Save a KISS for Visualfiles
Post by Nigel Williams |
We are often astonished at the brilliant and complex systems that our clients build using Visualfiles. These market-leading organisations have spent a lot of time and effort developing their workflows and the resulting solutions allow their business to operate at optimum efficiency in a variety of different sectors. But reaching this point of perfection can take a lot of time and a fair amount of resource. The perceived "time to value" can be too long for those organisations wanting to catch up.
Research frequently identifies that "process improvement and therefore greater efficiency" is the objective for many legal practitioners, so surely a flexible workflow technology that can grow with your requirements and is proven in the legal market is a must? However, the fear factor of adopting ‘case management' can affect judgement – aside from any ‘dumbing down prejudice', a worry that the solution might take too long to become operational means that many firms simply don't try, or only consider it for the traditional areas such as conveyancing, debt recovery or personal injury. But you can't win if you don't try. So that's where the Visualfiles KISS comes in.
KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple stupid" as a U.S. Navy design principle in the 1960s, and states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore, simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.
It was Leonardo da Vinci who said "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" and so it's something that we're embracing with the Visualfiles Accelerators. We recognised that it often took time to get a complete Visualfiles system tailored to the needs of the business – even with some of the traditional areas – and so the idea of an Accelerator was born. Boiling the efficiency requirements down, what lawyers want is a file-centric approach that offers document production capability, flexible document storage and retrieval, simplification of admin tasks, to-do lists and reminders, and the ability to record key file data such as the parties involved in the case. Visualfiles Accelerators provide this foundation out of the box, with minimal configuration, and yet allow for any subsequent evolution.
The KISS principle for Visualfiles is delivered by what we call the Accelerator Framework, the foundation that provides the core lawyer functionality with minimal effort. Within a few days you can install the Framework and quickly create a customised solution for any area of your business that dramatically reduces the "time to value" without reducing available functionality.
Of course, as it's Visualfiles, there's no limit to how far you can take things. We have used the Accelerator Framework to create more comprehensive workflow-driven solutions for conveyancing and probate; supported by optional ‘add-ons' for risk management and matter estimation.
We will continue to create Accelerator solutions, and the idea of KISS is something that we are excited about and encourage clients to adopt. Start with simple, quick to build and quick to implement line-of- business solutions that can make an immediate impact, so that you create an appetite for evolution and wider adoption.
So perhaps it should be known as SISS!
Start It Simple Stupid!
About the Author: Nigel Williams
Nigel has led the product function since 2013 and has worked with Visualfiles since it was first released. With wide experience the legal sector, including Head of IT in 2 separate law firms, before joining Solicitec in 2004, he has also worked in the NHS and served for 9 years in the RAF, in the UK and overseas. Outside of work, Nigel lives in Gloucestershire and is married with 3 grown up daughters. He is a long-suffering Gloucester Rugby season ticket holder, hoping rather than expecting! Aside from the rugby, Nigel is a qualified hockey umpire and a keen photographer.
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