Transaction Document Specialist School

For more information, view the Transaction Document Specialist School full course syllabus. Take the Transaction Document Specialist School equivalency exam and see how well you do!

What is a transaction document? Statements are what people typically think of. But other important and sensitive documents such as invoices, account opening packages, explanation of benefits, insurance policies (EOCs), collection letters, and trade confirmations use a similar work flow and also fall within the course. In essence, anything that would be sent first class through the mail if it was printed – that’s covered in the Transaction Document Specialist School.

Three courses are combined for this one week school which earns the student their Electronic Document Associate (EDA) accreditation. The three courses are Transaction Document Production, Document Systems Life Cycle, and Transaction Document Best Practices.

Transaction Document Production (two days)

Is your staff prepared for the complex world of transaction mail and online presentation? Are they familiar with the overall workflow including topics such as marketing integration (transpromo), document management and Web presentment, online viewing and archival, high-speed color printing, and end-to-end workflow automation and postal tracking? Every employee who has responsibility for key steps along the production process needs to understand the entire process so that productivity and quality are increased, and costs reduced and risks mitigated.

This comprehensive course introduces industry professionals to the concepts, technologies, and work flow of today’s automated transaction document production from data to doorstep, without vendor bias. Attendees will understand history and key terminology within document production and are able to connect process steps conceptually.

The course includes the following topics: typography, statement design, data extraction and formats, object and message management, color management, document composition, print streams, data manipulation and transforms, steganography and metadata, presentation management, archiving and electronic delivery, ink jet and laser print technologies, paper-stocks, inserting technologies, postal practices and standards, and service levels.

Document Systems Lifecycle (two days)

In many companies, the analysis of customer needs, and the scoping, developing, launching and maintenance of new functions or systems lack formal process. Incremental functions are added as needs evolve, and new solutions rushed and thrown together in order to meet immediate needs. This approach is a recipe for long-term problems.

There are proven methodologies for bringing new functions and systems to life, and even for de-commissioning when they are no longer needed. This course focuses on how to plan for new document technology and applications, manage the implementation, ensure successful ongoing production, maintain and upgrade technology and applications, and successfully decommission them at end-of-life.

Three case studies are used:

New opportunities: the president just came back from a trade show and is all excited about transpromo. He asks your team to look into it and put a proposal together by next week for him to review.
Mergers and acquisitions: you just took over ABC National Bank and now have to absorb and manage an entirely different print operation. Management wants your recommended outline for short-term integration by Monday and a longer term strategy for complete integration.
Technology refresh: the current printer fleet is gasping for air! Costs are through the roof, paper jams more than is printed, and reliability is out the window. You want to do the right thing and take advantage of new technology and the right architecture, but your experience is all you can draw upon, and all you know is what you know.

Where do you start? Should you focus on a stop-gap or long term solution? What are the pitfalls or advantages of one direction over another? How long does a project like this really take? With all of these case studies there are common questions that need to be answered, and we help prepare the students for each scenario.

The course covers the following phases in the lifecycle: needs analysis, business and technical analysis, architecture, design specifications, development, quality assurance and test, launch, production, maintenance and change control, and de-commissioning.

Transaction Document Production Best Practices (one day)

You have good people and they are good at what they do! But are they up to speed on the latest technologies and trends in the market? Are they aware of technologies and solutions that are considered best practices by industry experts? Do they have the knowledge to compare one solution over another, especially when it comes to risk management, security, industry standards, regulatory compliance, and audit capabilities?

This comprehensive course builds on what is taught in the Transaction Document Production course by identifying and reviewing the latest and best practices and technologies for each of the transaction document production process steps. Best practices are also compared and contrasted with other less optimal ways of getting the job done.