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Importance of Document Lifecycle Management

The document discusses document lifecycle management and its importance. It defines the typical stages of a document lifecycle as creation, classification, storage, sharing, processing, and archiving or destruction. It also explains how PowerDMS helps organizations manage documents through their entire lifecycle.

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chidinma
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98 views14 pages

Importance of Document Lifecycle Management

The document discusses document lifecycle management and its importance. It defines the typical stages of a document lifecycle as creation, classification, storage, sharing, processing, and archiving or destruction. It also explains how PowerDMS helps organizations manage documents through their entire lifecycle.

Uploaded by

chidinma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

Importance of document lifecycle


management
Think of document lifecycles as a "cradle to grave" cycle of your
organization's policies, procedures, and processes.

June 3, 2021

 14 Minute Read 



Article highlights

What is a document lifecycle?


Understanding PowerDMS lifecycle
management

Some organizations' document management issues


are a disaster waiting to happen. Organizations that
are running outdated technology, still using paper-
and-file methods of policy management, or don't have
a centralized, cohesive policy management strategy
are at risk of a wide variety of fines, penalties, and
even lawsuits.

Without a cohesive document lifecycle management


solution, you face a litany of other problems as well.
Outdated processes, lack of accountability between
employees, mapping policies to accreditation
standards by hand, or managing different versions of
documents are all issues companies deal with when
important documents are not updated or archived as
needed.
In this article, we'll give a brief explanation of a
document's lifecycle, as well as helping you
understand PowerDMS' lifecycle management.

What is a document lifecycle?

Depending on who you ask, there are a number of


different stages in a document lifecycle. But
regardless of who you ask, there's a definite
beginning and end; it's the steps in between that
differ. These are the basic stages that go into every
important document your company creates.

1. Creation: The need for a document, such as a


departmental or organizational policy, is
identified, and the document is written, revised,
and edited before finally being approved.
2. Classification: A document is categorized and
tagged, based on its purpose and the content
itself, so it can be stored in the right location.
3. Storage: Place the document in a secure
storage location so it can be easily retrieved but
otherwise kept safe.
4. Sharing: Share the document with the people
who need to read it.
5. Processing: This refers to everything else
needed to ensure that the document fulfills its
primary purpose. That means gathering
signatures, testing, mapping it to accreditation
standards, and so on.
6. Archiving and/or destruction: Reduces clutter
and manages risks, such as discarding personal
information and proprietary data. These
documents need to be archived or destroyed
altogether.

Why is document lifecycle management important?

For one thing, managing a document's lifecycle will


foster compliance. That's especially important for
organizations that are accredited, highly regulated
(law enforcement, finance, healthcare), or make
regular life and death decisions. 
Proper document management also ensures that
only one version exists. The organization is not
overrun by different versions and variations of a
single policy where everyone follows a policy that
could be out-of-date or completely incorrect. It also
ensures that staff are referencing the most updated
version, based on the latest developments in
technology, science, community preferences,
governmental regulations, and the law.

How document lifecycle management protects an organization

These same organizations need protection from


fines, penalties, public outcry, and even lawsuits. This
is where a centralized document lifecycle
management solution can make a difference. 

Remember step #5 above, processing? This is where


tracking employee signatures, providing training, and
testing happens. You can show that everyone has
read new policies, understands them, and has been
trained and tested on the necessary information. That
can save you during the (re)accreditation process or
lawsuits.

Tracking changes and updates to documents over


the years can also show that your organization has
kept up with the latest developments and demands
of your industry or field, is compliant with the latest
regulatory and accreditation standards, and can help
employees hold each other accountable to meet new
policy requirements. Again, this can meet
accreditation requirements, serve as a legal defense,
or even protect you from regulatory fines.

And archiving and destroying certain documents can


prevent hackers and cybercriminals from accessing
people's personally identifiable information or your
company's financial data and intellectual property.

PowerDMS' lifecycle management

PowerDMS' policy management platform is more


than just a document storage solution. We help our
customers manage their important documents
across their entire lifecycle, from their creation to
their growing phases, all the way to the eventual
archiving or destruction of those documents.

 Our solution lets you upload and create new


documents with your preferred tools. We
have integrations with Microsoft Office,
Microsoft OneDrive, and even Google
Drive/Docs.

 You can collaborate on documents via


workflows. Create workflows with multiple
stakeholders across your organization,
specify the feedback you want from each,
and let the software notify them, in
sequential order when it’s their turn to
review/approve the document. You can also
save recurring workflows as templates.

 Use document control to ensure you have


the correct and latest version of your
policies. Provide access to different
documents and functions based on a
person's role.
 Use version history to keep track of old and
current versions of documents, so you can
be sure everyone is literally reading from the
same page.

Want to know more?

Do you want to know more about document lifecycle


management? Are you curious about how it can save
your organization thousands of dollars and hundreds
of hours, and mitigate the risk of financial and
regulatory penalties and lawsuits?

PowerDMS can help you. We know document


lifecycle management better than nearly everyone.
We can show you how to use the PowerDMS
platform to your advantage and help your
organization run at peak performance.


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