Time-Consuming Search for Documents: A Common Issue in Many Companies
Searching for documents and accessing them is a time-consuming problem faced by nearly every company. In many organizations, documents cannot be quickly found when needed. Several research firms evaluating the results of inefficient information management practices in companies highlight this issue. One such study found that the time-consuming searches for corporate information cost companies an additional $19,732 per employee per year and led to a 21.3% loss in overall productivity. That’s a significant loss!
Research has revealed that the main reason for the lengthy time spent finding documents is the widespread use of the “shared drive” approach, where documents are stored in network folders. In traditional folder-based systems, users define the relevant folder to store a document, place it inside, and rely on their memory to find it again later. This approach is relatively easy for someone who works with the same set of folders regularly, but it’s a system that’s personal and dependent on the individual. When someone else needs to access the same document, they must know which folder it’s stored in.
For instance, if a user wants to access a contract related to the XYZ Project with client ABC, they would need to know where the document is located. The first issue here is how the document is classified in the folder hierarchy. Should the project or the client be at the top? Or should “contracts” be under “projects”? Moreover, the same document might exist in multiple versions across different folders. The user needs to know whether the document is in the “Pre-Qualification,” “Client,” “Bidding,” or “Contracts” folders, or perhaps in all of them. Additionally, the user must figure out if different versions of the document are contained in one folder or spread across all the folders. This document search process can become much more difficult when there are multiple layers of folder hierarchies or confusing folder names. For the above example, imagine searching through 1000 project folders, 20,000 contracts, and 60,000 versions.
In folder-based systems, the control over how a document is classified, found, and accessed is determined by where it is stored (which folder). When the folder structure becomes cumbersome and difficult to manage, the entire system collapses. Determining the ideal file structure is essentially impossible. No matter how much effort is put into creating a folder system, it inevitably becomes chaotic over time, making it impossible to manage. Some common issues with folder systems include:
- Difficulty for new personnel or those unfamiliar with the folder naming system, leading to time-consuming searches.
- Security concerns (authorization is folder-based).
- Multiple copies of documents leading to increased costs.
- Lack of filtering, sorting, and grouping capabilities.
- Documents being misplaced (saved in the wrong folder).
- Limitations with up to 5000 items.
- Empty folders (surprise! You find that the folder is empty).
- Data integrity issues.
- Difficulty in sharing files.
The New System: The “Give Me What I Want” Approach and Metadata
If these problems are related to hierarchical structures, levels, branches, and folders, the solution is simple.
A more efficient way of explaining something is not to describe where it is located but to describe “what it is.” Everyone knows what they’re working on but is often unsure about where it’s stored, especially when the document is frequently stored in multiple folders. If the document is mistakenly placed in the wrong folder, finding it again can be a nightmare.
To solve this, instead of storing documents in folders, the solution is to organize them by adding tags, categories, or attributes. When we want to access a document, the question is no longer “where did I put it or where is it?” Instead, the focus is on the document’s attributes—“What are its characteristics?” “Which features do I want?” In other words, rather than organizing documents by placing them in specific folders, we organize them by tagging them and then selecting the features we want or excluding unwanted features when searching.
This tagging system is referred to as metadata. Metadata is essentially information about the data, an index, or an attribute that helps us easily find what we’re looking for. It frees us from folder hierarchies. Instead of wasting time wondering which folder the document is in, we can simply type what we’re looking for and instantly access the information. In the example above, by searching for the metadata for the client (ABC), project (XYZ), and search criteria (contract), we can narrow down the list of thousands of folders and documents and quickly access the document.
Metadata provides several advantages:
- Easy to find documents based on specific search criteria.
- Grouping that is independent of folder hierarchy.
- Better security and more detailed authorization.
- Data integrity and elimination of duplicate documents.
- Prevents documents from being lost or mixed up.
Additionally, a metadata system enables other useful features, such as automatic document numbering and naming rules. Document naming rules can be automatically enforced with document types, dates, and auto-generated numbers, or automated control rules (e.g., project number must be four digits). This helps prevent errors and saves time by keeping the structure organized.
Of course, breaking old habits is a challenging process. It’s not easy to give up searching through folders and clicking through them. But once a document is found using metadata, or the chaos of folder-based systems is abandoned, it becomes difficult to return to the old habits.
So, which document were we searching for?
