Escape the File Desert!

As companies grow, the need to clearly define processes becomes increasingly important. Ideally, these processes form the written rules of the organization. In many cases, standard office tools such as Word, Excel, and Visio are used for this purpose. But after one or two years, the consequences become clear: high administrative effort, employee frustration, outdated documents, and minimal relevance to daily operations. The result is documentation created for auditors, not for the business.

Interactive management systems take a different approach: they allow employees to actively contribute to process documentation, incorporate their knowledge directly, and keep documentation up to date with real value for the organization.

Starting point

Every company has processes and rules that are intended to guide daily work. In small teams, basic tools like Word or Excel may be sufficient. However, as an organization grows, these tools quickly become inadequate in numerous ways:

Transformation and distribution of documents

Files created in Word, Excel, or Visio are often converted to PDFs and distributed via email. If updates are needed, employees must contact the original author. Versioning, updates, evaluations, and maintenance all require manual adjustments—typically handled by quality management. This centralized structure creates bottlenecks, increases workload for everyone involved, and disconnects documentation from operational relevance.

Shadow documentation by process owners

To avoid these hurdles, many process owners start creating their own documents. These “shadow documents” are saved locally—sometimes even on private devices. Processes are recreated multiple times, inconsistently and in isolation. This leads to a proliferation of uncontrolled documents, fragmented across departments and systems. These documents are often unsuitable for audits, waste resources, and increase confusion due to inconsistent content.

‍Graphical modelling: Another tool is needed

Tools like Word and Excel are limited in their ability to represent processes visually. As a result, a third tool such as MS Visio is introduced. This adds more complexity: individual licenses, limited access, and greater dependency on specific individuals. All changes must again be sent to a central instance, updated manually, and redistributed.

The result: A desert of documents no one can manage

This fragmented approach to documentation consumes resources, creates confusion, and leads to a situation where documents are no longer trusted or used. In many organizations, updates are only made in preparation for audits. The gap between documented processes and operational reality widens. As a result, documentation loses relevance and value, creating a cycle of inefficiency and frustration.

But how do I create a unified platform that all employees contribute to?

To resolve the problems described above and establish a unified, valuable platform across the organization, four factors are essential:

1. Involve employees:

Ask employees which process descriptions matter most to them and where problems occur. Give them write access so they can share their knowledge directly. This relieves pressure on the quality management team and ensures documentation reflects reality. Combined with a clear, efficient approval workflow, this leads to accurate, valuable documentation.

2. Easy, individual operation:

The new tool must be intuitive and easy to use—comparable to Word and Excel—so all employees can work with it without training or technical expertise.

3. Documentation must be provided almost in real time:

One major drawback of the traditional, centralized documentation model is the delay between change requests and publication. These delays reduce motivation and hinder adoption. In contrast, a fast and transparent approval process ensures that documents are updated quickly and made available to everyone in real time.

4. Linking other systems:

The management system must integrate with other relevant tools—such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, or Babtec—so that employees can move directly from documentation to related systems without detours. This saves time and reduces search efforts.

‍Work more successfully with an interactive management system

One example of successful implementation is the Zettl Group, a mid-sized company with 250 employees. Before the introduction of Q.wiki, they used eight different document types and maintained fragmented documentation across multiple departments. The goal was to standardize this structure, reduce administrative effort, and replace outdated files with relevant, editable documentation—accessible to all employees.

The new status quo

Today, company-wide documentation at Zettl is maintained in Q.wiki. The four company divisions are unified in a single platform. Decentralization plays a key role: shortly after the rollout, more than half of all write requests came from employees outside the core project team. This helped break down departmental silos and promote a process-oriented approach. With clearly assigned responsibilities and broad participation, the management system quickly became a useful part of daily work. The results speak for themselves:

• 75% of users actively work with the system
• Around 1,800 updates are made each month
• Up to 23,000 accesses per month

Shadow documentation has disappeared, resources are used more efficiently, and cross-team collaboration has improved through a transparent, process-driven structure.

Bring your documentation to life!

Leave behind outdated PDFs, duplicated processes, and fragmented knowledge. Q.wiki helps you create a living management system that delivers measurable value for your company. Key advantages include:

1. Central access to process knowledge, work instructions, and best practices across the organization
2. Clearly defined process responsibilities and decentralized maintenance
3. Linked upstream and downstream processes to improve collaboration and reduce errors
4. Identifying interfaces and linking processes is another important aspect of our management system: Linking upstream and downstream processes to eliminate errors at interfaces and improve collaboration.
5. A clear, intuitive structure that reduces search times and improves usability

An interactive management system like Q.wiki turns static documentation into a dynamic, collaborative tool that supports employees and drives operational excellence.