T.U.G. News | December 2016
Linda Spinks presents the latest news from the User Group
We Tell You
I’m pleased to report back that the inaugural US User Group meeting went well; seven attendees joined the call at various times via a Skype meeting - although I’m told that not everyone turned on their webcams!
Following initial introductions the meeting was quite fluid - as some attendees had to dip out early and others weren’t able to dial in until later. The discussion was structured around a presentation by Steve Moore, who was chairing the meeting from Microsoft in Redmond, Seattle.
Microsoft Presentation
The main points of Steve’s presentation are summarised below:
- When the Triaster system was initially thrust upon him he wasn’t that keen on using it, however as he started to use the system his mindset changed and he realised that making the system solve problems rather than create work for people, is the way to win them over.
- Over the past 5 years he has been in charge of the Triaster system and the updates to processes within it. At first the Library contained processes purely for compliance reasons and weren’t used that much by employees on a day to day basis. Then Steve set up a “How do I?” library to provide self-help and basically give people all the tools they need to do their job. Now all the information employees need is centred on processes, which link to forms and other systems. He has made the process flows transparent, so that everyone can see exactly what happens within the process.
- One of the key features that Steve has found useful is the Triaster search engine, which he advised is much better than the one within SharePoint - which they also use for their document management. As a result he has made sure that all policy documents are in Triaster to make them easy to find. Making the system easy is the best way to ensure that it is used.
- With regards to working with various teams on their processes, Steve advised that he has everything in his Properties file and uses the approval workflow to do much of the administration for him. He is notified of staffing changes and simply uses Data Manager to update the data for the maps. This means he can make updates very quickly.
- Steve’s boss is using the system a lot at the moment and loves the workflow. They find they have teams requesting to use it for their auditing requirements. Steve can see the system becoming relatively self-managing in time.
- Looking to the future, Steve has customer facing teams piloting Triaster, who he hopes will shortly adopt a Library set up to host external customer facing “How Do I?” content.
Steve’s interesting presentation sparked discussion and the sharing of ideas between everyone on the call. At the end it was agreed by all that the meeting had been a very useful forum for sharing information and seeing what other organisations are achieving. Everyone agreed that they would like to attend the next USA User Group session, which will be scheduled to take place following the next UK User Group meeting.
If you would like to register your interest in attending the next US User Group virtual meeting, please contact Jo Dolton on customer.services@triaster.co.uk
You Tell Us
If you would like to host a meeting, or have any questions about the User Group please drop us an e-mail to user.group@triaster.co.uk
Next Main UK User Group meeting
The next User Group meeting is being hosted by Menzies Aviation at their London Heathrow offices on 4th April. Space will be limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.
