Human Resource Planning: an Introduction

Reilly P
Report 312, Institute for Employment Studies, September 1996

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A British Foreign Office official looking back over a career spanning the first half of the
twentieth century commented: ‘Year after year the fretters and worriers would come
to me with their awful predictions of the outbreak of war. I denied it each time. I was
only wrong twice!’Some would see this as the arrogant complacency to be associated
with planners. Critics think of the inaccuracy and over-optimism of forecasting — the
‘hockey stick’ business growth projections. They regard planning as too inflexible, slow
to respond to change, too conservative in assumptions and risk averse. These points
are made about any sort of planning.

Practical benefits

When it concerns human resources, there are the more specific criticisms that it is over-
quantitative and neglects the qualitative aspects of contribution. The issue has become not how
many people should be employed, but ensuring that all members of staff are making an effective
contribution. And for the future, the questions are what are the skills that will be required, and
how will they be acquired.

There are others, though, that still regard the quantitative planning of resources as important.
They do not see its value in trying to predict events, be they wars or takeovers. Rather, they
believe there is a benefit from using planning to challenge assumptions about the future, to
stimulate thinking. For some there is, moreover, an implicit or explicit wish to get better
integration of decision making and resourcing across the whole organisation, or greater influence
by the centre over devolved operating units.

Cynics would say this is all very well, but the assertion of corporate control has been tried and
rejected. And is it not the talk of the process benefits to be derived self indulgent nonsense? Can
we really afford this kind of intellectual dilettantism? Whether these criticisms are fair or not,
supporters of human resource planning point to its practical benefits in optimising the use of
resources and identifying ways of making them more flexible. For some organisations, the need
to acquire and grow skills which take time to develop is paramount. If they fail to identify the
business demand, both numerically and in the skills required, and secure the appropriate supply,
then the capacity of the organisation to fulfil its function will be endangered.

Why human resource planning?

 Human Resource Planning: an Introduction was written to draw these issues to the attention of
HR or line managers. We address such questions as:

• what is human resource planning?

• how do organisations undertake this sort of exercise?

• what specific uses does it have?

In dealing with the last point we need to be able to say to hard pressed managers: why spend
time on this activity rather than the other issues bulging your in tray? The report tries to meet
this need by illustrating how human resource planning techniques can be applied to four key
problems. It then concludes by considering the circumstances is which human resourcing can be
used.

1. Determining the numbers to be employed at a new location

If organisations overdo the size of their workforce it will carry surplus or underutilised staff.
Alternatively, if the opposite misjudgement is made, staff may be overstretched, making it hard
or impossible to meet production or service deadlines at the quality level expected. So the
questions we ask are:

• How can output be improved your through understanding the interrelation between
productivity, work organisation and technological development? What does this mean for staff
numbers?

• What techniques can be used to establish workforce requirements?

• Have more flexible work arrangements been considered?

• How are the staff you need to be acquired?

The principles can be applied to any exercise to define workforce requirements, whether it be a
business start-up, a relocation, or the opening of new factory or office.

2. Retaining your highly skilled staff

Issues about retention may not have been to the fore in recent years, but all it needs is for
organisations to lose key staff to realise that an understanding of the pattern of resignation is
needed. Thus organisations should:

• monitor the extent of resignation

• discover the reasons for it

• establish what it is costing the organisation

• compare loss rates with other similar organisations.

Without this understanding, management may be unaware of how many good quality staff are
being lost. This will cost the organisation directly through the bill for separation, recruitment and
induction, but also through a loss of long-term capability.

Having understood the nature and extent of resignation steps can be taken to rectify the
situation. These may be relatively cheap and simple solutions once the reasons for the departure
of employees have been identified. But it will depend on whether the problem is peculiar to your
own organisation, and whether it is concentrated in particular groups (eg by age, gender, grade
or skill).

3. Managing an effective downsizing programme

This is an all too common issue for managers. How is the workforce to be cut painlessly, while at
the same time protecting the long-term interests of the organisation? A question made all the
harder by the time pressures management is under, both because of business necessities and
employee anxieties. HRP helps by considering:

• the sort of workforce envisaged at the end of the exercise

• the pros and cons of the different routes to get there

• how the nature and extent of wastage will change during the run-down

• the utility of retraining, redeployment and transfers

• what the appropriate recruitment levels might be.

Such an analysis can be presented to senior managers so that the cost benefit of various
methods of reduction can be assessed, and the time taken to meet targets established.

If instead the CEO announces on day one that there will be no compulsory redundancies and
voluntary severance is open to all staff, the danger is that an unbalanced workforce will result,
reflecting the take-up of the severance offer. It is often difficult and expensive to replace lost
quality and experience.

4. Where will the next generation of managers come from?

Many senior managers are troubled by this issue. They have seen traditional career paths
disappear. They have had to bring in senior staff from elsewhere. But they recognise that while
 this may have dealt with a short-term skills shortage, it has not solved the longer term question
of managerial supply: what sort, how many, and where will they come from? To address these
questions you need to understand:

• the present career system (including patterns of promotion and movement, of recruitment
and wastage)

• the characteristics of those who currently occupy senior positions

• the organisation’s future supply of talent.

This then can be compared with future requirements, in number and type. These will of course
be affected by internal structural changes and external business or political changes. Comparing
your current supply to this revised demand will show surpluses and shortages which will allow
you to take corrective action such as:

• recruiting to meet a shortage of those with senior management potential

• allowing faster promotion to fill immediate gaps

• developing cross functional transfers for high fliers

• hiring on fixed-term contracts to meet short-term skills/experience deficits

• reducing staff numbers to remove blockages or forthcoming surpluses.

Thus appropriate recruitment, deployment and severance policies can be pursued to meet
business needs. Otherwise processes are likely to be haphazard and inconsistent. The wrong sort
of staff are engaged at the wrong time on the wrong contract. It is expensive and embarrassing
to put such matters right.

How can HRP be applied?

The report details the sort of approach companies might wish to take. Most organisations are
likely to want HRP systems:

• which are responsive to change

• where assumptions can easily be modified

• that recognise organisational fluidity around skills

• that allow flexibility in supply to be included

• that are simple to understand and use

• which are not too time demanding.

To operate such systems organisations need:

• appropriate demand models

• good monitoring and corrective action processes

• comprehensive data about current employees and the external labour market

• an understanding how resourcing works in the organisation.

If HRP techniques are ignored, decisions will still be taken, but without the benefit of
understanding their implications. Graduate recruitment numbers will be set in ignorance of
demand, or management succession problems will develop unnoticed. As George Bernard Shaw
said: ‘to be in hell is to drift; to be in heaven is to steer’. It is surely better if decision makers
follow this maxim in the way they make and execute resourcing plans.

Human Resource Planning: an Introduction, Reilly P. Report 312, Institute for Employment
Studies, 1996.

Put your PC maintenance routine on autopilot

By Chris Tull, Web designer and technology writer

Most people do one of the following when their computer begins to slow
down (besides get angry). They either:
1 Improve their computer by buying more memory.
.
2 Decide to tweak their computer's settings.
.
3 Figure that their computer is old, there's nothing else they can do, and that
. it's probably time to buy a new computer.

All these solutions will boost a computer's performance. However, what's to keep your newly
blazing PC from slowing down again after a couple months or years? A badly fragmented hard
drive will bring even a top-of-the-line new computer to a grinding halt.

One easy option is to try Windows Live OneCare, a new PC care service that helps protect and
keep your computer running. OneCare is always on, running in the background. It helps gives
you round-the-clock protection and maintenance—virus scanning, firewalls, tune ups, file
backups, the whole nine yards. If OneCare detects anything that you can do to improve the
health of your computer, the service will automatically show you what action to take and give
you a one-click solution. Learn 5 reasons to use OneCare to help protect your computer.

A second option is to create a preventive maintenance plan. One that's easy to set up and set in
motion so you never have to think about it again.

The following sections provide information on how to automate a maintenance schedule to keep
your PC running smooth. These examples use Microsoft Windows XP. Some of the screens may
differ from version to version, but overall you'll find these tasks work for Windows 98, Windows
Millennium Edition (Me), Windows 2000, and Windows Vista.

On This Page
Create a preventive maintenance plan for
your computer

Clean up your hard disk (weekly)

Rearrange your fragmented files (monthly)

Check your hard disk for errors (weekly)

Create a preventive maintenance plan for your computer

When people notice their computer's performance slowing, the most common reason is the hard
disk. Your computer's hard disk is a non-removable area that holds all the information available
from your computer. Over time, hard disks begin to lose their ability to store data efficiently.

The Windows operating system provides three great tools to help keep your hard drive humming
smoothly. These tools are Disk Cleanup, Disk Defragmenter, and Check Disk. Find more
information about using these tools to optimize your PC.

Ideally, you should run these tools on the following schedule.

Preventive Maintenance Activity Recommended Frequency

Clean up the hard disk of temporary files Weekly

Rearrange (defragment) the hard disk Monthly

Check the hard disk for errors Weekly

Of course, who has the time (or the desire) to keep up with this schedule? The best solution is to
let Windows do all of the work.

The Windows Scheduler Task Wizard allows you to set up and automate these tasks, so you
never have to worry about them again.

Top of page
Clean up your hard disk (weekly)

Your computer amasses temporary files over time. These files can come from any number of
sources—the Web being one of the largest offenders. After a while, these temporary files will
slow down your computer.

About every week, you should run the Windows Disk Cleanup utility to clear your PC of these
temporary files.

To set up Disk Cleanup to run automatically:

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Scheduled Tasks.
3. Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard appears, as shown in Figure 1. Click
Next.

Figure 1: Accessing the Scheduled Task Wizard.

4. You'll find a list of applications within the Scheduled Task Wizard. Scroll down this list until you find Disk
Cleanup. Click on Disk Wizard to highlight it, as shown in Figure 2. Click Next.
 Figure 2: Selecting Disk Cleanup from the Scheduled Task Wizard.
5. Select a frequency for the Disk Cleanup to run. Running this task weekly is suggested, as shown in
Figure 3. Click Next.

Figure 3: Setting the frequency of Disk Cleanup.

6. Select the best day and time of the week for the Disk Cleanup to run. Pick a time when you know you
won't be using your computer, as shown in Figure 4. Click Next.

Figure 4: Picking a day and time for Disk Cleanup to run.

7. Enter your user name and password (the one you use when you need to log on to your computer). Click
Next.
 Figure 5: Associating a user with the Disk Cleanup scheduled task.
Congratulations! You've successfully scheduled your Disk Cleanup to run, as confirmed by the page
shown in Figure 6. Your PC will now automatically run Disk Cleanup on the date and time you scheduled
—even if you're logged off your computer.

Click Finish to have Windows automate this task.

Figure 6: Successfully scheduling Windows to run Disk Cleanup.

Top of page

Rearrange your fragmented files (monthly)

Whenever a file becomes too large to store in a single location on your hard disk, your computer
breaks that file into parts (or fragments). Don't worry, though. Your computer keeps track of all
these fragments, piecing them together whenever the file is accessed.
However, as fragmented files accumulate on your hard disk, your computer becomes gradually
slower. This is because your computer has to go through all these fragmented files in order to
piece the correct parts together again.

While there's nothing you can do to prevent the fragmentation of files, Windows does have a
utility (Disk Fragmenter) to help deal with this situation. Disk Fragmenter rearranges fragmented
files, resulting in increased free space on your hard disk and quicker performance from your PC.

About every month, you should run the Windows Disk Defragmenter utility.

To set up Disk Defragmenter to run automatically:

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Scheduled Tasks.
3. Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard appears. Click Next.
4. Disk Fragmenter isn't available within the scroll-down list. You'll need to select it manually. Click
Browse. Then, navigate to windows\system32\defrag.exe. Select defrag.exe and click Open, as shown
in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Navigating to defrag.exe.

5. The Scheduled Task Wizard asks you to define the frequency for defrag.exe to run. Monthly is
suggested. Click Next.
6. You're then asked to select the time and day you wish this task to start. Pick a time you won't likely be
using your computer.

If you selected a Monthly time frame, you're able to define what months and what day of the month this
task should run. Keep all months selected, and pick a day of the month that works for you, as shown in
Figure 8.
7. Select a start time that differs from your other scheduled tasks. That way, you won't have multiple tasks
starting at exactly the same time. Click Next.
 Figure 8: Picking a time frame for Disk Defragmenter to run.
8. Enter your user name and password (the one you use when you need to log on to your computer). Click
Next.
9. The next dialog box in the wizard states that you've successfully scheduled Disk Fragmenter to run on
the time frame you've defined. Click Finish to have Windows automate this task.

Top of page

Check your hard disk for errors (weekly)

Whenever some program you're using crashes, your computer may create errors on your hard
disk. These errors will eventually slow your computer to a crawl.

The good news is that Windows includes a Check Disk program. Check Disk corrects these types
of errors from your hard disk—resulting in better PC performance.

About every week, you should run the Check Disk utility.

To set up Check Disk to run automatically:

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Scheduled Tasks.
3. Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard appears. Click Next.
4. Check Disk isn't available within the scroll-down list. You'll need to select it manually. Click Browse.
Then, navigate to windows\system32\chkdsk.exe. Select chkdsk.exe and click Open, as shown in Figure
9.
 Figure 9: Navigating to chkdsk.exe.
5. The Scheduled Task Wizard prompts you to define the frequency for chkdsk.exe to run. Select Weekly
and click Next.
6. You're then asked to select the time and day you wish this task to start. Select a time you won't likely
be using your computer. Make sure this start time differs from your other scheduled tasks. Avoid having
your tasks start at the same time.
7. Enter your user name and password (the one you use when you need to log on to your computer). Disk
Fragmenter will run as if you started it. Click Next.
8. A wizard page appears, stating that you've successfully scheduled Check Disk to run on the time frame
you've defined. Click Finish to have Windows automate this task.

Let Windows do all the work

These automated tasks—while they seem simple enough—are the foundation on which your
computer's performance rests. Lucky for us, Windows can completely handle these tasks. You
never have to worry about them. You just set up your maintenance tasks once, automate them,
and let Windows take care of the rest.

10 tips for improving your wireless network

Extend the range and the strength of your wireless network By Tony Northrup
 If Windows ever notifies you about a weak signal, it probably means
your connection isn't as fast or as reliable as it could be. Worse, you
might lose your connection entirely in some parts of your home. If
you're looking to improve the signal for your wireless network, try
some of these tips for extending your wireless range and improving your wireless network
performance.
1. Position your wireless router (or wireless access point) in a central location.

When possible, place your wireless router in a central location in your home. If your wireless
router is against an outside wall of your home, the signal will be weak on the other side of your
home. Don't worry if you can't move your wireless router, because there are many other ways to
improve your connection.
2. Move the router off the floor and away from walls and metal objects (such as metal file
cabinets).

Metal, walls, and floors will interfere with your router's wireless signals. The closer your router is
to these obstructions, the more severe the interference, and the weaker your connection will be.
3. Replace your router's antenna.

The antennas supplied with your router are designed to be omni-directional, meaning they
broadcast in all directions around the router. If your router is near an outside wall, half of the
wireless signals will be sent outside your home, and much of your router's power will be wasted.
Most routers don't allow you to increase the power output, but you can make better use of the
power. Upgrade to a hi-gain antenna that focuses the wireless signals only one direction. You can
aim the signal in the direction you need it most.
4. Replace your computer's wireless network adapter.

Wireless network signals must be sent both to and from your computer. Sometimes, your router
can broadcast strongly enough to reach your computer, but your computer can't send signals
back to your router. To improve this, replace your laptop's PC card-based wireless network
adapter with a USB network adapter that uses an external antenna. In particular, consider the
Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless USB network adapter, which adds an external, hi-gain antenna to your
computer and can significantly improve your range.Laptops with built-in wireless typically have
excellent antennas and don't need to have their network adapters upgraded.
5. Add a wireless repeater.

Wireless repeaters extend your wireless network range without requiring you to add any wiring.
Just place the wireless repeater halfway between your wireless access point and your computer,
and you'll get an instant boost to your wireless signal strength. Check out the wireless repeaters
from ViewSonic, D-Link, Linksys, and Buffalo Technology.
6. Change your wireless channel.

Wireless routers can broadcast on several different channels, similar to the way radio stations
 use different channels. In the United States and Canada, these channels are 1, 6, and 11. Just
like you'll sometimes hear interference on one radio station while another is perfectly clear,
sometimes one wireless channel is clearer than others. Try changing your wireless router's
channel through your router's configuration page to see if your signal strength improves. You
don't need to change your computer's configuration, because it'll automatically detect the new
channel.
7. Reduce wireless interference.

If you have cordless phones or other wireless electronics in your home, your computer might not
be able to "hear" your router over the noise from the other wireless devices. To quiet the noise,
avoid wireless electronics that use the 2.4GHz frequency. Instead, look for cordless phones that
use the 5.8GHz or 900MHz frequencies.
8. Update your firmware or your network adapter driver.

Router manufacturers regularly make free improvements to their routers. Sometimes, these
improvements increase performance. To get the latest firmware updates for your router, visit
your router manufacturer's Web site.

Similarly, network adapter vendors occasionally update the software that Windows XP uses to
communicate with your network adapter, known as the driver. These updates typically improve
performance and reliability. To get the updates, visit Microsoft Update, and then under Select by
Type click Hardware, Optional. Install any updates relating to your wireless network adapter.
It wouldn't hurt to install any other updates while you're visiting Microsoft Update, too.

Note When you go to Microsoft Update, you have two options: the Express Install for critical and
security updates and Custom Install for high priority and optional updates. You may find more
driver updates when you use Custom Install.

9. Pick equipment from a single vendor.

While a Linksys router will work with a D-Link network adapter, you often get better performance
if you pick a router and network adapter from the same vendor. Some vendors offer a
performance boost of up to twice the performance when you choose their hardware: Linksys has
the SpeedBooster technology, and D-Link has the 108G enhancement.

10. Upgrade 802.11b devices to 802.11g.

802.11b is the most common type of wireless network, but 802.11g is about five times faster.
802.11g is backward-compatible with 802.11b, so you can still use any 802.11b equipment that
you have. If you're using 802.11b and you're unhappy with the performance, consider replacing
your router and network adapters with 802.11g-compatible equipment. If you're buying new
equipment, definitely choose 802.11g.
 Wireless networks never reach the theoretical bandwidth limits. 802.11b networks typically get
2-5Mbps. 802.11g is usually in the 13-23Mbps range. Belkin's Pre-N equipment has been
measured at 37-42Mbps.

Natural gas

Natural gas is a gas produced by the anaerobic decay of organic material. It is

usually found in oil fields and natural gas fields, but is also generated in swamps
and marshes (where it is called swamp gas or marsh gas), in landfill sites, and
during digestion in animals (see flatulence).

Contents
1 Chemical composition and energy
content

1.1 Chemical composition

1.2 Energy content
2 Storage and transport
3 Natural gas crisis
4 Uses

4.1 Power generation

4.2 Natural gas vehicles
4.3 Domestic use
4.4 Fertilizer
5 Sources

5.1 Possible future sources

6 Safety
7 See also
8 External links

8.1 Natural gas vehicles

8.1.1 North America

8.1.2 South Asia

Chemical composition and energy content

Chemical composition

The primary component of natural gas is methane (CH4), the shortest and lightest hydrocarbon
molecule. It may also contain heavier gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H6), propane
(C3H8) and butane (C4H10), as well as other gases, in varying amounts, see also natural gas
condensate.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S see acid gas) and mercury (Hg) are common contaminants, which must be
removed prior to most uses.

Energy content

Combustion of one hundred cubic feet (1 ccf) of commercial quality natural gas typically yields
approximately 1 therm (100,000 British thermal units, 30 kWh). One cubic meter yields 38 MJ
(10.6 kWh).

Storage and transport

The major difficulty in the use of natural gas is transportation. Natural gas pipelines are
economical, but are impractical across oceans. Many existing pipelines in North America are close
to reaching their capacity prompting some politicians in colder climates to speak publicly of
potential shortages. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are also used, but have higher cost and
safety problems. In many cases, as with oil fields in Saudi Arabia, the natural gas which is
recovered in the course of recovering petroleum cannot be profitably sold, and is simply burned
at the oil field (known as flaring). This wasteful practice is now illegal in many countries,
especially since it adds greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere, and since a profitable
method may be found in the future. The gas is instead re-injected back into the ground for
possible later recovery, and to assist oil pumping by keeping underground pressures higher.

Natural gas is often stored as Compressed Natural Gas or CNG.

Natural gas crisis

Many politicians and prominent figures in North America have spoken publicly about a possible
natural gas crisis. This list includes former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Chairman of
the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, Ontario Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan.

The natural gas crisis is typically described by the increasing price of natural gas in the U.S. over
the last few years due to the decline in indigenous supply and the increase in demand for
electricity generation. The price has become so high that many industrial users, mainly in the
petrochemical industry, have closed their plants causing loss of jobs. Alan Greenspan has
suggested that a solution to the natural gas crisis is the importation of liquified natural gas, or
LNG.

Uses

Power generation

Natural gas is important as a major source for electricity generation through the use of gas
turbines and steamturbines. Particularly high efficiencies can be achieved through combining gas
turbines with a steam turbine in combined cycle mode. Environmentally, natural gas burns
cleaner than other fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less greenhouse gases. For an
equivalent amount of heat, burning natural gas produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than
burning petroleum and about 45% less than burning coal.
[1] (http://www.naturalgas.org/environment/naturalgas.asp#greenhouse) Combined cycle
power generation using natural gas is thus the cleanest source of power available using fossil
fuels, and this technology is widely used wherever gas can be obtained at a reasonable cost. Fuel
cell technology may eventually provide cleaner options for converting natural gas into electricity,
but as yet it is not price-competitive.

Natural gas vehicles

Compressed natural gas (and LPG) is used as a clean alternative to other automobile fuels. As of
2003, the countries with the largest number of natural gas vehicles were Argentina, Brazil,
Pakistan, Italy, and India.

Domestic use

Natural gas is supplied to Homes where it is used for such purposes as cooking and heating. CNG
is used in rural Homes without connections to piped-in public utility services, or with portable
grills.

Fertilizer

Natural gas is a major feedstock for the production of ammonia, via the Haber process, for use in
fertilizer production.

Sources

Natural gas is commercially produced from oil fields and natural gas fields.

Possible future sources

One experimental idea is to use the methane gas that is naturally produced from landfills to
supply power to cities. Tests have shown that methane gas could be a financially sustainable
power source.

There are plans in Ontario to capture the methane gasses rising from the manure of cattle caged
in a factory farm and to use that gas to provide power to a small town.

There is also the possibility that with source separation of organic materials from the waste
stream that by using an anerobic digester, the methane can be used to produce useable energy.
This can be improved by adding other organic material (plants as well as slaughter house waste)
to the digester.

Safety
In any form, a strong bad scent (such as ethanethiol) is deliberately added to the otherwise
colorless and odorless gas, so that leaks can be detected by the smell before an explosion
occurs. In mines, sensors are used and mining apparatus has been specifically developed to
avoid ignition sources (e.g. the Davy lamp). Adding scent to natural gas began after the 1937
New London School explosion. The buildup of gas in the school went unnoticed, and killed three
hundred students and faculty when it ignited.

Explosions caused by natural gas leaks occur a few times each year. Individual Homes and small
businesses are most frequently affected when an internal leak builds up gas inside the structure.
Frequently, the blast will be enough to significantly damage a building but leave it standing. In
these cases, the people inside tend to have minor to moderate injuries. Occasionally, the gas can
collect in high enough quantities to cause a deadly explosion, disintegrating one or more
buildings in the process. The gas usually dissipates readily outdoors, but can sometimes collect
in dangerous quantities if weather conditions are right. Considering the tens of millions of
structures that use the fuel, the risks of using natural gas are very low.

Natural gas is non-toxic, though some gas fields yield 'acid gas' or 'sour gas' containing hydrogen
sulfide. This untreated gas is toxic.

Extraction of natural gas (or oil) leads to decrease in pressure in the reservoir. This in turn may
lead to subsidence at ground level. Subsidence may affect ecosystems, waterways, sewer and
water supply systems, foundations etc.

Content management is the catch phrase of the moment and its kin-WCM, ECM, and FCM-the
darlings of technology acronyms.

Its predecessors, document management and knowledge management along with relative
newcomer, digital asset management, nip at its heels as it leads the pack as the end-all and do-all
for managing today's information imperative and accompanying overload.

But while content management may purport to be all things to all people, its true power may actually
lie in its flexibility to change shape to fit each new business problem set before it. Here, we present a
variety of case studies that barely tap content management's depth. And, while we've selected
different verticals for each vendor's solution, they are not intended to represent a specific strength or
focus for that vendor. Instead, we attempt to demonstrate content management's objectives and
abilities in helping solve some of the diverse informational and data problems faced by institutions
and businesses today. We hope to provide insight and guidance in selecting and implementing the
CM solution that is right for you, be it from one of the vendors represented here, a home-grown
solution, or that offered by one of the many other worthy players in the field.

for many years, Don Beagle, director of the Belmont Abbey College Library in North Carolina, had
been looking for a new way for library users to interact with the Library's extensive collection, which
included traditional books, rare books, ebooks, Web-based curriculum supplements, and more. He
recognized that old methods of search and classification were no longer relevant to today's library
where material could be found in multiple formats and not all could be stacked neatly on a shelf in
the 19th century style. He saw a need for a more visual library catalogue to transform library
searches, much in the same way Windows and the Macintosh had changed personal computer
operating systems in the 1980s from command-driven to a graphical system.

Belmont Abbey uses a custom graphic of a bookshelf with Antarctica's Visual Net software as a way
for users to access the materials in the library catalogue.

In 2001, Beagle met Tim Bray, the founder of Antarctica software at a tradeshow. That meeting
eventually resulted in the Library purchasing Antarctica's Visual Net software and creating a
graphical representation of the library catalogue that makes it easier to find not only books, but also
any type of electronic media in the Library's extensive collection.

Tim Bray, founder of Antarctica software candidly states, "One of the problems with content
management systems is the lousy state of the user interfaces." Bray says, "people do immense
amounts of work to structure and deploy content and the user interface is several degrees more
primitive than what they have on their desktop already to look up their Word files." Bray recognized
that there was a need for technology to allow people to use the full scope of a content management
system. Antarctica's Visual Net product provides a visual front end to an information database
thereby giving users a graphical window to the information.

This visual approach made sense for a library catalogue and fit into Don Beagle's vision of a
graphically-based catalogue. Beagle had observed a couple of interesting patterns when he and his
staff studied users' searching habits. Some people simply browsed the shelves, which was fine for
books, but meant that they were missing any of the library's electronic materials that could not be
stacked on the shelves. The other typical user was utilizing the online catalogue, but they were often
using keywords to locate information (as one would do in an Internet search engine). This may seem
like a logical approach, but Beagle points out that online catalogues are typically organized around
author-title searches, rather than keyword searches, so a search for environment, for example,
would bring up books with environment in the title, but not ecology, conservation, or other related
words.

Beagle says that one of the advantages of using Visual Net is not only that users can interact with a
visual representation of the Library of Congress Classification System, they can also search the
database of materials using keywords and they have found that this is much more effective in
locating the range of materials related to the search

After meeting Bray, Beagle came back to the College, and with help of some faculty members, put
together a grant to purchase Visual Net. Over the following year, he worked with Antarctica to design
the graphic they would use to represent the front end and move the data (online catalogue) to a
database on the Antarctica servers. What they came up with was a library metaphor where each of
the Library of Congress classifications was represented by a book on a shelf.

Clicking a book such as Philosophy, Psychology, Religion at the top level of the map brings you to a
page with a visual map of this category's sub-topics. You could continue to drill down in this fashion
until you get to a map with titles, or you can scroll the list of sub-topics along the left side of the
screen. Clicking a topic in this list highlights the related topic in the map. Finally, you can enter a
keyword into the search field and locate a category that way. Whichever method you use, you
eventually end up with a visual map containing titles that match your search criteria. Currently they
have books (as those found on shelves) and electronic books.

A special icon designates each type of book so that once you learn the system, you can quickly
distinguish between the types of books. What's more, you can click an ebook title and go directly to
its description online where you can then choose to sign in and view it. If you click a book that's
found on the shelf, the system displays the card catalogue entry for that book. Beagle says that
since they started using Visual Net, they have seen a dramatic increase in the use of electronic
books because the Visual Net search engine displays ebooks right along side regular books.

Beagle has been very happy with the system, although they continue to make tweaks. In fact, they
plan to change the icons and to include links to library maps for books stored on shelves to make it
easier for people to locate them. Says Beagle, "It seemed to me that people were visually-oriented,
but when you get into content, we were still dealing with lists." To Beagle, making a visual map of his
library information only made sense and so far the system has worked out just as he envisioned it.

PAPERLESS DREAM BECOMES REALITY

perhaps no other industry rivals insurance for sheer volume of paper produced, yet Acuity Insurance
had a vision of the future in which they would eliminate paper files as well as automate workflow and
create a mobile workforce. In this vision, they would process applications and claims more efficiently
and gain a competitive edge with this increased speed. On top of this, they would save money by
sending their sales and claims people on the road with mobile offices, which would allow them to
eliminate expensive office space for personnel who were often on the road working anyway. They
sought out a software vendor to help them turn this vision into reality, and being an IBM shop
already, they thought it made sense to turn to IBM for help.

Jim Glavine, director of information systems at Acuity, explains that they began to dabble in the idea
of a paperless office as much as seven years ago when they purchased IBM software for scanning
paper documents. Several years later, when they wanted to take the entire commercial line
paperless using a Web-based solution, they talked to IBM again. Although they also looked at
several other companies as well, Glavine points out they already had a relationship with IBM, which
had offered a content product called Content Manager that (along with other software) could help
them achieve their paperless dream.

Glavine says, "We needed a way to get rid of paper files" and today everything is captured and
placed online as soon as it comes into the building. Glavine says, "All of the work flow and touch
points changed," and as a result, he says, "everyone became more productive." Applications are
scanned and entered on 21-inch monitors, so personnel can display the scanned document and the
Acuity data entry application at the same time. Once that's done, it is put in an online cue and is sent
automatically to the next person in the process. Acuity hopes to eliminate the data entry step
eventually by having all sales representatives handle applications online, but they haven't reached
that point yet because they use an independent sales system, making it more difficult to impose a
standardized procedure.

During this process, Acuity was able to move many of their personnel out of offices and onto the
road where they could be more productive and interact directly with customers. This move allowed
Acuity to eliminate several large offices and save 6 million dollars from that alone. Glavine admits
that at first, there was anxiety about closing offices, but after personnel got used to the new system,
they liked the freedom of working on the road and face to face with customers, and just as important,
customers liked the personal contact. With the new system, Glavine says, Acuity personnel lines
now has a 24 hour turn-around, one of the fastest in the industry and this gives them an obvious
competitive advantage.

A CM Fairy Tale COME TRUE

this is the story of Eminent Research, a company once inundated by paper documents, working with
researchers all over the world, sending documents back and forth by courier services and forced by
government regulation to maintain an audit trail of the elaborate process. The system was
expensive, prone to errors and difficult to manage, so Eminent went in search of a solution. What
they found was the Stellent Content Management System, which streamlined the entire process and
transformed the way they do business.
IMAGE ILLUSTRATION 23
Using IBM's content management solution, Acuity Insurance was able to implement a paperless
workflow that dramatically increased the turnaround time for applications in their personal lines.
IMAGE ILLUSTRATION 28
Using Stellent's CMS, Eminent was able to streamline the process of adding new material to their
content-rich Web site and dramatically alter the workflow of the research documentation process.

Linn Laak, vice president and chief operating officer at Eminent Research says, "As a research
organization, we are required to file an extraordinary amount of paperwork with the Food and Drug
Administration to even get permission to do the kind of work we do, which is essentially trials of new
technologies in the human patient population worldwide." She says that these documents, which
range in size from 60 to 500 pages, were being shipped to physicians, ethics boards, and hospitals
all over the world, and they needed to arrive on schedule and intact.

Laak explains that they needed something to manage the volume of documents, but they also
needed to be able to audit any document that came into or left their shop so they could track from
beginning to end where it had been, what it had been used for, any modifications that had been
made, and ultimately what the final version was. Finally, they needed to be able to show that
information to the Food and Drug Administration at any particular moment in time. Laak says that
they were doing all of this manually. On top of this monumental document load, they also run one of
the largest medical Web sites in the country (www.tctmd.com). Laak saw that with so much content
and a workflow issue to deal with that they needed to get control of this process and a content
management system seemed the logical way to go.

She went to four content management companies looking for a solution that could automate their
process, but she recognized fairly early that Stellent offered what she needed, and allowed Eminent
to get from purchase to implementation with little fuss, which was an important purchase factor for
them. Laak says, "Everyone we talked to that used the Stellent product said that they were up and
running within weeks instead of months or years." She says this was a major selling point for them
because as a small company they don't have lots of extra cash. Look says, "For us to buy something
that's expensive and then to be functionally able use it right away has to be directly linked." She
explains that Eminent didn't have a budget for additional programming and consulting time to get the
program running. It had to ran out of the box as is, and Stellent was able to meet this demand.

Look purchased Stellent's content management solution and the only "customization" required was
incorporating a unique graphic they asked for (that they no longer use), a minor tweak to say the
least in the scheme of content management systems. Other than that, a person in-house was able to
get up and running on the program with little handholding.

Today, all Web content is managed through the Stellent system and they have applied an automated
workflow to the trial document process. While the medical personnel were not thrilled to have
workflow imposed upon them, for the most part they were able to begin using the system with little
training other than a single sheet of instructions. Look says that all workflow is now handled via
email. Project managers set up projects and the system sends email notifications to all parties
involved. If the system detects that the document has not been retrieved, it sends reminder emails
automatically. Documents are checked in and checked out through a Web site and the entire
process is recorded by the Stellent system, meaning that it is now simple for Eminent to comply with
FDA audit requests. In the process, Laak reports, they saved more than $500,000 previously spent
on labor putting together packages and the subsequent Federal Express and other courier charges
sending the packages to parties all over the world.
Laak now candidly admits that going forward was risk for a small company, but she says that the
"Stellent solution has done so much to change the whole complexion of our business." She says that
they took a chance that they could stretch a bit and in the end it put them ahead of their competitors.
Laak says, "We had a bright salesman who could think beyond our industry and a solid board [of
directors] willing to take chance."

Picture Perfect CM

documentum began in the document management business 12 years ago, long before content
management as we now know it was even a concept, and it was precisely this staying power that
drew Kodak to them when they went looking for a content management solution. They needed help
managing their massive collection of product support literature, which included documentation,
online help, service manuals, and service and support content for the Web site. Not only did Kodak
have to produce these items in a variety of formats (hard copy, pdf, html), they also had the added
burden of having to translate the finished products into multiple languages. They had reached a
point where the process was becoming unmanageable.
IMAGE ILLUSTRATION 37
Using Documentum, Kodak is able to translate material into multiple languages quickly and easily.

Prior to bringing in Documentum to help, Kodak had attempted to use another vendor's solution, but
it never worked out and the relationship finally ended when the vendor went out of business. John
Bustard, director of technical knowledge management at Kodak says, "We were looking at Gartner
and [other industry experts] in order to understand where various content management packages
were stacking up based on different criteria. Documentum at that time had made a hard push into
Web content management and were highly rated in terms of their positioning by [these] industry
experts." Bustard says that Documentum matched their desire for a company with a large user base
that wasn't going away and was highly touted by industry experts, and they jumped on board.

Lisa Schwartz, manager of strategic initiatives, was also drawn to the fact that Documentum
integrated with Adobe FrameMaker (their writing and production tool) and with their Lotus Notes
system (an important factor when they purchased the system). Perhaps most important to Schwartz,
however, was that Documentum was promoting XML as a content management solution, and
although, she says, "we weren't there yet, we knew that was part of a strategy and that was where
we were heading."

Kodak knew they needed to start migrating content to XML and wanted to get to the point where they
could programmatically process content to multiple outputs. The Documentum solution not only
allowed them to do this, but also allowed them to bring order to the documentation creation process
by developing workflow systems that automated the flow of content through the editorial cycle. Still,
there were many hurdles to overcome making the transition to the Documentum system.
Bustard says in order to ease the transition, they started working with a consultant from IBM to help
them convert from the manual publications production system they were using to a content-managed
environment and to make the transition to xml. Bustard says the consultant told them to concentrate
on converting one content area such as user guides and to make the transition to content
management slowly, beginning with the check-in/check-out process. Bustard says, "This was the
correct approach," but he points out that his writing staff did not see huge productivity improvements
straight away, although productivity did improve over time.

Meanwhile, Schwartz and her technical staff were working on making the transition to XML, which
involved breaking down different types of information into component pieces that they could reuse.
Today, Kodak uses XML extensively to chunk and reuse information in the Documentum content
repository. Schwartz says that using Documentum's XML application allows them to take XML and
break it apart at whatever level they need to. Using a camera as an example, she explains they may
write a series of different pieces on the camera such as specifications, introductory statement,
benefits, etc. She says, "The XML application allows us to burst apart the information at those levels,
so then we can take those small components and drive reuse."

John Bustard points to the Kodak.com Web site as an example of how they are reusing information.
He says that they are managing the Service and Support site for digital Easy Share Cameras
through XML processes and Documentum. Bustard says that in the old days, when you needed to
update accessories that are common to several cameras, you had to manually update every page
associated with that accessory. Now, he says, they maintain information in a database table and
programmatically update every relevant Web page with the push of a button. He says one of their
driving principals has been "How can we programmatically address this content instead of
addressing it all manually."

Lisa Schwartz says her department's whole focus now in document production is to make the
process as seamless as possible, whether working in a variety of output formats, or in multiple
languages. Schwartz points out that without this process automation, it would be very difficult to
translate the material into multiple languages. She says, "If we had to take these manuals in the
state they were in before without using this process, we probably wouldn't even have the manpower
to put them out there in all of these various languages. It would be just too labor-intensive and cost-
prohibitive for us to do that."

THE MOVIES

atornz CEO Steve Kuzmer cut his teeth running the Macromedia corporate Web site and that
experience helped him understand the challenges associated with managing a large Web site. That
is how he came up with the idea that Web site content management should be an outsourced Web-
based service accessible from any browser, rather than an application that sits on a company server.
The end result was Atomz Publish, a Web-hosted, Web site content management package.
IMAGE ILLUSTRATION 48

Using Atomz Publish, a Web-- hosted content management solution, users can update content and
insert graphics without help from the Web design staff.

Kuzmer says, "We build enterprise applications for Web sites that are 100 percent Web native (or
hosted). We have never shipped a CD and we believe it's a better solution." He says they are "trying
to enable customers in a straightforward intuitive way to add and modify content on Web property
anywhere you have a browser without having to worry about software licenses."

It was just this model that appealed to Kesone Phimmasone, director of ecommerce at New Line
Cinema. She says, "There was a need for our department to put together a site where public
relations people could go online and get content such as images and production notes about
upcoming movies." Phimmasone says New Line had implemented a custom content management
system in their LA office for this purpose, which she characterized as "a disaster." She was asked to
search for a new solution when she read an article about Atomz Publish. Intrigued, she went to their
Web site and downloaded a 30-day trial, and after implementing in the demo area the very publicity
site she was charged with building, she realized this was exactly what she needed. While it was not
perfect, she was happy with the overall results, which became the New Line Cinema Publicity Site
(www.moviepubhcity.com).