Managing Business Forms — 5th Edition (2008)
by Robert Barnett
Table of Contents
Introduction to the 5th Edition
The 5th Edition has been extensively revised and enlarged. Most of the old content remains but some has been rearranged to make it more logical. There are two new chapters and a great deal of additional material, including information supplied by various forms professionals from the Business Forms Management Association. This new edition is almost 50% larger than the previous edtion.
Chapter 1 A Brief History of Business Forms
Why this chapter is important
A time when there were no forms
Automation enters the world of forms
Tabulator forms set trend for modern computer forms
Carbon paper and multipart forms leap forward
“Pegboard” and “one-write” systems serve small business
National Cash Register introduces “carbonless paper”
Low-cost office typesetting sets the trend in form design
Electrostatic plates and photocopying reduce costs
Computer-aided form design changes the forms world
Forms proliferation brings about the need for control
Forms Automation and the “Paperless Office”
Chapter 2 Reengineering Your Business Forms
Process reengineering
Why reengineer your forms?
The role of information technology
Finding forms to reengineer
Avoiding failure
Forms Management and Knowledge Management
Chapter 3 Getting Forms Under Control
What is a Forms Management Program?
Setting the objectives for a Forms Management Program
The functions of a Forms Management Program
Four major functions
The need for a unified approach
Chapter 4 Responsibilities
The need for a formal statement
Where the responsibilities lie
Chapter 5 The Forms Management Department
A warning from the past
Why a special Department?
The structure of the Department-—some basic concepts
Typical position descriptions
Department structure—some typical approaches
Where to place the Department within the organisation
Selecting Forms Management personnel
Decentralising the forms management function
A lesson from recent history
Decentralising guidelines
Chapter 6 Form Identification
How to identify forms
Form titles
Preliminary titles and subtitles
Form numbering
The role of the form number
Some common approaches to form numbering
Numbering of electronic forms
Allocating blocks of numbers
Number prefixes and suffixes
What to do about non-stock forms
What to do about temporary forms
Chapter 7 Indexing and Filing
The Forms History File
The Job File
The Form Number Register
A computer index
Do you really need a Functional File?
Functional filing—some of the more important factors
Which functional filing system is best?
Basic principles of functional file/index construction
A couple of alternatives to the functional index
Chapter 8 Managing New and Changed Forms
Some fundamental principles
1 Make service a high priority
2 Formalise the process
3 Don’t waste time on trivial matters
4 Report problems back to the requestor
5 Educate the users
6 Deal with questions before layout
7 Avoid having multiple user sign-off
The Form Design Request form
Managing forms quality
Design sign-off
What to do about bootleg forms
Chapter 9 Day to Day Work
Basic record keeping
Keeping statistics
Manual recording system
Computer-based recording systems
Setting priorities
Chapter 10 Forms Analysis and Design
Controlling design
Form design isn’t easy
Understanding the current process
The analysis and design team
The analysis and design process—an overview
The tools and techniques of analysis
Using the right tools
Chapter 11 Form Design Standards
The need
Standards or Guidelines?
Flexibility of standards
Establishing the standards
Consultation
Enforcing the standards
The most important issue
Chapter 12 Testing and Evaluating Forms
The failure of traditional methods
What we’ve learned in recent years
Finding out what people do with forms
Setting up a quality testing program
Chapter 13 Form Review
The need for review
When to review forms
What a review system should provide
The first review
The process of review
When the review is finished
Forms improvement programs
Later specialised programs
Meeting objections
Chapter 14 Producing the Forms
Typesetting and preparing files for printing
Should Forms Management buy the forms?
Using brokers and distributors
Initial contacts with printers
Lead times
Purchasing forms for new systems
When the forms are printed
Inspecting printed forms
Dealing with badly produced forms
Who is to blame for bad printing?
Getting good quality printing
Standard specification forms
Chapter 15 Supplying the Forms to Users
Responsibility for inventory and stock control
Physical control of forms storage
Delivery of stock to users
Watch critical items
Beware of over-controlling your forms
Unexpected shortages and urgent requirements
Solutions to unexpected shortages
Dealing with obsolete and obsolescent forms
Archiving obsolete forms
Outsourcing the supply function
Chapter 16 Managing Electronic Forms
An often-repeated prophecy
Paperless office at the cross-roads
Basic management principles
Learning what people do with electronic forms
Alliances and workgroups
Chapter 17 Planning the Program
Major considerations
Why planning the program is so important
Who will install the program?
Staffing the Forms Management Department
The preliminary survey
Developing your plan of operations
Chapter 18 Senior Management Backing
Why this backing is necessary
Breaking through the barriers
Dealing with internal politics
Dealing with naive management
Chapter 19 Implementing the Program
The first steps
How long will it take?
Setting up the Department
Setting up the numbering system
Announcing your existence
The launch meeting
The role of the consultant
Some “back door” methods
Implement slowly
Chapter 20 Collecting and Cataloguing Forms
The great forms robbery!
Why this chapter is near the end of the book
The aim of the process
Collecting the samples—finding out which forms are in use
The collection letter
When the forms arrive
Listing the forms
When the listing is complete
Detecting “bootleg” forms
Chapter 21 Measuring and Reporting Savings
A forms management barometer
Savings categories
The company staff news
The source of data
The report itself
Chapter 22 Making Sure the Program Works
The future of the program
Your approach to the job
Don’t waste time on trivial matters
Monitoring progress
The importance of “doing it right the first time”
Maintain your exposure
Be an expert
Why some Forms Management Programs fail
Conclusion
Chapter 23 Postscript: Lessons From a Disaster
Why this chapter was written
The disaster
Operator failure and faulty training
Failure to identify the hazards
Removal of speciaists
Ignoring alarms
Informal work practices
Insufficient specialist staff
Communication failure
Corporate culture
Ineffective auditing
Conclusion—the need for mindfulness
Appendix 1 Reading List
Appendix 2 Sample Forms
Form design request
Form test report
Form design sign-off
Form activity log
Form number register
Form job control
Form job history
Form review notice
Form printig authority
Forms management report
Appendix 3 Sample Forms Management Policy
Appendix 4 Sample Forms Management Procedures
Requesting a new form
Requesting a change to an existing form
Processing request for a changed form
Processing request for a new form
Designing new or changed paper forms
Arranging form design sign-off (paper forms)
Processing signed-off paper form
Planned review of forms
Appendix 5 Subject Index