Aug 25, 2021 9:21:03 AM

The ‘wrong note’ that upsets performance

We have all been at that concert, the one where the music appears to flow effortlessly from the stage, enveloping the listeners in a warm blanket of joy. The memories of this performance will be fond for all until that one moment, when a stray note (be it flat, sharp, missed or additional) echoes out. It will be missed by some but become the focus of others, possibly to the extent that their overriding memory will not be the beautiful performance but just that one mistake that ‘ruined’ everything.

And so it is with application platforms such as ECM (Enterprise Content Management), a new or updated configuration is tested (rehearsed) and then implemented into production (performance). Initially all is well, the platform performs the tasks until that one inevitable day when something is not quite right, the ‘wrong note’ appears. Much like the listeners at a concert, for some it will go completely unnoticed, whilst for others, it will taint their view of the whole platform. Even if that issue is relatively minor, isolated and quickly addressed – it will potentially leave a lasting impression. On that day ‘everything’ will be wrong with the ECM platform for those users.

For system implementers like PacSol, the ultimate aim is to provide a flawless platform that performs day in, day out like you would expect the LSO to perform their concerts each and every time. The need to test any new development in collaboration with our customers is paramount in ensuring that the deployment not only goes smoothly but the platform runs as expected. Whilst it may appear onerous to some, plugging through scripted scenarios one after the other, this process is essential even if it does slow the time to implementation – never miss out on QA over time to implementation as it will pay off in the longer term with system usability, reliability and performance.

It is inevitable that the day will come when something changes, that ‘wrong note’ rears its ugly head, however, that is where having access to a dedicated, attentive, approachable and knowledgeable support service is paramount. Here at PacSol we dedicate ourselves to ensuring our customers (you) not only get the best out of the systems we supply but that you also get the best support service – not only the best we can be, but comparatively, the best in the business of ECM providers.

For some users, the issue will still be minor, so they’ll work around / ignore it for a few days / months / years down the line until someone notices the change in process. The trouble is, this seemingly minor workaround could be compromising a fundamental part of the business process, for example signatory audit or change control, that is required to ensure compliance. Therefore it is essential that, no matter how seemingly small, the relevant support service is notified of any changes so that there can be an investigation and resolution, that not only ensures the process integrity but also ensures no one person is left with a ‘soured’ perception of the application. The latter point is critical as users who feel a platform is not functioning correctly or become distrustful of a system, will often start to avoid using that process, finding other ways to complete the task that potentially opens the business to non-compliance and financial risk.

Whilst we hope that any implementation we provide will process flawlessly for many years, there are always the changes around the platform (operating system, Java, .NET etc) that will upset the original install. PacSol support is here to ensure those issues are resolved effectively and in a timely fashion – don’t hold back in reporting any issue to us – we don’t bite…