Canadian Forms Institute East

Registration fees for the Forms Institute are:

Member Registration: $576 USD
Nonmember Registration: $676 USD
Nonmember Registration with 1-Year BFMA Membership: $751 USD
Registration includes two days of sessions, sponsor presentations, box luncheons, and refreshment breaks.

Add BFMA Membership when you register!
For only $75 add a one-year membership in BFMA to your Nonmember Registration! BFMA represents over 500 members worldwide, offering training and networking suited to everyone from the novice forms designer, to the experienced programmer, to the sales rep trying to better understand his/her customers needs.

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Monday, April 19, 2010

National Forms Management Standard | Bet Marash and Julie Stephens
Twenty-three organizations involved in the development and deployment of forms recognized no forms department should stand alone. So in 2002, they formed a committee to develop a national standard that would encompass issues they personally face on a daily basis. The result of their labour is the National Standard for Canada – Forms Management (C**/CGSB-6.2) – a document written by forms professionals for forms professionals. This is not a government written standard but it is backed by them.

This presentation will outline the objectives of the standard including the criteria and guidance for the establishment and operation of a forms-management program in either public- or private-sector organizations.

Schedule for Monday April 19, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Strategic Importance of Forms Management
All organizations have a forms management function. It may be formal and managed, or it may be informal and mismanaged, but it is always present. The costs to create, print, deploy, use, store, find, reproduce, and destroy forms can amount to as much as 3% of revenues. (Gartner Group estimate) As the basic tool for business communication, well-designed and well-worded forms contribute to positive customer experience, enhanced brand expression, and efficient business processes. All organizations need a well-developed forms management strategy, led by forms professionals and supported by senior management. The strategy must align with the mission, vision, values, and objectives of the organization. It is used to help drive technology investment, business process management, records and compliance management, and customer service. Mr. Killam will cover form definitions, forms management strategic elements, costs and ROI considerations, and forms strategy development.

Forms Department Structure
Where should Forms Management report? How should the function be structured to support the overall forms management strategy? What key steps should the forms manager take to ensure that the department is aligned with overall organization objects? These and related questions will be discussed during this session.

Forms Department Staffing
Once structure is in place, how should the department be staffed? This includes the skill sets required, job description development and the number of people required.

Forms Policies and Procedures
Forms development is a business process and, as with all business processes, it needs to be mapped, documented and managed. This session looks at the process as a whole and the basic policies and procedures required that will ensure a smooth, results-oriented workflow.

Forms Control
What are the functions that are included in forms control. Who performs these functions? What tools are required? These questions will be addressed and discussed during this session.

Forms Metrics
Beginning with the basic management axiom that "you cannot manage that which you do not measure”, this session will address what is important to management at each level and how to organize the department to capture required data and report on it in a meaningful way.

Management Reporting
Educating management about the value your department brings to the company is vital in this age of constant cost-cutting efforts. Learn what critical data you need to collect, how to classify and quantify it, and how to translate that data into presentations and reports that speak the language of management.

Forms Technology
Multiple tools are required to perform effective forms management, including a forms database, design tools, deployment tools, analysis tools, mapping tools and project management tools. Picking the "right” tool(s) depends on strategy. This session will describe a process for determining which tools are right for you.

Schedule for Tuesday April 20, 2010