Forms Talk

It Just Keeps Going and Going and Going

By:Margaret Tassin, CFSP, CDC
VP, Programs

Question: What recharges your batteries but drains your energy? The BFMA Symposium, of course!!

So many forms professionals are doing battle within their companies or agencies. Short staff, lack of compliance, unsupportive management - you name it, people have that problem. If they are lucky, they can come to Symposium to recharge and reconnect with their peers and experts in the field. This year's event in Las Vegas did exactly that over five days packed with networking opportunities.

There were three group discussion sessions, all well attended, all full of great conversation with everyone wanting more time to talk and share ideas. Talk about recharging your batteries - this was the place!

Or was it? Every class had ample opportunity for discussion on the speaker's topic. Questions, ideas and solutions were flying around the classrooms. Maybe this is where we get the best charge.

Oh wait. I know. It was the Industry Groups on Sunday evening that goosed us onward. The four industry groups were packed with people, all asking for more space and time to chat. We had a huge charge at this year's Industry Groups.

If all this charging is going on, how does BFMA Symposium drain your energy? It is non-stop activity from Sunday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. Some people never even leave the hotel because they are so busy. At the end of Monday, Jessica Enders exclaimed, "I'm exhausted, and it has only been two days!" Of course she was adjusting to 11 time zones, but I was feeling the same and it was only two zones for me. It is so busy...but in the best possible way.

Your co-workers may think "Hey, hey, going to a conference, fun, sun, play, shop and maybe a little education." That just doesn't happen at BFMA. The more than 70 courses and events run you ragged. Management should give attendees a day off when they return home because they have worked so hard at Symposium! It is a focused and concentrated brain infusion that leaves you drained but somehow energized at the same time.

BFMA is the forms professional's battery pack. We need to use it to recharge our professional energy. You can keep the charge of Symposium through the year by staying in contact with BFMA.  Make comment on articles in the newsletter. Be an active subscriber to FormSpace. Attend a virtual chapter meeting. Enroll in a Master Series webinar. Attend a Forms Institute near you. You don't need to wait for Symposium to come around once a year to get that jump start. Stay connected to BFMA all the time and keep yourself charged!

My First Symposium!

By: Beth Curry 
Director, Member Relations

What an experience! I’ve been a member of BFMA for three and a half years and I’ve tried to make it to Symposium for the past three years. Something always came up, reorganization, budget, military leave coverage … always something. This year, I was determined to get there and I did! My agency didn’t have the budget to fund the trip, but I did negotiate the time off. My husband and I had planned to get married in Las Vegas in August; we moved the date up to May 1, to combine the trips, and enjoyed ten days in Las Vegas! Where there is a will, there is a way!

Symposium was a week packed with education, networking and ah-ha moments. I acted like a sponge and soaked up as much information as I could. At lunches, between classes and after classes, I spent time talking with many of the attendees. You could feel excitement radiate off of people who just had an ah-ha moment in a class; they would tell me all about it and I made notes about the things they learned. That gave me the opportunity to learn from the classes I attended and the classes others attended! How great is that?

It was so nice to sit down with folks that get me! Everyone was anxious to answer questions and explain their forms and process successes and failures. It was interesting to hear about the medical, government and insurance industries in the US and Canada… including the differences. No one at work or home ever wants to have lunch and discuss bootleg forms!

Because of Symposium, I have new contacts all over the US, in Canada, Switzerland and Australia! Wow! I have a page of notes listing changes and improvements I want to implement and a list of the things I am already doing… nice to know I’m on the right track, and I’m not alone out here.

The bulletin board at Symposium contained a list called “You know you’re a forms professional when…” many of us added our ideas. Only other forms professionals would think this was funny. We all rolled when Robin Miller read them out loud at lunches. And yes, I did really did make the Las Vegas marriage application fillable, as well as eliminating a step in the chapels process!

I can’t imagine missing another Symposium and I’m excited about going to my first Fall Forms Institute in September; they are offering a class that I missed at Symposium and I heard great things about. The BFMA members and sponsors are a wonderful educational resource. I’ll see you in Minnesota in September AND in San Antonio next May! 

Sponsor Perspective

Sponsors are an essential part of of the symposium experience, but what does the event mean to them? Here is the word from Greg Clary, CEO of Mi-Co.

Symposium is a meaningful opportunity for sponsors like Mi-Co in several different ways. Symposium provides an opportunity to network with BFMA members and other software vendors, and it provides an opportunity to educate the marketplace about our product and technology.

The BFMA membership consists of people from a wide variety of companies and organizations who are very experienced with forms and who play a wide variety of roles within their companies, from forms analysts to forms managers. As a software vendor, we value the input of these members when we are putting together our product roadmap. BFMA Annual Symposium falls at a great time for us, because we typically announce our major release for a year in mid to late April, and we attend Symposium in early May - where we can kick off the planning of our next major release.

In addition to networking with members at fun events like our hospitality suite, BFMA is a great time to catch up with other vendors. We can learn about the latest offerings from other software vendors. We gain valuable information allowing us to make sure that our products inter-operate correctly where appropriate. Thus, we are able collaborate with other software vendors for the benefit of our mutual customers.

Also, we provide a seminar to educate the membership about our product and technology. Mi-Co software supports technologies that are leading edge, with which everyone may not be familiar. BFMA is a great time to get back to basics and give the members a complete picture of the technologies involved in point of service data capture, such as mobile computing hardware and handwriting recognition technology.

We enjoy being with the members of BFMA, who are fine (and fun!) folks, and we enjoy contributing to and benefitting from BFMA Symposium each year.

The Best of Best

By: Carol Casper 
Director, Education

The lights were dazzling and the food was excellent and the networking was invaluable. 50 years of education and mentoring is a true accomplishment. Everyone that I spoke with after attending the education sessions felt rejuvenated and part of a much bigger picture. The "Gosh, I’m not alone!" came through loud and clear.

This, I believe, is one of the most valuable assets BFMA brings to the business world.

The broad educational opportunities seem to fit most of the attendees. The sponsors listened to the questions and made suggestions on what product would work for each individual. It was a great time and I gained many good ideas to bring back to my employer.

As we all get bogged down in our everyday work load, dealing with customers, leaders and the politics in the work place, BFMA offers a way for us to see just what is happening in the world of media and what pertains to each of us.

The Fall Institute will be in Rochester Mn in September. Mayo Clinic will help host this event.

I hope to see many of you there.

Wow, it’s over already

By: Bill Hill, CFSP, CFC
Institutes Coordinator

The closing ceremony at Thursday noon always tears at me. The new friends, old friends, my favorite friends, what more can I say?   From Houston, Australia, Kansas City, Portland, Washington DC, Madison, Los Angeles, etc.  so many places, so many friends... all peers in the industry... all sharing common solutions.  And most of all, the great education from true experts in our industry.

The open freeform Forms Management session saw a range of people, from those trying to establish a forms program to a person with 18 people on his forms staff. Everyone was in awe of him. Although we all have common goals, each person has individual challenges.

The Icebreaker was new in concept, starting with interest groups, a very delicious 50th Anniversary Cake followed with a 35-minute video (actually a DVD) of the history of BFMA. The video had rapt attention… with Joyce Endres almost naming every person over the eons.  If you know former members or people who are long time members, buy the video for them as a gift or at least give them Andy’s Website.   Andy Browne has been a long time member with camera in hand with a lot of Icebreakers, President banquet activities, board members plus activities like we participated on Wednesday night captured on film. Clothing design changes had some snickering.  There were many pics of Norm Chilton, my first instructor in forms and my mentor. He also took BFMA from being a one club organization to an association, starting 5 BFMA chapters.  Carl Brannon, Cher Paige, Ann South, great names from the past are all present in the video.  Those who have attended recently have a lot to enjoy too. It is obvious that Andy put a lot of effort and time into the video and thanks to all of you that submitted pictures. Andy did a great job to also fit in a great music track. Please go to http://www.dmvideo.net/bfma to see a 2-minute trailer and an order form. The price is most reasonable and won’t come close to covering his time for production.

Monday started with an excited motivational speaker, Johnna Johnson, who encouraged us to have the courage to Just Jump. And no, my participation in her presentation was NOT preplanned, just happened that way. But we did do an excited jump into the week of awesome education. Johnna was great and really had people geared up to learn. This is one time that what happened in Vegas, comes home from Vegas to be applied to our jobs.

In an effort for 24/7 education, we had a “Forms Help” desk in the venue of Lucy’s ‘Psychiatrist’ booth from Peanuts.   We may have been stiffed for the 5 cents every now and then, but people did have fun with the ‘expert’.

  In the Sponsor E-panel, one stated that we didn’t have enough IT classes for the computer experts. Yes, I agree. I went to the mike and asked all of the sponsors to submit classes for the IT track. But really, it does not stop there. We have recognized that we are a little weak on IT classes and would like to have more of you submit such classes. One of the problems the forms people have in communicating with the IT people is that many times, they dismiss Eforms software as “toys” because they really do not understand.    If we had more classes for IT people so we can introduce them to products that can save them a lot of work, they would be enthused.

I always make it a point to sit at tables with new people at the lunches, to obtain their impressions. Networking is always near the top of their list of benefits, as well as individual classes, especially if several of them attended the same class.  Although the forms people usually do not have purchasing power, they do take information back to their companies and inform them of the products they saw and how they were impressed.    And, I was surprised on how many people I talked with were IT people.   I’m sure the new Program Council would love to have more IT proposals.  It is time for IT to submit more class proposals.

We had a great class on security. With the fear of identity theft, stealing of company secrets, embezzlement of money these days, was surprised everyone didn’t attend this one. Learned things that have developed since my last Frank Abignale security class.  This should be high on everyone’s radar.

Alas, Wednesday, my last hour as VP of Programs expired and the office is now is in the most capable hands of Margaret Tassin. Although I am pleased with the improvement of class scores during my term, Margaret will drive them even higher.  I have every respect in the world for Margaret.  If there were ever anyone you’d like to clone in the forms world, Margaret would be a perfect candidate.

See you at the Fall Forum at the Mayo Clinic on September 22/23, then the Eastern Canadian Institute in Ottawa in January and the Western Canadian Institute near Vancouver next March. Then of course, see you in San Antonio next May for our next BFMA Symposium. And don’t forget our video at http://www.dmvideo.net/bfma.

Consultant's Help - 5 Cents

By: Margaret Tassin, CFSP, CDC
Program Council, Director of Education

You know that BFMA Symposium is just the best place to network about forms.  It is easy to strike up a conversation with a classmate or a dinner companion about your work, because we have shared experiences that are helpful.  But what do you do when you have a really sticky issue?  Call in a consultant, of course!

Do you remember Lucy Van Pelt of Peanuts comic strip fame?  When Lucy was in a mood, she would set up her version of a neighborhood lemonade stand, except she didn't sell lemonade.  Instead, Lucy offered "Psychiatric Help - 5 cents."

All good ideas have to start some where, and this is where the Symposium consultant's table originated.  At most coffee breaks there will be a consultant available at our version of a neighborhood stand.  Each consultant is a forms professional with wide ranging industry experience.  Stop by and ask your sticky question, and see what the consultant can do for you.  Don't forget to bring your nickel.

BFMA is 50 years old. Think about it, a HALF CENTURY

By: Bill Hill, CFSP, CFC
VP Program Council

How much money has BFMA saved industry and government in 50 years?   It boggles the mind.

Yes, it has been 50 years of educating people to a more efficient way of conducting business. Our knowledge may be the most unappreciated key to successful business processes. If BFMA could collect 1% of all the cost savings people have utilized from our teachings, would there be a bank big enough to hold it all?

Craig Dartnell from Australia has stated it best, "Forms are the lifeblood of business."  Remember, Forms reflect Philosophies, Policies and Procedures or your business/ agency.  Therefore, forms are: Mini Public Relations Statements, Mini Policy Statements and Mini Procedure Manuals.

We have been doing this for a half century. We are celebrating this awesome anniversary at our BFMA Symposium in Las Vegas on May 4 through 8th. Many people think of Las Vegas as a party town, but Las Vegas has also become convention central as numerous conventions are held in Las Vegas every week.

You can look at the website to sign up for the fantastic education opportunities we have available for you. Be sure to define your education path and get management’s approval, as your training will enhance your job performance and your company’s profitability.

Example:  You have a form that takes one minute to complete and 100,000 are completed a year. You learn a concept from a Symposium class that will save 5 seconds in completing each form.    Do the math.   Be amazed at the amount of time you will save in the measurement of an FTE.  You can save days, months, tons of paper, increase return on investment that management never thought could be saved by a person... who just draws lines.

Our history in Video

Yes, this Anniversary celebrates what BFMA has accomplished in 50 years.    Andy Browne has created a video that will display our history over many of these years.   Unfortunately, some of the earliest years are lost to time.     If you have some ancient pictures and wouldn’t mind showing them, bring them along.    

Sunday night at our Ice Breaker, several things will be accomplished.  We will start with industry group meetings and develop networking within our industries as we meet people that share our challenges. We will then have an anniversary cake with a short presentation from our President, Ray Killam, CFSP, CFC.  Ray will introduce the video developed by Andy Browne. We will see people that were involved in developing BFMA and those bringing our organization to today’s level. You will see people that you have heard great stories about but never met. You will see people that look familiar... then realize that some of us old fogies were young at one time... although there are some who seem to never age.

We have an extremely rich history and that will be revealed throughout the video. The video will loop during the night so you can grab people to ask who certain people are that you may have heard something about. In the replaying of the video, the sound will be reduced so those who want to hear more details can, but still allow you to converse with new and old friends.      

We did the same thing at the 50th anniversary of a racing organization I participate in and as the night went on, the enthusiasm grew as more people were asking questions about events on the screen.   This should be no different.    Don’t be afraid to ask someone if they recognize an event on the screen... particularly the more senior people who have the blue ribbon on their nametag.

WE OFFER QUALITY EDUCATION.    WE OFFER A LOOK INTO OUR GOLDEN HISTORY. We also offer an auto museum at the location that can be visited afer events. THIS HAS GOTTA BE ONE OF THE BEST BFMA EVENTS EVER.

If you know former members or know people who know former members, alert them to this event and tell them there is now a special membership for retired forms people.  They need details that are available from headquarters.

They say what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.   BREAK THE RULES.   BRING HOME WHAT YOU LEARNED IN LAS VEGAS TO MAKE YOUR COMPANY/ AGENCY MORE EFFICIENT!      See you there.

BFMA Celebrates Half a Century: 1958 - 2008

Joyce E. Endres, CFSP - BFMA International President 1999 - 2001
Carl W. Brannon, CFC, CFSP - BFMA International President 1985 - 1987

During the decade following World War II, government agencies and large businesses began to focus on business forms which were proliferating at a rate much greater than inflation. Initially, most activities concentrated on  controlling  forms, but interest soon evolved into the integrated disciplines we know today as forms management.

In late 1957, a group of six individuals in Los Angeles began meeting to exchange ideas and experiences. They were R.A. Brown, Marty Fitzsimmons, John A. Lord, Richard R. Nejman, J.G. Holman, and George Bubnash. The first local elections were held in February, 1959, when George Bubnash was elected our first president. Regular meetings began in March, 1959. (Dinner at that first meeting cost $3.50 per person and dues for that first year were $6.00!) Thus, our association was born.

The success of the Los Angeles organization indicated that such an association would benefit individuals in the forms management profession on an international scale. Indeed, similar groups were forming in several cities, and these later affiliated as chapters of the association. In 1969, Jo Warner chaired a national chapter organization committee. The first new chapters were awarded charters in 1970. Ten years later, the Business Forms Management Association boasted 33 chapters, two of them in Canada, and more than 1,500 members from several countries. By 1988, there were 41 chapters with nearly 2,000 members worldwide.

A non-profit corporation, BFMA is the leading professional society for business forms managers, analysts, designers, technicians, and others in related fields. BFMA’s purpose continues to be the promotion of good management of information resources throughout all industries and governments. Education, professional training, networking, and career advancement are the cornerstones of the association, which still flourishes today as the Association for Forms and Business Process Professionals.

Over the years, our members have watched our industry change (grow up, if you prefer) from a typically minor administrative function buried within our employers’ organizations to an essential corporate-wide function providing not only design and management services, but also valuable business process and workflow improvements, increased forms effectiveness providers through automation and application components, image and marketing promoters, and operational/technical support resources.

Our techniques have evolved from paper hand-drawn forms designs and printing presses to computer-aided design tools, intelligent electronic forms with database connections; and on-line collection, collaboration, processing and dissemination of data. Our attitudes have also matured from a time when we feared being lobbied for print orders by our  vendor associate members  (who had no vote and could not hold elected office) to the realization that it is our vendors (now full-fledged members with full membership rights) who possess much of the knowledge BFMA members so steadfastly and passionately seek.

BFMA’s outreach to other business professionals has grown, as well. Complementing our periodic educational publications, we offer a wide range of training classes (both introductory and advanced), a lively web-based discussion group (FormSpace) and an industry certification program (CFSP - Certified Form Systems Professional), all of which broadcast to the world that we are the leading educational and networking resource in the forms, systems, and process improvement industry.

Ours is a proud heritage. Our longevity (half a century), our international membership, our recognition and awards programs (Member Awards, Chapter Awards, Professional Awards, President’s Award of Excellence, and the prestigious Jo Warner Award), and our multiple training programs (local chapter meetings, a web-based Master Series, various Forms Institutes, virtual CFSP study groups, and the annual Symposium) are all accomplishments for which we are quite proud. And, we are always actively seeking new members and innovative ideas. Happy 50th anniversary, BFMA.

An Opportunity to Excel

By: Ray Killam, CFSP, CFC
President

One of the primary responsibilities of forms professionals is to be the "go-to" source within our organizations for all information about forms. We need to constantly inform management about developments, technologies and best practices for forms management and how those activities can positively impact achieving our organization’s goals and objectives.

There is no better place to keep abreast of all important developments than at Symposium. The combination of classes, sponsor sessions and tutorials, networking with other forms management professionals and the many topics of discussion make Symposium the "can’t miss" event of the year.

Your company or agency needs to send you to this event. The cost is very minor compared to the improvements you will implement as a result of your attendance. The Return-on-Investment (ROI) is usually staggering - just one moderate improvement can provide immediate payback - and you can prove it!

Plan to attend now. You will be glad you did.

More Hot Education News for Las Vegas

By: Margaret Tassin, CFSP, CDC
Program Council, Director of Education

You think the gaming is hot in Las Vegas?  You haven't seen anything!  The education at the 2008 Symposium will be hotter than ever.  More than 70 DIFFERENT classes are scheduled, nothing repeated during the event.  Did you read the March edition of the newsletter for education descriptions?  Here are even more highlights!

The sponsors will demonstrate their products and provide knowledge in related fields. For example, Ben Payami of Cerenade will discuss redaction.  Don't know what that is?  Come to his session and learn.  He will also present "eApplications:  Bridging the Gap" between electronic forms and applications.  If this is new to you, you need to be at Symposium!  Randy Popson of FormSoft Group will discuss "Managing Structured Content."  Franklin Garner of Amgraf has fabulous classes on HTML and XML.  These are very complicated topics, and he does an excellent job of making them understandable.  Mike Hatfield of Kaye-Smith will present "Prepping for Printing" so your camera ready art will be ready - really ready - once the printer receives it.  John Harris of Adobe will discuss eforms and document security while Christy Hubbard reviews Adobe's PDF/Archive.  In addition there are product demos, table top presentations and/or sponsor suites from these companies plus Microsoft, IBM, Texcel, SnapForm, Essociates Group, RR Donnelley and Extream Software. 

BFMA is bringing some incredible consultants to this Symposium.  Dr. Ben Graham and Ben B. Graham are leaders in process mapping and charting.  Between them, they are presenting six classes covering topics from process mapping to professional interviewing skills.  Consultants from Kleimann Communication Group are presenting two sessions on "Literacy in Forms Design" and "Why People make Mistakes on Forms."  Craig Dartnell is presenting a before and after results on a massive forms project that he and Robert Barnett developed.  These men are both from Australia and have come halfway around the world to share this information with you.  I have seen the slides, and it is a compelling case study.  Al Weisner will tell you how one government agency is making the transition to e-forms.

Not what you are looking for?  How about listening to your peers.  There are forms folks at all levels from companies and agencies such as Mayo Clinic, US Department of State, Standard Insurance, Premera Blue Cross, David Thompson Health Region, and on and on who will share their particular forms knowledge with you.

Finally, do you have a problem that needs an expert's advice?  This is the place to see the best people.  There are many networking events (see the last issue of Forms Talk) but for the first time, there will be a consultant's table at the coffee breaks.  Bring a nickel, and the consultant will help you.

Symposium 2008 is the host site for the BFMA 50th anniversary celebration. BFMA is still helping forms professionals after 50 years. Some professional associations have come and gone, but BFMA is still here.  Come see for yourself why this is the best education and best association for forms professionals.