Custom Workflow System with Document Management

Workflow, Project & Document Management, integrating with websites

Porge Research maintain a bespoke data repository which enables subscribers to access detailed information about emerging opportunities. They provide evidence-based public sector market insight, from detailed analysis of authentic public sector data, that is used by commissioners and procurement professionals in the public sector.

The Problem

When Porge approached us they were carrying out systematic reviews and detailed analysis of documents downloaded from the websites of several thousand organisations. With demand for their service they wanted to expand, but were limited by the labour intensive nature of their workflow system and document management process. This was based on email folders and excel spreadsheets.

The workflow process comprised research, portal update (write-up) and subsequent audit. Once approved it would go live on their portal.

Project management was time-consuming. Jobs required varying degrees of skill and experience, but it was difficult for supervisors to assign appropriate work to each team member as it was difficult to gauge the current situation of jobs.

The Solution

We built a custom Workflow database system using Microsoft Access which modelled their own workflow process of research, portal update and auditing.

This contains a database of organisations with quick links to relevant areas of their websites. Integrating website links in this way enabled easy access to relevant pages, so information about each org was easily and quickly accessible.

Document management was improved with quick links to relevant document folders for each organisation, which both simplified and consolidated the organisation of information.

Project management is now much easier. A new custom work allocation view shows upcoming organisations to be researched, as well as staff (with their skill level) available to work on them. This has significantly sped up the allocation process.

Jobs can be allocated priorities, so project managers can ensure that important jobs are given special treatment.

Each worker now has their own view of the work items allocated to them, so it is easier for them to focus on their work in hand and manage their own workflow.

An improved Management Information System ensures that metrics are automatically collected. This tracks the workflow timeframes and the difficulty level of projects, thereby helping with future work allocations.