If you use WorkSite in a matter centric way you will know that you can create an electronic filing cabinet of you matters in an area called My Files (or My Workspaces/My Matters). Held in this “My Files” are all your matter files (known as workspaces).
I had a query today about another area in WorkSite called Recent Workspaces, this stores the last n matters you’ve worked on. The query went :
X said when they create a new document and save it the workspace it will be added to her recent workspaces but if they save a document that has already been created after making amendments it doesn’t show in their recent workspaces. Is this correct or is it a fault?
Now it’s not a fault, this is what it should do. But the thought I had was why would a lawyer work in recent workspaces and not My Files? After all the purpose of My Files is to create your shortcuts to your matters meaning they’re always to hand.
So why use recent workspaces?
My guess is because it’s automatic, it logs your matters for you. You amend the document and the matter file is there for future use. More akin to the lawyer working with the paper file (the automatic bit here is the secretary!)
So if the system is the secretary it should probably:
- ask if you want to add the matter to your My Files for future use when you create or amend a document in a file, say yes and it’s done
- better still just know you’re working on that matter and place it in your My Files
If you’re a lawyer, how would you want it to work?
Do you not link time recording and Recent Workspaces?
We’re looking at that using a product from DocAuto (www.docauto.com), it works pretty well. I’m interested if the majority of lawyers think this is the best way to fill their My Files?
Now if only Elite would have something as simple as RSS feeds for fee earners matters and WorkSite a “reader” interface we wouldn’t need a third party application that needs to tap into the financial database!
I can see where the confusion lies, to a user it would not make sense at to why this happens, people like things done for them especially when they may have had a human doing those things before.
The fact that the recent workspaces has that very name does appear to convey that all recent workspaces will appear, that is not the case here as you have indicated.
So I personally would like the “my files” area updated and I would also like to be informed that it was updated. You should also have the option to be able to switch those alerts off to display the silent updating of myfiles if required.
We populate a Category in My Matters (My Files) from time-recording, so the user can still put workspaces in there in their own structure.
You can populate the Matter Worklist (Recent Workspaces) from time-recording too if you want to; it’s not that hard to fiddle with SQL directly.