Page 55 - Information Management 3rd Edition

costs. The two crucial elements to address in a forms management policy are the policies and procedures for the creation, review, production and storage of forms that must be established, and the specification of the staff who will be responsible for the management of forms. Valuable lessons for forms management are obtainable from the ISO 9000 Quality Management System. Examples of what is required from this system for the quality of forms are as follows:
– All forms are approved for adequacy prior to use.
– Forms that are part of the review cycle are regularly updated and reapproved
prior to use.
– Only the relevant versions of forms are available from the information
manager.
– PThe systemrto enesure that f-orms rpemain legiuble and reabdily identifiable
should be strictly adhered to.
– Forms of external origin should immediately be identified as such.
– All obsolete forms should be identified as such and withdrawn.
• Form analysis
Part of any well-established forms management system is the continuous analysis of forms to determine whether a form is necessary and, if so, how it
sho
systematically as an assigned project or when the form is due for printing. A
forms analysis exercise may result in improvements and therefore cut costs
by eliminating a form item or changing to a smaller standard form size. Form
analysis may reveal the following:
uld be desig
ned to
perform it
s funct
ion effectiv
– that the form is not needed,
copy
– that the form is not cost-effective,
– that another form can be used, or
– that two or more forms can be combined.
The analysis should be a group effort involving the analyst and all the users of the form. The role of the analyst is to provide direction, while the users supply the required information and make the necessary suggestions. The analyst should have a thorough knowledge of the flow of the form, how the form is completed, as well as the information that is extracted from the form as it moves from one workstation to another. The users of the form consist of all those who enter data on the form, extract information from the form and are otherwise involved in filling out or processing the form. When conducting form analysis, you need to decide whether the form is actually needed, the item on the form is clear and meets the need and whether or not there is sufficient space on the form to complete it.
• Form design
Form design is a crucial forms management function and is done manually or by computer. The layout of a form accompanies the form specification information when the form is ready to be produced. The basic elements of form design are:
– To identify the form and to ensure you are completing the correct form,
the title needs to be proper. Example: ‘Leave Application Form’.
– A form must be designed based on a need.
Chapter 3 – Managing Information
ely. This ca
n be done either
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