Document Management System (DMS)

With the introduction of a DMS, filing systems and processes can be reorganised across departments in order to simplify administrative processes and make them more transparent. Specifically, we associate the following concerns with the project:

• Consistency of document and data storage as well as increased quality through structured and systematic central storage of documents, processes and files.
• Faster availability of and targeted search for information, documents and files and thus faster access to information and a reduction in the workload in the specialist departments.
• Increased transparency of processes through workflow-supported processes
• Promotion and improvement of collaboration through versioning of document statuses and clarity about changes to documents
• Contribution to the university's sustainability strategy by reducing the need for paper
• Reliable compliance with legal retention periods with regard to document storage
• Increasing staff motivation by streamlining and professionalising processes and improving opportunities for location-independent working

Around 2,000 teaching assignments are applied for and processed at Leuphana every year in order to be able to guarantee the diverse range of courses offered at Leuphana. Many departments are involved in the application, review, award and remuneration process and must coordinate well with each other. The DMS is intended to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation and enable joint document storage, so that duplicate filing and duplicate work are prevented. The entire process, from application to granting and remuneration, is to be digitally mapped in the form of a workflow so that the processing status of an application can be viewed by all those involved.

The goals of the sub-project are:

• Transparency of the status of the application process for all participants
• Streamlining of data entry
• Central storage of all relevant documents and access across departments
• Automation of checking mechanisms (e.g. deadline monitoring, completeness check, permissible maximum limits, etc.).

The departments involved are:

• Human Resources
• College
• Graduate School
• Professional School
• Faculties (Education, Cultural Studies, Sustainability, Government, Management and Technology)
• Language Centre
• International Office

Status: started

Leuphana has a large number of different contracts, such as cooperation agreements, rental agreements, building contracts, licence agreements and service agreements. Contracts are currently stored in different places and primarily in paper form. Processes related to contracts, such as deadline monitoring, are not yet automated at Leuphana.

Within the framework of the sub-project, four organisational areas of the university are initially involved in the implementation of a digital contract file and digital contract management. The first step will be to enable central storage of contract files with all accompanying documents so that all documents relating to the contractual relationship can be found in the file. In the future, documents resulting from contracts, such as contract award files, offers, orders or invoices, will also be found in the contract file.

In the second step, workflow-supported contract management is to be introduced for process handling. The selected processes cover the entire contract cycle, i.e. from contract initiation and all verification loops, contract monitoring to notification of follow-up contracts and the legal retention periods for documents after contract termination.

The goal is to ensure that there is cross-departmental transparency about contracts and the resulting processes and that the operational work is supported by the DMS in the best possible way through the greatest possible automation of the management of contracts.

The goals of the sub-project are:

• Bundling of all contract documents and central access for all actors involved.
• Ensure a cross-departmental level of information
• Standardisation of the contract creation process (including versioning) and standardisation of contract documents
• Automation of related processes (e.g. deadline monitoring)

The departments involved are:

• Legal department
• Facility Management
• Media and Information Centre (MIZ)
• Cooperation Service

Status: started

The personnel file is a mass of uniform individual case files in which documents on a person are filed and facts are documented. In addition to official documents, it usually also contains e-mails that may become relevant for further processing or in the event of a replacement. Currently, the personnel files at Leuphana are kept physically, with additional administration of personnel information in SAP. The DMS should enable digital filing and make processing statuses visible for easier collaboration. Retention periods are to be monitored automatically via the DMS.

The goals of the sub-project are:

• Digital storage of all documents relevant to the file
• Location-independent access to files for case processing
• Fast, event-related provision of selected personnel documents
• Transparency of case processing for colleagues (e.g. in cases of substitution)
• Ensuring data security and data protection

The departments involved are:

• Human Resources Department
• CCC Hannover (SAP interface)

Status: Start in 2024

The student file is currently kept in paper form and results from a number of documents from various sources. The largest part is made up of the application and registration documents of the students in the course of their studies (e.g. application documents, applications for admission, applications for leave of absence, sickness notifications, certificates, etc.). In addition, communication processes (mails and attachments) as well as interview and file notes are entered into the student file by the administrators.

The entire student life cycle (application procedure, examination procedure, graduation) is mapped with the CAMPUSonline software of Graz University of Technology and introduced in the myCampus project. The electronic student file is intended to supplement this with a complete documentation of the student life cycle and will consist of both digitally available documents and documents that are submitted in paper form (e.g. sick leave of students). The aim is that the electronic student file will optimise both the service for and the communication between the students and the student administration areas, but also facilitate the processing of procedures within the Student Services. The DMS should first and foremost enable quick access to documents in the day-to-day business of Student Services, as well as ensure a high level of transparency and thus good representation within the department through consistent documentation options.

The goals of the sub-project are:

• Enable meaningful documentation of a student's entire stay at the university.
• Receiving documents from various sources, especially documents generated in CAMPUSonline.  
• Workflow support for the optimisation and automation of Student Services processes.  
• Implementation of a deletion concept in compliance with the law, which allows for both system-side predefined and manual deletion deadlines. 

The departments involved are:

• Student Services
• MIZ (myCampus team)

Status: Start in 2024

Leuphana is participating in the CCC project "E-bill" and is currently introducing SAP Vendor Invoice Management by OpenText (SAP VIM for short) as an add-on to the Finance module (SAP FI). The e-invoice project is intended to enable all participating universities to process electronic invoices in a suitable form and to store them in an audit-proof and legally compliant electronic archive. Leuphana currently uses the repository in the LUIS archive system to store invoice documents. Metadata is not currently transferred to the repository.

In future, the DMS sub-project "invoice storage" will replace the repository in the LUIS archive system and manage metadata for the invoice documents. In doing so, both an early transfer of invoice documents into the DMS is to take place (if necessary, also as soon as the invoice is received) and a late scanning of invoice documents after release by the Finance Department is to be taken into account. By managing metadata, invoices can be easily found in the DMS. Since invoices play a role in many other processes (e.g. in contract controlling within the framework of contract management), the DMS should ensure that the invoices can also be made usable for the other processes.

The goals of the sub-project are:

• Central storage for the SAP incoming invoice process (SAP VIM) and audit-proof and legally compliant storage of scanned paper invoices as well as electronic invoices from the SAP VIM invoice process. 
• Automated matching of metadata from SAP with the DMS.  
• Supplementing and filing of additional documents or document types, e.g. subsequently incoming internal audit notes or subsequently added attachments to an invoice workflow. 

The departments involved are:

• Finance
• CCC Competence Centre for SAP, Hanover

Status: Start in 2024

In the DMS Forum, we report on the current status of the project and are available to answer your questions. The events offer space for mutual exchange and are aimed at all employees of the university.

Fourth DMS Forum on 21 June 2023

The project to introduce a document management system started in autumn 2022 and we are already deep in the work together with many colleagues in the departments. We started with two sub-projects: "Digitisation of the process for applying for and issuing teaching assignments" and "Digital storage of contract files and digitisation of contract management processes". In addition, we are dealing with overarching topics such as the introduction of an electronic file plan and electronic document management. At the next Forum DMS, we would like to present the current development status of the project and be available to answer your questions. You are cordially invited on:

21 June 2023 at 1 pm via ZOOM.
Please use the following dial-in details - registration is not required:
Meeting ID: 975 8837 0843
identification code: 449991

We look forward to seeing you there! Please feel free to contact us in advance if you have any questions.
(You will find the slides from the meeting here).

Third DMS Forum on 13 October 2022

In October 2022, at the DMS Forum, we looked back on a one-year EU-wide tendering procedure, which we were able to conclude with the award of the contract in summer 2022, with the support of the awarding authority in particular. What can a DMS do? And how do we want to use it? We also addressed these fundamental questions again in the DMS Forum. We presented the objectives of the six sub-projects with which we want to enter into electronic file management and electronic case processing in Leuphana's administration in the next five years in more concrete terms and explained the project structure. You can find the slides of the third DMS Forum below and read everything again there:

3. DMS Forum, 13. Oktober 2022 

Second DMS Forum on 23 June 2021

The second event on the DMS project was primarily about presenting the concrete contents of the selected pilot areas. Within the framework of this project, it is planned to introduce a document management system in four clearly defined pilot areas. The introduction of the DMS in pilot areas has the great advantage that the functionalities of the new system can first be tested extensively on a smaller scale and experience can be gained in dealing with the new system before the DMS is rolled out to the entire university.
The four pilot areas are contract management, electronic student files, e-billing and teaching assignments. A fifth topic - the electronic personnel file - will be included in the tender as an option. This means that it will only be decided in the further course of the tender whether the electronic personnel file will also be implemented as part of this project. The time schedule of the project currently provides for the aforementioned pilot areas to be transferred to the everyday work of employees by mid-2025.
Further information on the individual pilot areas and their implementation schedule can be found in the event documents:

2. DMS Forum, 23. Juni 2021

First DMS Forum, 10 March 2021

The first information event on the DMS project was aimed first of all at presenting the objectives of the project as well as its timetable and organisational structure. In addition, the event was used to explain the basic functioning of a DMS. The documents of the first DMS Forum can be viewed later:

1. DMS Forum, 10. März 2021

A short survey was conducted during this event. You can view the survey results here.