After years of ECM projects, here’s how I do things differently nowadays

In IT, it is essential to stay up to date, as technology evolves at an ever-accelerating pace.

As consultants, we constantly face new challenges, many of which extend beyond purely technical matters, while adapting to diverse contexts and audiences.

That’s what makes this profession so exciting!

At dbi services, knowledge sharing is deeply embedded in our culture.

Over the past three months, I’ve had the opportunity to share my experience working on ECM projects for years.

This post concludes the series by highlighting the key insights that have shaped my approach to these projects.

Stop thinking “System first”

In my previous roles, I was more of a product specialist than a solutions specialist. My job was to adapt clients’ needs to the software framework.

Now, working for a company that isn’t a “pure player” enables me to select the optimal solution from the beginning rather than having to adapt, of course I love M-Files, but alfresco is another solution we like!

For me, the right approach is certainly not:
“What can this ECM do?”

Rather, it is:
“What business problems do we need to solve first, and for whom?”

ECM initiatives often fail when they attempt to tackle everything at once rather than focusing on what truly matters. In practice, users don’t adopt tools just because they exist, they embrace solutions that directly address their daily pain points. That’s why achieving early, tangible success is critical. It builds credibility and helps secure continued investment.

Rather than implementing broad, I would focus on three to five high-impact use cases, such as invoice processing, contract lifecycle management, and quality documentation.

These cases should deliver measurable results within weeks rather than quarters. Each use case should be treated as its own product, with a clear value proposition and user-centric design, rather than as just another feature within a larger system.

Put adoption at the center

I used to think: “If the solution is good, people will use it.”

That’s wrong.

Adoption requires preparation. It doesn’t just happen on its own.

The hard truth is that the best ECM solution with no adoption equals failure.

What I’d do differently:

• Identify the key users early on. They will help you get the solution adopted
• Design in collaboration with actual users, not with their representatives.
• Invest time and resources in on-boarding with in-app guidance, simple training paths, and internal champions.

Remember, if users need a manual to use the solution, you’ve already lost them.

Simplify the information model

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen (and made) is overengineering metadata and taxonomy.

We aimed for a perfect structure. We got complexity.

The reality is that users don’t care about your taxonomy. It adds complexity, makes classification difficult, slows down their work, and ultimately reduces user adoption.

Here’s what I’m doing now:

• I’m trying to limit the number of fields to seven or fewer.
• I take full advantage of automation features, such as default values, smart classification, and recognition.
• I use an iterative approach if it results in tangible improvements.

A good structure that is used consistently is better than a perfect one that nobody follows.

Design for automation

Projects often treat automation as a second phase. For me, that’s a mistake.

Today, without automation, ECM is just a digital archive.

Here are some things to do from day one:

• It is essential to pinpoint tasks that are repetitive in nature and convert them into workflows. Examples of such tasks include approvals, classification, team collaborations, and more. This conversion process must be incorporated into the initial release.
• Use AI carefully and for meaningful topics. AI is trendy and can benefit us if we use it to accelerate work in areas such as classification, translation, and summarization, not just because it’s hype.

The goal is to eliminate unnecessary work and allow users to focus on what is important.

Measure the right things

Keep in mind that success metrics are not the number of documents migrated, users trained, or system uptime.

True success is measured by the positive impact the solution brings, such as reduced processing time, increased adoption, improved compliance, and saved time.

Measure the real impact to prove added value.

Treat ECM as a product, not a project

This is a common mistake that I still often see during ECM implementation, and it needs to change.
An ECM is not a static project consisting of analysis and implementation, and then it’s finished.

We must adopt an agile approach of building, learning, improving, and repeating.

As soon as users start using the solution, we must maintain a backlog of improvements, perform regular releases, and continuously gather user feedback.

An ECM project is never truly finished because it must evolve with business needs. Otherwise, businesses will adapt their work to the tool and slowly abandon it.

Don’t forget the governance

Although governance is essential, it can also become an obstacle.

I’ve seen governance frameworks delay projects by several months because they lack flexibility.

Nothing is perfect, so while you should meet compliance requirements, keep things simple.

Clearly define responsibilities from the start:

• Who is responsible for metadata?
• Who approves changes?

Ensure that governance remains light and practical.

Strike the right balance between control and ease of use.

Think about who you’re doing it for.

Although IT leads this type of project, users are often not part of the team.

Therefore, establishing strong collaboration between IT and business users is crucial.

Involve users in the decision-making process.

Hold them accountable for adoption, this is a company-wide project, and its success depends on them.

The platform is just a tool

To sum up my years of experience in ECM.

While it’s initially reassuring to master a product and understand its inner workings, ultimately, clients don’t care about that.

They have various problems and want a solution and very often, the specific product doesn’t matter.

They count on us to recommend the most suitable solution because they are busy running their business and don’t have time to compare products on the market.

ECM success isn’t just about managing documents; it’s about enabling better work.

• Help users work more efficiently.
• Provide business value.
• Improve the user experience over time.

If you’re about to start a project, ask yourself:

• Are we solving real problems?
• Are users involved from day one?
• Are we delivering value early on?

If not, now is the perfect time to ask us for help!