Dynamic Ingestion Requirements Mandate Dynamic Forms

Document automation applications often have straightforward requirements. An ingested item belongs to a specific class, and that class includes particular property values. Validation rules are simple both for extracted and data-entered values. Basic features in Tungsten Automation (formerly Kofax) TotalAgility® Forms easily take care of typical situations and occasional departures from the process.

But what happens when there is a constantly changing set of source documents, each of which has up to a dozen different requirements for data entry? A massive number of screen forms become necessary to support the resulting matrix of extraction and entry possibilities. The projected complexity and expected maintenance load for all those forms drove a Genus client to ask if we could supply something more dynamic to adapt to real-time form changes.

Existing line-of-business system web services dictated the capture requirements for each general class of document. Once the system or the user decides the actual document class, Genus used those services to determine underlying data needs. Fields are required or not, depending on whether the data was already captured or whether the time had expired for values requiring periodic updates (monthly, annually, etc.). A dynamic form facility—with text lasso capabilities from the associated document image—then presents the user with a proper set of required fields. Classification figures out the form type if it can, and a field matching capability enables mapping extracted fields.

Occasionally users decide to record added data from a particular document. Simple selections on the form immediately display the additional property fields, provide proper validation for the entered or extracted data, and incorporate those elements into the document's permanent property set. Added functionality accounts for periodically updated data.

As data capture needs change, administrative staff charged with supporting the system simply enter or update a few field-configuration database entries. Once changes are tested and promoted, users immediately see a different form for that type of document. Field mapping for extraction and export can change as well.

The client's business case driving the need for highly dynamic forms involved documents holding sensitive personal data. Portions of certain documents had to be removed or redacted before landing in the permanent repository. Genus extended the TotalAgility document viewer to add user-driven cropping and redaction capabilities. Cropping allows the deletion of document parts or separates a single document into two or more new documents that independently move through the TotalAgility process. Redactions are temporary and adjustable up until the time the document exports to the permanent repository.

The TotalAgility process and dynamic form capability dramatically improved this time-sensitive, security-sensitive document processing application. Where it could, automation lowered data entry costs. The dynamic form capability allowed system administrators to address new requirements quickly and easily, like adapting to continually changing COVID vaccination recommendations. You may have similar document ingestion and automation applications. Genus's form extensions can add dynamic capabilities to those applications and improve your user community's experience and productivity.