Set up your organisation

The situation. Your organisation is going to use Databeamer and you are responsible for the set-up and rollout within the organisation. A good set-up does not start with the settings, but with the processes and the information you want to exchange, manage and discuss.

What you will use. Organisations, groups, journals and the document types, group types and labels in the organisation settings.

1. Decide how you will use Databeamer #

Start with the processes you want to use Databeamer for. Discuss this, preferably, with the people responsible for the processes and their content.

• Which (confidential) information will we exchange and store through Databeamer?
• Which internal and external parties do we work with?
• Which available features will we use, and what do we agree about them?
• Which groups are needed, for example for projects, clients, teams or partnerships?
• Who needs access and who becomes the owner of a group?
• Which retention periods apply to the different kinds of information?
• Which rules apply to its use inside our organisation?
• Do we want to use Single Sign-On (SSO)?
• Which management information do we want, for example for steering, accountability and/or control?

You do not have to work out all processes right away. Choose one or a few concrete applications to start with. They form the basis for the first set-up.

2. Prepare the set-up #

Before you create settings, it helps to make a number of choices. That way you avoid having to adjust the set-up again and again during use.

Group types and group labels #

Groups are often used for recurring kinds of collaboration, such as a project, client, family, team or supplier. Decide which group types make sense for your organisation and what each type means.

Group types help to make groups recognisable and to keep different applications apart. Group labels can additionally be used to categorise groups, for example by process or area of work.

Agree which group types and labels you use and give them a clear description. Only use classifications that actually add something. Avoid labels with names, case numbers or other sensitive details.

Document types, labels and statuses for journals #

Journals can be used to record, for example, events, agreements, actions and requests. With document types, labels and statuses you can align the registration of these journals with the processes you support.

• Document type: indicates what kind of journal it is, for example a journal for GDPR requests, a conversation report or a progress journal.
• Label: allows a further subdivision within a document type, for example by kind of referrer, kind of report or another useful characteristic.
• Status: indicates which phase a journal is in: open, closed or archived. You can add several statuses.

Decide not only which information staff need to do their work, but also which management information you want to be able to derive from the registration.

Think, for example, of the number of open journals, the handling of cases or the deployment of staff over different periods. The questions you want to answer help determine which types, labels and statuses are needed.

Read more about the possibilities and points to consider on the separate page Management information from Databeamer.

Keep the set-up manageable #

Databeamer leaves room to align the set-up with your way of working. That does not mean you need many different group types, document types and labels right away.

Start with what is needed for the first processes. A simple set-up makes agreements easier and helps staff record information consistently. Expand the set-up when practice gives reason to.

Change existing types and labels deliberately. If their meaning or classification changes, figures from earlier periods may become harder to compare.

Who may create groups? #

The organisation decides for itself whether groups are created centrally by an organisation owner or admin, or whether staff may do this themselves.

Our advice is to give staff the room to create groups themselves where possible. They often know best when a new collaboration arises and which group it needs. That makes it easier to use Databeamer in daily practice.

The organisation administrator keeps an overview of the number of groups, their status, the number of members and the owners of the groups. This overview gives insight into the organisational set-up, without giving access to the content of the groups. It is available under Org Settings › Groups.

The organisation can of course choose a more central way of working if that fits its own processes or agreements better.

Agree on a folder structure #

If groups are regularly created for the same kind of work, a fixed folder structure helps to keep information recognisable and findable.

Think, for example, of a standard structure for project groups or client groups. Discuss with the people responsible for the content which folders are needed, what belongs in them and which retention periods apply.

Keep the structure limited and understandable. A few top-level folders are often enough. Folder names are fully encrypted, so you can safely include personal names, case numbers or other sensitive details in them.

Databeamer is working on templates that create a group type's folder structure automatically. Until that option is available, you can record the agreed structure in a short overview that you give staff as a starting point.

3. Configure the organisation #

Once it is clear how you want to use Databeamer and which basic agreements go with it, you can create the organisation.

Create the organisation through New › New Organization and fill in the basics under Settings:

• General: name, slug and logo.
• Guest pages: the branding guests see when they open Transfers, Requests and Secure Mail.
• Members: invite the administrators and assign their role. Appoint a second owner right away.
• Group types and document types: set up the agreed classification.
• Labels and statuses: set the categories and statuses you want to use.
• Single Sign-On: set this up if you use SSO.

Use the agreements from step 2 as the starting point. That way the settings match the processes and you avoid the organisation set-up becoming detached from daily practice.

4. Set up groups and roles #

Groups are where people actually work together. Each group belongs to one organisation, which is responsible for its use and the available capacity.

When creating a group you decide, among other things:

• the purpose and the group type;
• who is the owner and who, if anyone, becomes admin;
• which internal and external users need access;
• which roles suit the different users;
• which information is processed in the group and which retention periods apply;
• which agreed folder structure applies.

Besides owner, admin and member, a group has the Reader role. A reader can view and download information, but cannot add, send or upload anything.

An organisation administrator does not automatically have access to every group. Organisation administration and access to content are separate: if you need access to the content yourself, you must be added to the group concerned.

More information is under Groups.

5. Check the set-up and introduce users #

The set-up is ready for use when the organisation settings match the agreements made and the first groups can be created.

Check whether:

• the organisation settings have been filled in;
• group types, document types, labels and statuses match the agreed classification;
• it is clear who may create groups and who becomes owner;
• the folder structure for the first applications has been recorded;
• the agreements on access, retention periods and use are known to those involved.

Introduce the way of working to staff and explain how they create or request groups, which classification they use and how they register and close journals.

The set-up does not have to be complete for every conceivable process from day one. Evaluate use and expand the set-up when new applications or information needs arise.

Next #

The organisation is set up and the basic agreements have been made. Now staff can get started.

Continue with Roll Databeamer out to your users.