The Hindu Business Line : The <I>write</I> note

HOW often have you, in a hurry, jotted down notes on waste paper, paper napkins, small notebooks, graph paper or even sticky pads? Only to find you have misplaced the paper, notes, et al, when you actually need it?

People, as a rule, fail to retain information or capture only a fragment of a complete idea. And even if one manages to hold on to information, sharing it effectively is a problem. For instance, how do you send an important drawing on a dinner napkin to a distant colleague through e-mail? Or transfer paper-based notes to a shared Web site?

But you don't have to despair, says Microsoft, which has come up with the Microsoft Office OneNote 2003. The software, says the company, helps the PC user to take notes effectively, be it by way of formatted text, outlines, or graphics, or snippets of Web pages or even drawings. It costs around Rs 4,500.

The software works just like paper - but it gives users an easier way to take notes, share them, and find them when one needs them. The system allows one to take notes anywhere on the PC page, and like a binder, organise information into sections, and share it with people across systems. Since all the note-taking is confined to one place, searching for information means just a few clicks, says a Microsoft official.

Here's a user's take on the product - consultants at Infosys' key technology division, Microsoft Solutions Practice (MSSP). Until recently, Infosys MSSP consultants and architects used to write notes on paper or notebooks at team meetings or during client phone calls. They would then type the pertinent details in e-mail messages and circulate them. If the notes needed to be conserved in a more formal manner, a team member would create a document using Microsoft Word or Excel sheet. This transcription sometimes would be incomplete and often delay the sharing of information with other team members. Also, the MSSP team members stored project notes in multiple places. They kept client requests, ideas and research in paper notebooks, on their individual hard drives, or in e-mail boxes. As a result, many found it challenging to access and share their notes and other information, such as team feedback on potential solutions, client proposals or research about new service platforms and analysis.

In December 2003, MSSP deployed the Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 digital note-taking programme to collect, organise and share data. Today, the consultants and technology architects can easily find and use more current, accurate information in their notes and research. This helps them complete client projects and ultimately benefits the Infosys bottom line, says M.A. Parthasarthy, Head-Delivery, MSSP, Infosys, in a case study.

According to a case study, ever since the consultants started using the software, they witnessed their productivity levels increase significantly, he says. For instance, in a scenario where consultants spent over two hours in retyping notes, the software helped them achieve this within 55 minutes. Infosys MSSP team members are completing client projects almost seven per cent faster because of the amount of time saved. The team now uses its notes effectively and shares information with other consultants, the Infosys business units, and most importantly, the clients, says the official.

"We wanted to set up a central repository for notes, research, procedures, proposals, and other information, so we could readily reuse data and improve communication within MSSP, across business units, and with our clients," he says. The MSSP team started using the new digital note-taking programme on a mix of desktops and laptop computers. It set up shared OneNote 2003 files on a secure single server, so that information about clients, projects and technology solutions could be stored and easily accessed by all team members. Now they use the software to organise individual and team notes and to work together on group projects, he says.

They also use it to create action lists, brainstorm solution proposals and store ideas to be used in reports.

Because all Infosys MSSP consultants can access the OneNote files on a single server, teams are encouraged to work together to find client solutions. For example, the consultants and architects can quickly consolidate notes about a new platform or other technology solutions and store the notes on the server, so that all team members can keep track of progress on client projects. On large projects, they can collaborate, divide tasks, and keep ideas for deliverables located in one place for peers or managers to review. Successful solutions can be archived and all consultants can view best practices, he says.

Overall, Infosys will realise a net present value — the total value from investing in this solution — of $1,903 per user over three years and the company expects to recoup its investment in the software deployment within five months. This investment includes the initial cost of the software, training its users, and an application testing process, says the case study.

Parthasarathy also plans to expand the use of the software to teams of consultants, account managers and business development managers who are often located in different countries and work together on contract proposals and projects. With software, the remote teams will take notes, record discussions, use customised note flags to easily track assignments, and store the information on a central server. "OneNote definitely facilitates decision-making, which in turn helps us create better proposals," he says.

User perspective

DEVANATHAN, project manager for a finance company, uses OneNote 2003 on his laptop to take notes during all his meetings, both in person and over the phone. He keeps his notes for each of his current projects in a separate notebook section of the software, and he also keeps a special section for meetings. The software keeps all this information in one place for him. He often uses it to record the audio portion of meetings, which are automatically synchronised with his typed notes. After meetings, Devanathan listen to parts of his audio recording again so that he can make sure he understands important customer comments and action items that he may have overlooked during the meeting.

Further, if a person uses a Tablet PC or a desktop or laptop computer with a pen input device, he can use a digital pen to take handwritten notes or draw pictures and diagrams in the software. If one is using a Tablet PC, he can convert handwriting to text (or leave it as handwriting, if he prefers); if the person is not using a Tablet PC, OneNote recognises the person's handwriting as a graphic, which cannot be converted to text.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

raja@thehindu.co.in

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