Has anyone been able to adjust DTPO as a case management system? What I mean by this is that I need to be able to track what documents I have given various entities and what my communication has been with them. It is not as simple as just creating a group for each vendor because a vendor may want to receive different forms. These forms need to be authorized by others, etc.
DTPO is great for filing and storage, but I am having trouble with a system for tracking.
I think a good amount of lawyers use DTPO and would appreciate if anyone shares their approach.
For the sake of space I am providing only one scenario here, but I have more if need be.
When I prepare for a conference, I have separate file in which I work on the paper itself; another folder for my travel and hotel arrangements, one more for receipts, and another for what I submit to several on-campus entities for reimbursement.
The challenge that I am having is that with the current system I can’t quickly and with certainty figure out what I have submitted and when to the reimbursement offices, and if I have received my reimbursement for the amount they promised.
To be more specific: office A requires several different forms to be submitted at different periods (before or after the conference). Each form also has specific requirements. Form A needs to arrive attached with several other documents which I need to assemble (the acceptance letter, an announcement for the conference, etc. etc.). Form 2 for office A is also a detailed process. It is submitted after the conference and has to include a number of other attachments. I have a folder in which I assemble what I should send, but I do not have high confidence in claiming what exactly have I sent that office and when.
If I have two conferences per year, the amount of paperwork is too much. I need a reliable and efficient system to be able to say what form and attachments have I submitted exactly and to whom? I could use the search function, but, unfortunately, it very rarely works for me. What I have been doing is dig into my files which means spending quite a bit of time to sort out what I have assembled to send them. Though I easily can see what I have assembled to send, I cannot tell with certainty what they have actually received and when. So, I want to be able to track quickly what specific documents I have given to the different offices and when. Right now I can say ‘this is what I have’. Did you receive document x? I want to be able to say ‘I sent x on mm/dd/yyyy.’
I also have to track my reimbursement. How much money did office A promise to give me? Did they give that money to me and when? How is office B doing with their reimbursement? What about office C?
I need to be able to look at the information from different perspectives:
Per conference: Did I get reimbursed for Conference 1?
Per office: Which office received the necessary paperwork?
It’s about tracking as well as filing documents. Can I track (not just file) such items more efficiently in DTPO?
For the situation in which you have described I typically would use Spotlight comments to tell me, for example, what version of an abstract I submitted to a conference. I organise my list view so that Spotlight Comments is in the third column. Of course there are other ways of organising things in a case management system in DevonThink. One other way is by creating a RTF note, making a table and then having columns with name of file (and a link back to the file), the submission date, who submitted to etc.