CREATING A PAPERLESS PUC: THE WISCONSIN EXPERIENCE Paul NewmanNARUC Annual Meeting San Francisco Chief Information OfficerNovember 2014 Background People have been talking about going paperless for a looong time Some believe that the paperless office is not that far off. - BusinessWeek, The Office of the Future - June 30, 1975 Our mission is to serve the public interest by improving the quality and effectiveness of public utility regulation. Under State law, NARUC's members have an obligation to ensure the establishment and maintenance of utility services as may be required by law and to ensure that such services are provided at rates and conditions that are fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory for all consumers. NARUC web site Mission of State PUCs Background (continued) PUCs Document Management Mission Regulations vary across states Applications In -- Orders Out Many sub-processes along the way Decide where to break the processes into various parts Primarily based on timeline Useful Prerequisites - Wisconsin Top Leader with Vision Top Management with Commitment Apps Development Staff (or at least budget for professional services) Enterprise Database and DBA EDM Vendor who listens Case Management System Statute changes to allow electronic delivery Wisconsin Early Strategy Wisconsin PSC implemented electronic filing in 2004 Always intended to make it a two-phase project One repository for official documents (ERF) Another repository for internal documents (EDM) Electronic version has always been the official version Wisconsin PSC Formal Case Process EDM Core Features Check-Out/Check-In Only one person editing at one time Version Control Integration with Common Applications MS Office Acrobat AutoCad Metadata tagging for easy search Full-Text Indexing Automated, rules- based workflow Document routing Review and Approval Accountability Customized to the way you work EDM Core Features (continued) Open SDK / API to allow customized add-ons for more fully integrating with organizations existing applications Audit trail or document log who, what, when, where for actions performed on every single document Remote Access via Web Security to limit access where required by practice or law EDM System Choices Client-Server, Web-based or BOTH Cloud-based, hosted option also starting to be available Most packages have certain core features Wisconsin PSCs Selection: Document Locator by ColumbiaSoft Corporation Hybrid Approach to Roll-out Team formed to set standards Standards applied Commission-wide Roll out to only one division at a time. Planning and Strategy e-Paper Team assisted with design, development and implementation of the system Team consisted of power business users and support staff plus IT staff Representation from every business unit, as these will be your liaisons with the business unit staff Planning and Strategy (continued) Repository Folder Structure Agency Division Utilities Naming Standards for documents Docket #, Document Type Standard document types No Other categories Standardized templates for: Memos, Letters, Notices, Orders Standardized Templates - Example Working Remotely With DL and DirectAccess You need a good workflow process you cant automate chaos - John Heckman, Why Document Management: A White paper, Heckman Consulting Workflow the Key to it all Workflows Need to be customizable to fit any circumstance in order to process and route documents for approval Need to allow for automation of certain processes and automatic routing and distribution of documents based on the document properties Whether to deploy workflow depends on how many people have to touch the document from the beginning of the process to the end Not all processes make sense to workflow not enough steps Start Small Diagram everything! Started with stable, easily repeatable process Notices Who should be assigned? How long to complete a task? What happens if the time limit is exceeded? Can this step be eliminated? Re-Engineer Business Processes "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." - Peter Drucker The Essential Drucker, Peter F. Drucker, HarperCollins Publishers, Copyright 2001 Develop Workflows for each major process Use process mapping to lay out each process Consider every major process in the organization When thats done, move on to administrative processes Workflow doesnt work for everything, so make it paperless another way Create Web Applications for non-Workflow Processes Logs and Audit Trails Promotes Accountability Apportion Responsibility Signature Pads for Supervisors Eliminate signatures as often as possible Initialing memos Certain processes make people more comfortable to have signatures Add-In software to work with Office, Acrobat Working on touchscreen signature Custom Tools and Services Ways to Customize Purchased Software Created various applications and tools to interface with the EDM System and our other applications Linked existing databases to the metadata in the EDM system to enable customized workflows Created stored procedures to automate many specific steps Custom Reports for tracking workflows Creates Proper Folder Structure Easier way to enter Metadata makes sense to people Useful to gain Buy-In for making document creation simpler and more uniform Create a New Electronic Document Templates Consolidated all of our templates into primary templates with extensive macros AutoText for documents assures consistency and speeds processing Reduces number of errors Accessible within EDM system MS Office Ribbon Macro Document Location Created Reference Number for all documents Create Links to other documents in any document used to create Commission E- Agenda Create Public E-Agenda ERF Extract Application Return of Record to Courts Legal Discovery Open Records Requests Most Useful creating links for E-Binders Building Case Binders Post-It Application Network sometimes unavailable (airplanes, etc.) Get electronic materials to Commissioners timely, up-to- date Need to copy documents referenced by links in Agendas Extract and download to central location PSC E-Docs Hardware and Process Needed tablets/laptops better with touchscreen Settled on MS Surface Pro Tablets or touchscreen laptops then developed concept. Search the central location for new documents Compare Time/Date and Version number Synchronize device(s) PSC E-Docs Desktop Application PSC E-Docs Modern UI Application SQL Server Stored Procedures Automate common processes Upload to ERF, Rename Routes, extract files for E-Agenda, Auto-reports, auto workflow status, tariffs, send, Time stamp documents, etc. Reduces human error Typical PSCW Paper Agenda Benefits of an EDM Improved document retrieval time Reduced Labor costs Less filing, finding, copying, mailing, faxing Reduce paper, reduce space needs better for environment Better collaboration, easier to work remotely Better services, universal access for customers Initial Costs of Purchasing EDM Systems For medium size organizations (most businesses and state agencies), costs are typically in the range of $250-$500 per user Cloud-based, hosted systems can go as low as $35-$200 per user per year with little or no upfront costs some may not be as full-featured Costs vary with features and whether the system is client-server, web- based, cloud-based or all three Annual maintenance in the range of 15-30% of purchase cost fairly typical for software industry Initial Cost for 150 Users: ~$45,000 or $300 per user On-going maintenance: ~$9,000 or $65 per user per year PSCW Costs for EDM Lessons Learned Wisconsins Results Millions of $$$ of Savings by utilities Huge reduction in paper use by all Being Green Fewer Staff Speedier Processing Disk space requirements - higher initially, but are now levelling off Resistance to change was/is significant Not used to reading documents electronically Not used to or familiar with electronic mark-up Some are even unwilling to do their own typing Dont want to learn whole new system Frustrated by early user errors or lacked confidence in the new processes and their place in them Going paperless is a process Didnt develop overnight Step by Step Eventually automate every part of every process Snags cause people to say And then well print it Analyze these steps and then eliminate or automate that part of the process Continue to re-analyze paperless processes to make them better Pencil and Paper Physical File Share Postal Mail, Sneaker Net Pencil mark-up, many, MANY copies Paper attachments, paper copies, backpack overload The Paper versus Paperless Paradigm Creation Location Transport Editing & Approval Access EDM, MS Office, Templates Reference Numbers, Searching Workflow, Synchronization, Track Changes, Versioning, Signatures, E-Comments, E-Ink Hyperlinks, VPN, Web interface, Security, mobile apps Should your agency go Paperless? Far less expensive to convert to EDM than 10 years ago PCs and interfaces much more developed than before Bigger, better displays, faster CPUs and graphics, cheaper memory Tablets 2010, Windows 8 Fall 2012, MS Surface Pro Feb. 2013, Surface Pro 2 Oct. 2013, Surface Pro 3 June 2014 Faster networks and Internet resources (cloud) Recommendation Yes, go paperless with EDM! Still need to change the peoples attitudes, but More EDM systems with more features at prices lower than ever Lightweight, thinner devices for bringing documents wherever you go Better processing power, better battery life, better storage than ever before Better programming tools bring it all together, making it faster and cheaper to customize for your environment Thank you!! Thanks to the e-Paper Project team for all their ideas, efforts and persistence Thanks to the PSCW top management (Phil, R.J., Cindy, Sarah, etc.) for their vision and support Thanks to Norman, Loc, Scott and all the other folks at ColumbiaSoft for their knowledge, patience and help Special thanks to Cliff Koehler for being our DBA, workflow guru, facilitator and my all-around wing man for EDM. (Enjoy your retirement!) The End - Questions? Document Lifecycle / Records Management Currently Over 800,000 documents Case Closing Date is important New Standards for Records Retention should reflect electronic documents No Physical Storage needs Very inexpensive Easy to develop archival processes Archive after 10 years, Purge After 30, send to SHS After 75 years Statute Changes 2003 Wisconsin Act Allowed the use of electronic signatures 2011 Wisconsin Act 155 Re-defined idea of service to allow foror other kinds of delivery Subscription to PSCW ERF system provides direct delivery intowhenever a document is filed meeting the criteria Staff now hasaddresses for over 96% of all utility providers Sociological Aspects of going Paperless Habit is most important predictor of behavior Intention does not always lead to a change in behavior Resistance to Change a huge factor Requires Top Management support Doing Business Process Re-Engineering at the same time reduces process steps along with streamlining the workflow that results A leader who wont take no for an answer Wisconsin PSCs Most Important Features Versioning and audit logs Metadata & ODBC Dynamic Properties Integration with MS Office Ability to access Open SDK/API to tightly integrate EDM with Case Management, ERF, Employee Information System (EIS), Utility Name Database, and Customer Contact System Electronic Document Management Software Hundreds of software applications How does one choose? (Or how do you choose ONE?) What features do you need? What kind of system do you want? Metadata and application integration Another key component to workflow Using data from Case Management System, ERF System, Employee Database and Utility Database Assign properties to documents based on how they will be used Data ElementAssigned to Documents Application that creates the data Docket NumberAll Docketed Case documents Case Management System Complaint NumberAssigned to complaint documents Customer Contact System Employee NameHuman Resource documents Employee Information System Court Case NumberCourt case documentsCourt Case database Agenda StatusDocketed and non- docketed cases EDM system (system property)