop or presentation tailored to your needs. RFP Presentation. This is a presentation about the basics of writing an ECM RFP and is given at the AIIM and ARMA Conference. The presentation is in Adobe Reader format. 2004 AIIM Presentation Vendor Information Request. This is an example of what information is needed from vendors about their company and their references. You will find it beneficial to have all this information in one place instead of having it on business cards, letters, and different sections of the vendor's proposal. Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. Vendor Information Request RFP Administrative Instructions. The first section of the RFP is the Administration Section. The purpose of this section is to provide vendors with a framework for their responses so that all proposals received have the same information and structure. This �sameness� facilitates the proposal evaluation process immensely. This document is an example of the typical RFP instructions to vendors. Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. RFP Instructions Budget Planning and Investment Analysis. Get a good solid overview of the work involved in creating a budget and performing a return on investment (ROI) analysis for your RFP and project. Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. ROI Analysis Proposal Development Writing Killer Sales Proposals: Win the Bid and Close the Deal. The purpose of this book is to provide you with a practical overview to writing and organizing sales proposals. Whether you are a novice or senior proposal writer, you will find tips and techniques that will be beneficial to you. Instead of discussing salesmanship 101, sales theories, and proposal war stories, this book provides you with a format for writing proposals and focuses on developing a process for writing winning proposals. The book can be purchased from local bookstores or through online book stores Amazon or Barnes and Noble. There are eight chapters in the book covering each phase of a proposal. The book also includes checklists to help you monitor proposal development activities. This discount is available at Amazon. This proposal writing handbook is useful not only as a writing guide, but as a resource itself to show management how professional proposals are resourced, managed, and written. It covers the following areas of a proposal: Introduction The Executive Summary The Technical Section The Management Section The Pricing Section The Appendix Summary There are other sections that cover topics such as writing text boilerplate, developing illustrations, and printing tips. Download the Bid/No Bid Checklist as an example. Checklist.pdf Bud Porter-Roth � 2003, Porter-Roth Associates All Rights Reserved

Porter-Roth Associates
Document Management Consulting
Consulting in Electronic Document Management Solutions and Technologies

Document Imaging | Document Management | Workflow | Compliance

Consulting Services

Client List

"...the approach set forth in this book is consistent with best practices in RFP development. Overall, this is the one book I recommend for RFP development."

"I highly recommend this book if you have never written an RFP before."

"RFP Handbook is a great addition to any IT project manager's bookshelf."

"I wish I had this book ten years ago. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is responsible for, or contributing to, the creating of an RFP."

"The payback on an investment in this book will be manyfold."

"Request for Proposal is a gold mine of useful ideas..."

Technology and Project Resources

Document imaging, document management, and workflow, as a group of technologies, poses a significant challenge to both users and vendors. Users find that substantial technical and personnel skill gaps become apparent when considering the adoption of EDMS. Vendors are increasingly depending on third-party system integrators and value-added resellers (VARs) to implement their technology. And system integrators are finding that it is hard to provide "objective" consulting and solutions when they are contractually associated with one or more vendors. As if all these variables were not enough, EDMS is probably the single most dynamically changing (and confusing) group of technologies currently being implemented by businesses around the world.

PRA levels the playing field. We are not associated with any document management vendors. Our analysis of your application will determine which EDMS technologies may, or may not, work. PRA will provide you with the options, trade-offs, and data needed for you to make the right decision.

The following documents can be downloaded for your use and reference. We are happy to grant you permission to quote from these documents but request that you provide proper acknowledgement when appropriate.

White Papers

Document Backfile Conversion Projects. Paper is not going away and in fact, it seems that even more paper is being generated every day. Paper can be a costly storage medium - and it is susceptible to damage or destruction. If you are involved in a lawsuit, providing paper documents can be time consuming and expensive. Scanning your documents can be a cost effective method for storing your paper - and retrieving it. Contact us prior to getting started on your backfile conversion project.

This White Paper includes an overview of the backfile conversion (also know as a document conversion) process and a checklist of considerations and issues. This complete backfile conversion White Paper will save you time and money whether you are doing the work in-house or outsourcing to a service bureau and will help you to make that decision. This White Paper will also help you to develop questions and requirements for your RFP. View the Table of Contents Buy this White Paper at Amazon

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). SOAs may finally allow document management systems to connect with other purchased applications and legacy systems in a cost effective manner. This SOA 101 tutorial will get you started thinking about SOAs and your EDM system.

Records Management White Paper. This White Paper was written for Xerox and discusses the basic issues and features of a records management system. The DocuShare Records Management product is given a brief introduction at the end of the paper.

Document Management

The Trouble with Paper. Read this paper on a common sense approach to beginning document imaging projects.

Choosing the Correct Technology Solution. Are you confused by the different technologies and which one is correct for your project. Do you need document imaging, document management, records management, enterprise content management, or all of the above. This presentation will help you to understand the different technologies available and how they can help you.

Electronic Records Management (ERM) Project Checklist. This brief questionnaire and checklist provide the reader with the fundamental questions that should be considered when undertaking an ERM project. While this list is not all inclusive, it should provide the reader with the basics for establishing a more detailed questionnaire.

Cost Justification Analysis. Many projects need some type of cost justification. The following short document provides the reader with an introduction to the process.

Project Planning. This article is a more complete overview of planning the ERM project. It touches on department responsibilities, planning for the backfile conversion and business process reengineering.

Beyond ROI, Measuring Project Results. This article discusses how to measure the results of an ERM system project.

System Integrators, VARs, and Implementing an ERM System. Most beginning users of ERM technology are overwhelmed by the number, type, and variations of ERM vendors. If this is not confusing enough, most vendors don't sell directly to end-users, but use system integrators, VARs (value-added reseller), and other implementers of the technology. This article contains an overview to dealing with system integrators and VARs.

Service Bureaus/Vendors: This White Paper is available for purchase. It may be customized to reflect your particular methods and licensed for your company. Contact us for further information.

Request for Proposal (RFP) Development

One of the best ways to ensure that you are getting what you want is to use an RFP. We can help in a variety of ways but perhaps your first step is to buy my book, Request for Proposal: A Guide to Effective RFP Development available through Amazon and local bookstores such as Borders.

This is the only book on the market that guides you through how to write an RFP. It provides a format and layout for an RFP, offers in-depth examples and checklists, and talks about why a well written RFP will save you time and money - and keep saving you time and money long after the contract has been negotiated. It has been purchased and used by Fortune 100 companies as well as small independent companies that have never written an RFP. You can't go wrong buying this book - it is a must for any bookshelf. "It's not boring - the writing is lively, and the material is presented at a fast pace... ."

"The author goes well beyond the immediate objective of writing an RFP and managing the process by including thought-provoking material on post-award vendor management. This material sometimes escapes the RFP development team who is more focused on getting to the award milestone without thinking about the post-award ramifications."

"Your book literally saved me days and days of work - worth triple the price." From an e-mail to me..........

The next step is to consider bringing me to your company for an RFP writing workshop or presentation tailored to your needs.

RFP Presentation. This is a presentation about the basics of writing an ECM RFP and is given at the AIIM and ARMA Conference. The presentation is in Adobe Reader format. 2004 AIIM Presentation

Vendor Information Request. This is an example of what information is needed from vendors about their company and their references. You will find it beneficial to have all this information in one place instead of having it on business cards, letters, and different sections of the vendor's proposal.

Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. Vendor Information Request

RFP Administrative Instructions. The first section of the RFP is the Administration Section. The purpose of this section is to provide vendors with a framework for their responses so that all proposals received have the same information and structure. This �sameness� facilitates the proposal evaluation process immensely. This document is an example of the typical RFP instructions to vendors.

Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. RFP Instructions

Budget Planning and Investment Analysis. Get a good solid overview of the work involved in creating a budget and performing a return on investment (ROI) analysis for your RFP and project.

Download an Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) PDF file of this article. ROI Analysis

Proposal Development

Writing Killer Sales Proposals: Win the Bid and Close the Deal. The purpose of this book is to provide you with a practical overview to writing and organizing sales proposals. Whether you are a novice or senior proposal writer, you will find tips and techniques that will be beneficial to you. Instead of discussing salesmanship 101, sales theories, and proposal war stories, this book provides you with a format for writing proposals and focuses on developing a process for writing winning proposals.

The book can be purchased from local bookstores or through online book stores Amazon or Barnes and Noble. There are eight chapters in the book covering each phase of a proposal. The book also includes checklists to help you monitor proposal development activities.

This discount is available at Amazon.

This proposal writing handbook is useful not only as a writing guide, but as a resource itself to show management how professional proposals are resourced, managed, and written. It covers the following areas of a proposal:

Introduction
The Executive Summary
The Technical Section
The Management Section
The Pricing Section
The Appendix
Summary

There are other sections that cover topics such as writing text boilerplate, developing illustrations, and printing tips.

Download the Bid/No Bid Checklist as an example. Checklist.pdf

Bud Porter-Roth

Porter-Roth Associates Document Management Consulting Consulting in Electronic Document Management Solutions and Technologies