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The Corner Office
Recently, there has been a lot of hubbub about digital signatures or electronically signing a document. The consensus is that digital
signatures is the next logical step in supporting an electronic workflow - but is it?
Well, it is and it isn't. It is one alternative but by no means your only option. Frankly, the feedback we have been receiving is that
the technology is not the issue, but the participation of the people is the roadblock. What gives? The short answer is that rolling out
an online approval process involves more than just technology - it is about the people, the process, and the technology. In order for
an online approval process to work, the people must be incentivized to implement a technology that enables an online approval process.
Sounds like a lot of hooey but let me break it down for you.
Like all assessments, let's begin with our objective. Pretty simple - we want to be able to sign a document electronically so we
can email or ftp a set of approved documents to the intended recipient. Is that it? Let's be honest - the underlying motivation is a bit
more practical - we are trying to save time and money. What this means is that the problem we are attempting to solve has two parts - 1)
what technology (if any) do we adopt to sign a document and get it to the intended recipient without 2) taking more time than is spent
today or increasing the overall cost. Roughly translated - what is the business case or cost-benefit to this new technology?
So then, how do we create a business case for a process redesign (and I use this term loosely)? You could calculate all direct
and indirect costs for your current process and compare it to a proposed future state. Or, you can forget all the hard numbers and
simply see what happens (i.e., roll out a pilot project). People have a natural barometer for what they will do and won't do - try
something on a small group of people and see what happens or rather who complains and who doesn't.
What are your options?
Option 1. The easiest, but a bit more time consuming, is to do everything the way you do now with paper, simply scan it in and
email it. For 8.5 x 11 or small format documents, this might just be the easiest way to go. Many small to medium sized business have
copy/scan machines that can be hooked up to your network to send an email with the files once they are complete. If you have such a
copy/scan machine, you are good to go. But what are the drawbacks of this process? First, you have to have a scanner. Second, you have
to spend the time to scan then email the documents. Third, the scanned files have a tendency to be quite large. And finally, if you work
with large format CAD drawings, this becomes a very time-consuming process as you scan in one drawing at a time and the result is not
only a large file, but a file that is not exactly to scale.
Option 2. One step above the scan and one step below the digital signature, is the electronic signature stamp and flatten
technique. What this entails is simply taking a scan or image of your signature (if you have a tablet, you can ink your signature),
place it on the file, and use the flatten feature in Bluebeam PDF Revu to merge the markup layer into the content layer. The result is
indistinguishable from a scan, with a couple of exceptions. First, the file is much smaller as converting to PDF directly from the
native application is more efficient. Second, the quality is much better - font information can be embedded, drawing information can
be transferred as vector data and scale is maintained for large format drawings. Third, you save paper and promote green practices
(no need to print then scan - everything is done electronically). The drawback to such a process is probably the only benefit of the
last option - digital signatures - which is that you are unable to validate the signature. That being said, all you have to do is add
security to your PDF file to restrict markup and editing and you should be good to go.
Option 3. Finally, use digital signatures to sign and approve a document. Create a signature form field in a PDF file, generate
a private or public key to validate that signature, and sign the file in that field (with various descriptive data attached). The benefit
of such a process is that if anyone attempts to change the file after it has been signed, the signature will be invalid. You also have
the option to verify that a signature is authentic. Your visual indicator until a signature is validated is a question mark in front of
the signature. Once it is validated, you have a checkmark. I don't know about you but this implementation needs a little work on aesthetics
(but that would be Adobe's job). There are a few drawbacks to this process in addition to the visual blemish on your document. First,
there is a process to set up your signature fields and signature profile. Second, if you plan to go with a public key (so that those
outside your organization can validate your signature) get ready for another process (our experience shows that 30% of the time you may
run into a few hurdles - worse case, spend a lot of time and end up with nothing). If you make it this far, let's hope that the receiver
does not have any firewall barriers that prevent the validation of your signature. If so, that document is pretty much useless.
So where do I stand on this? I'd go with option #2, then option #1, then attempt option #3. Why? Primarily, ease of use and
practicality. No one wants to learn a new process and spend a lot of time setting up signature blocks, signatures, public keys, etc.
and worry about what the recipient sees on the other end. Remember, the premise of this article is that adoption is a bigger issue than
technology. Frankly, if you can get away with a wet signature on paper that you can scan/email or fax, then why not? If you receive a
file electronically and wish to review and sign it electronically, why not flatten an electronic signature stamp. It saves paper, is a
process similar to what you do with paper, and it visually looks exactly the same as paper. Now I know of a handful of folks who use
digital signatures for their review and release cycle but you should also understand that it works because of other technology that is
combined with digital signatures - releasing and stamping software applications.
The bottom line - run a pilot project. If you improve on the margin, saving time and money, then you benefit. If you wish to
migrate to a more complex solution and measure the return on that investment (or adoption), the option is always there. Hope this was
helpful and thanks for reading.
Richard
Bluebeam CEO
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