Business in a Box - Lotus Notes

[Craig H.]

Business in a Box

Hi, all.

I just got back from a conference call with a vendor. Have any of you Covers had experience with Business in a Box specifically and Lotus Notes in general? Did it make the QA job harder or easier, and more or less effective?

I would appreciate any input, especially if there is something I should be kicking and screaming about.

Craig

On a lighter note, is Business in a Box anything like Janitor in a Drum?

 

[Randy Stewart]

Craig,
I used Lotus Notes when it first came out. If they fixed half the problems with the initial release it would be a good software. It's been around for a while now and I've not heard much about it. That's an indication that either it's doing well and no big issues have surfaced,or it's so bad no one wants to admit in buying it!

is Business in a Box anything like Janitor in a Drum?

I'd be afraid that it would be more like the Marvin the Martian's alien in a gumball machine (just add water)!

 

[David Hartman]

Hi, all.

I just got back from a conference call with a vendor. Have any of you Covers had experience with Business in a Box specifically and Lotus Notes in general? Did it make the QA job harder or easier, and more or less effective?

I would appreciate any input, especially if there is something I should be kicking and screaming about.

Craig

On a lighter note, is Business in a Box anything like Janitor in a Drum?

At a former employer's we used Lotus Notes for our document control system (home grown adaptation). It seemed to work as well and as easily as using Mickeysoft and Novell. Documents were created in MsWord or Excel then routed for approval via and maintained in Lotus Notes.

 

[Craig H.]

Thanks, y'all. I hope some more people see this and offer advice, as well. This is going to be a heck of a big change for us, if we decide to do it.

Craig

 

[Marc]

As a quick note, Lotus Notes has significantly changed over the years and from what I've read is quite stable and performs well. If I remember correctly, they also recently included Linux as a supported platform.

 

[RoxaneB]

My organization uses Lotus Notes and it does appear to meet our needs with minimal hiccups.

The only downside, would be using our QSi software with it. Originally, QSi was for a Lotus Notes platform and while they've changed, those of us still using the release requiring Lotus Notes, well, it makes it difficult for us to send documents via email.

I can send a copy of my QSi docs to other people via email, but if they do not run off of a Lotus Notes platform, they lose all the formatting and have to scroll through yards and yards of meaningless text to get to the good stuff.

That'd be by my one complaint, but it's probably more of a QSi thing than Lotus Notes.

 

[Craig H.]

My organization uses Lotus Notes and it does appear to meet our needs with minimal hiccups.

The only downside, would be using our QSi software with it. Originally, QSi was for a Lotus Notes platform and while they've changed, those of us still using the release requiring Lotus Notes, well, it makes it difficult for us to send documents via email.

I can send a copy of my QSi docs to other people via email, but if they do not run off of a Lotus Notes platform, they lose all the formatting and have to scroll through yards and yards of meaningless text to get to the good stuff.

That'd be by my one complaint, but it's probably more of a QSi thing than Lotus Notes.

RC, They just installed QSI on my box around 4:30 yesterday. :mg:

But, ALL of our PCs will be running Notes, so hopefully there will not be any problems. Thanks for the "heads up".

Craig

 

[RoxaneB]

RC, They just installed QSI on my box around 4:30 yesterday. :mg:

But, ALL of our PCs will be running Notes, so hopefully there will not be any problems. Thanks for the "heads up".

Craig

But did your organization get the Lotus Notes based version of QSi or the the web-based one?

Best of luck...but if you wish to form a "therapy group", let me know!

It really isn't all that bad...I mean how many times do you anticipate sending documents outside of your system. It does get awkward with Customers, but I tell them that I will courier them a copy of our Quality Manual. If they ask why we can't send an electronic copy, I state "security protocol" as the reason (i.e., can't change a hard copy to say something different whereas the e-copy could be modified). Usually accepted.

 

[Craig H.]

Roxane:

Oh yes indeed, it is the Notes version. Fortunately we send very few procedures/Q manuals out. I'll gladly trade having to deal with that for the automatic reminders (for certain managers especially) that I am told are in this new setup. (I wonder if the reminders can be enhanced with a mild electric shock in some cases?)

That therapy group may well turn out to be a fantastic idea!

Craig

 

[RoxaneB]

Oh yes indeed, it is the Notes version. Fortunately we send very few procedures/Q manuals out. I'll gladly trade having to deal with that for the automatic reminders (for certain managers especially) that I am told are in this new setup. (I wonder if the reminders can be enhanced with a mild electric shock in some cases?)

The reminders for reviews are a good tool, but not always adhered to. Some people are just horrible with their email and once something scrolls off of the screen it is forgotten.

The self-training feature is awesome, as is the e-approval system.

Just don't put too much faith in it at the start. We've had QSI for several years now and I still have to deal with "problem children".