Document Control: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hey guys

I am an Irish Gal, here in Dublin, Ireland studying for the Diploma in Quality Management.

For our christmas project - our tutor has asked us to write a project about "quality". it can be anything once it has an argument..........

I have been lost for days trying to sort this in my head and was planning on writing a document on the pros of good documentation management, versus the bad ones,

Dont suppose anyone can help me - I am trying to structure it but at the same time I am looking for guidance,


Regards:mg:

irishquality said:

Hey guys

I am an Irish Gal, here in Dublin, Ireland studying for the Diploma in Quality Management.

For our christmas project - our tutor has asked us to write a project about "quality". it can be anything once it has an argument..........

I have been lost for days trying to sort this in my head and was planning on writing a document on the pros of good documentation management, versus the bad ones,

Dont suppose anyone can help me - I am trying to structure it but at the same time I am looking for guidance,


Regards:mg:

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I can't get my head around this aspect of the assignment - it can be anything once it has an argument.......... - Does this mean you would have to describe a positive slant on "bad documentation" to present BOTH sides of an argument?

I can give a lot of positive points about good documentation, not one positive justification for bad documentation.

I was thinking the same thing as Wes here, there is not a strong argument between having a good Documentation System and not having one. You could perhaps elaborate on the different aspects of documentation systems and all the fun intricacies of a good document control system. But if you're looking to do an argumentative paper this topic isn't suitable.

Hello Irishquality - my thoughts would probably start with deciding what documents are (how they differ from records) and why they need to be controlled - whatever controlled means in this context.

What advantages does controlling bring and what would, or wouldn't happen if they weren't controlled?

Perhaps the different methods of making documents available e.g. paper v electronic.

Here's something (sort of) from the real world.

Conjure up a scenario about a little company that makes widgets. Create a document control system for the company. Then put yourself in the place of the administrator of that system. Calculate how much work you've created for that administrator. Then put yourself in the place of one of the users, preferably somebody on the shop floor. Calculate if you've decreased or increased that person's work load.

Play with your system a bit. What happens if you decrease the number of review/approval signatures? What happens if you increase them? What happens if you distribute documents electronically? What happens if you have only once central binder of documents for the whole shop? What happens if you separate the documents?

What impact does each of these changes have on the various users of the system?

The real world part comes from this: many document control systems are very easy for the administrator, but a real pain in the rear for users. For example, if a first-line supervisor needs to change a procedure today but the document approval cycle takes three weeks (too many signatures, I guess), how should the organization handle it.

May I suggest a more basic approach? When trying to build a document system from scratch the question "Why the @#%*@! are we doing this anyway? Its waste of time!" comes up. The response "...because ISO says we have to" earns the Purple Raspberry award.

Anyway, what are the reasons for developing the system in the first place? For the "argument" part, just put yourself into the mindset of an "old school", seat-of-the-pants manager and recite the usual reasons.

Craig H. said:

<snip>
Anyway, what are the reasons for developing the system in the first place? For the "argument" part, just put yourself into the mindset of an "old school", seat-of-the-pants manager and recite the usual reasons.

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Very good. You could also think about how you would prove that the document control system has actually helped.

Thanks guys,

I work in a children's Hospital, we have out of date documentation going back as far as 2002 and I see the benefits of having a system for keeping it up to date etc, i just felt that I was too close to it, thats the problem.

I will take on board your advice and hpefully over the next 2 weeks something will develop that can make sense - LOL.


Lorraine

PS great forums - I have found them helpful many times when studying and find it all relevant, the best for advise too, many thanks and I appreciate your hlep, thanks for taking the time to help me

ok guys, on reflection maybe I am having a rproblem because the argument is too thin,

can anyone suggest a topic i write a paper on?

As i said We dont have iso but i am studying it and have to be prepared for any eventuality.

All i have to go on is that it must be quality related and have an argument for and against and preferably not a whole ISO for and against - just as I said - i am only 4 months into the course and need guidance,


XX

Lorraine

irishquality said:

ok guys, on reflection maybe I am having a rproblem because the argument is too thin,

can anyone suggest a topic i write a paper on?

As i said We dont have iso but i am studying it and have to be prepared for any eventuality.

All i have to go on is that it must be quality related and have an argument for and against and preferably not a whole ISO for and against - just as I said - i am only 4 months into the course and need guidance,


XX

Lorraine

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Hi Lorraine,

Do you have experience writing papers? Before you get started writing one, you may want to explore what a good paper consist of in terms of topic selection, developing good arguments, layout, references, grammar, etc. Look here for possible resources.

Just a suggestion.

There are excellent threads, posts and attachments here at The Cove Forums that could help you writing that paper.

Stijloor.